Turkey's Constitutional Court must remain free, Council of Europe's Jagland says

The separation of powers between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary is an indispensable principle in any democracy, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has said during a visit to Turkey, adding that the country?s Constitutional Court must remain free.

?My message ? and I have every reason to give this message ? in any country is that politicians should not try to put pressure on any court. It is not their business, their business is to make the laws and let the courts interpret the laws. This is a basic principle in any democracy,? Jagland told daily Hürriyet in an interview during a visit to Ankara on Jan. 7.

Jagland had meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu, Constitutional Court President Ha?im K?l?ç, and the leaders of opposition parties during his visit to Ankara.

Speaking to Hürriyet, Jagland said the Constitutional Court played a very important role in Turkey.

?The fact that every citizen in Turkey can apply to this court has proven to be very important. Thousands of Turks are going to this court. In democracy, it is an indispensable principle that any court can work in an independent way and not be put under pressure by the political sector,? he said.

?The Constitution Court is free and it is important for it to remain so,? Jagland had said in an interview broadcast earlier in the day.   

He also said it was just as important to have freedom of expression and freedom of the media as it was to have independent courts.

?The media also plays an indispensable role in a democracy like the independent courts. The separation of powers, checks and balances is a fundamental principle in any democracy. Without independent...