Turkey's Constitutional Court finished its first day of deliberations Monday on whether to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on charges of undermining the country's secular system, dpa reported.
The court's 11 judges met behind closed doors for more than 12 hours before ending the day's session at 10 pm (1900 GMT). The court is to convene Tuesday morning to continue discussions.
Turkey's chief prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, brought the case against the AKP earlier telling the court that it was a "clear and present danger that (the AKP) wants to impose shariah law."
The prosecutor has claimed attempts by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to allow women to wear Islamic-style headscarves at universities were proof that the party aims to impose Islamic-style law.
In addition to banning the party, Yalcinkaya is seeking to bans Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and 69 other AKP figures from party politics.
The 11 judges will meet daily until a verdict is reached, with Turkish commentators believing a decision is likely by mid-week. The court has three options: dismiss the case, uphold the case or merely to suspend state-aid to the party.
A court rapporteur two weeks ago advised that the party should not be closed down, saying that the actions of the party are in fact allowed under laws regarding freedom of speech.
The court has a history of disregarding rapporteurs' advice, however, and has closed down dozens of parties in the past. The AKP itself was born after the closure of the Virtue Party in 2001.
While AKP officials have refused to be drawn, most political analysts believe that the AKP is already preparing to launch a new party should it be outlawed, and that Erdogan would continue to pull the strings behind the scenes, perhaps running for parliament as an independent.
Any such new party would most likely easily win a fresh general election that could be called if the AKP is closed down.
At elections in July last year, the AKP received 47 per cent of the vote, giving it a massive majority in parliament.