Turkey's constitutional court has annulled parts of a government-sponsored package of constitutional changes curbing the powers of the judiciary and the army, Hasim Kilic, the court president, has said.

The panel of judges on Wednesday scrapped parts of amendments dealing with appointments to the court itself and a key judicial body which appoints judges and prosecutors.

Kilic told journalists in Ankara, the capital, that the remaining amendments to the package could be put to a referendum set on September 12.

Suat Kilic, the deputy chairman of the ruling AK Party group in parliament, said the court decision to annul some parts of the charter undermined the authority of parliament.

However, local television said the party had ruled out an early election following the decision.

Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Istanbul, said the parts that had been annulled were "not so serious as to derail the whole package" and that it was only "a slight set back for the government".

The government says the reforms are needed if Turkey is to join the European Union.