Home > 1.1 Universal suffrage > TÜRKIYE - Opinion on the Suspension of the Second Paragraph of Article 83 of the Constitution (Parliamentary Inviolability)
 
 
 
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Paragraph 16
 

If the Venice Commission is thus not convinced of the need for parliamentary inviolability in long-established democracies, where there is trust in the judiciary and the prosecution service, it acknowledges the need for this protection in some countries: “there might still in some countries be a pressing need of the protection offered by rules on parliamentary inviolability against misuse of the legal system. In some countries that are still in transition towards real democracy, or where democracy is still relatively new and fragile, there are experiences with cases in which the police or prosecutorial powers have been used to discredit, punish or destroy political opponents, including members of parliament. Nor is it always the case that in every state the judicial power can be trusted to act independently and not be unduly influenced by the executive. Members of Parliament, and especially of the opposition, may, in some countries, be vulnerable to political harassment in the form of unfounded legal allegations, in a way that ordinary citizens are not.” (par. 154).