Turkey’s Constitutional Transition, Institutional Reform, Regime Change and Bill of Rights: Are They Possible?

TESEV Democratization Program and Center for Constitutional Transitions at NYU Law School organized a panel on 8th of May, at NYU.

The Center for Constitutional Transitions and TESEV Democratization Program

present

Turkey’s Constitutional Transition 

Institutional Reform, Regime Change and Bill of Rights:

Are They Possible?

Location:  Faculty Club, located within Filomen D'Agostino Hall (110 West Third Street) 

Date and Time: May 8, 2012, from 1215 to 1400.  A brown bag lunch will be served.

RSVP: The event is free and open to the public, however advance registration by e-mail is required. Please R.S.V.P. by 04 May  2012 to constitutional.transitions@nyu.edu

Panelists

Ümit Cizre, Sehir University, "Paradoxes of the Military Reform in Turkey: Change with-Politics-as-Usual"

Menderes Çınar, Baskent University, "Is There a Constitutional Reform Agenda in Turkey?"

Dilek Kurban, TESEV, "The Kurds and the new Constitution: A Paradoxical Relationship "

Moderator

Sujit Choudhry, Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law, NYU School of Law and Faculty Director, Constitutional Transitions (the Center for Constitutional Transitions at NYU Law).

**********

In October 2011, the Turkish Parliament initiated the process of drafting the country’s first constitution based on the “will of the people.” Despite successive amendments in the EU accession process, the current constitution preserves its authoritarian characteristic which is the object of discontent on the part of disempowered political groups and democrat minded constituencies. What role does the military establishment play in the process of writing a new constitution? What is the agenda of JDP and how should one interpret its notable silence on the new constitution ever since the elections?  What role does the Kurdish conflict and the Kurds’ constitutional demands play in the process? Is there a constitutional reform agenda in Turkey, after all?