Turkish parliament to open new legislative year
ANKARA
The new parliament legislative year will start on Oct. 1 In this legislative year, priority will be given to reviewing justice and economy as well as to blockages in the new system. Judicial reform legislation is expected to dominate parliament’s agenda.
The first ceremony will be held at the Atatürk Memorial in parliament. The General Assembly will meet at 3 p.m. The legislative year will kick off after speeches by Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the evening, a reception will be given at the Grand National Assembly Hall.
Although the presidential system is entering its third legislative year, the first legislative year lasted just one month after the 2018 general election and the second legislative year was interrupted by repeated local elections.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will enter their party camps in the first week of the legislative year for preparations. For this reason, the agenda of the first week of the General Assembly will be low intensity focused on international conventions.
Legislative leaders aim to revise the parliament bylaws in order to fix problems arising from the adaptation to the new presidential system.
The AKP administration is expected to seek reconciliation with the opposition in this legislative year for new changes aimed at boosting parliament’s effectiveness. In addition, the Presidency of the Assembly is working on a new organizational law, which also concerns the personal rights of parliamentary employees.
Following the party camps, parliament’s priority on the agenda will be the proposal for judicial reform and an amendment to the Customs Law. The AKP has submitted a draft proposal, which contains important regulations related to the judiciary, to the CHP, MHP and İyi Party groups.
Following the opposition’s assessment, the proposal is expected to be finalized this week and submitted to the Presidency of the Assembly. With this proposal, which will consist of approximately 40 articles, 15 laws are envisaged to be amended. The package of the Judicial Reform Strategy Paper will come up with new proposals in the coming months.
The second judicial proposal will include new regulations on the duration of criminal enforcement. The Customs Proposal, which will be discussed at the Industry and Trade Commission, will be on the agenda of the General Assembly in the first weeks of this month.
While the penalties are increased with the customs proposal, the “regret and reconciliation” system will also be carried to this area.
