The Turkish parliament adopted a bill on Friday night to reform the bar structure, criticized by lawyers as a move to reduce their independence, the official Anadolu news agency reported. The text was voted by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and by its nationalist ally MHP. It provides in particular for the possibility of creating several organizations of lawyers in certain provinces such as Istanbul and Ankara, instead of a single bar, and fixes at 2,000 the minimum number of members required to constitute one of these organizations.
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The AKP defends this text by affirming that it will develop competition in the legal sector and "democratize" the powerful associations of lawyers. Opponents of President Erdogan and most lawyers denounce an attempt to divide the bars, some of which are known for their criticism of the government, with the aim of weakening them. The Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition party, has announced an appeal to the Constitutional Court.
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In June, several thousand lawyers in black robes demonstrated outside the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul to protest the project. The Council of European Bars has expressed "deep concern" . "Turkey's leading bars play a key role in defending the right to a fair trial and upholding human rights at a time when gross violations of the law have become the norm in Turkey," said Hugh Williamson, on Wednesday. Director for Europe and Central Asia of the NGO Human Rights Watch.