Turkey's high court to review regulation of alcohol

The Ankara Bar Association has petitioned the Council of State to annul a controversial recent law governing consumption of alcohol and tobacco, saying the government “should protect people from alcohol addiction, not alcohol itself.” News of the petition was announced Wednesday, the same day the country’s top administrative court issued a ruling on another topic subject to much heated debate: the headscarf issue. The Council of State ordered a stay of execution blocking a decision by the Higher Education Board, or YÖK, to allow headscarf-wearing female students to take the post-graduate education exam. YÖK President Yusuf Ziya Özcan said the board would object to the council’s decision. The petition by the Ankara Bar Association called for the alcohol and tobacco regulations to be canceled in their entirety on the grounds that they are against the Constitution, basic law and the needs of the service industry, and that they give the government “an unlimited power of discretion” and “discipline the people by forcing a new way of life on them.” Arguing that “the administration does not have such authority in democratic countries,” the association said there is also no legal basis for grouping two different types of products together and regulating them with the same laws. “This relies on the assumption that alcohol is just as damaging as tobacco,” the petition said. The association also objected to regulations restricting alcohol advertisements and limiting access to alcohol for people under the age of 24. It said other articles harm catering businesses, “openly prevent consumers from obtaining alcohol” by regulating the size of alcoholic beverages that can be sold at markets and “obscure freedom” by banning the drinking of alcohol at places such as the seaside and picnic areas. Headscarf decision The Council of State’s decision on the headscarf issue comes in response to the removal in October by the Student Selection and Placement Center, or ÖSYM, which falls under the authority of YÖK, of an article restricting women who wear headscarves from taking the Academic Personnel and Graduate Education Exam, or ALES. The move followed attempts during the same period by the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to allow headscarves in universities. The Education and Science Employee Union, or Eğitim-İş, filed a complaint against YÖK at the Council of State later in October, arguing that the change contradicted earlier decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights and Turkey’s Constitutional Court and Council of State, as well as national regulations on the issue. The court based its stay of execution decision on those precedents, saying also that the change would likely hinder exam safety and physical recognition of candidates. The AKP reacted to the decision, calling it ideological.