His Excellency Mr. President,

Esteemed Guests,

I would like to welcome you to our ceremony held on the occasion of the 62^nd foundation anniversary of the Constitutional Court and the swearing-in ceremony. I would also like to extend my most sincere and respectful greetings to you all.

I seize this opportunity to congratulate Prof. Dr. Ömer Çınar on his appointment as a Justice of the Constitutional Court from amongst three candidates nominated by the Council of Higher Education. I wish his tenure to be prosperous for himself, his family, the Turkish Constitutional Court, and the nation.

I firmly believe that the newly-appointed Justice of the Constitutional Court, which is comprised of competent professionals with different backgrounds and expertise in pursuit of the most fair and accurate outcomes will make the greatest contribution as envisaged.

On this occasion, I would like to take this opportunity to express my will and commitment that we, as the esteemed members of the Court, will continue to carry this flag entrusted to us further in a way that upholds the proper administration of justice, the rule of law, the protection of human rights and freedoms as expected from us by the honourable Turkish nation in my duty as President, which I have assumed with the appreciation of the Plenary.

In my speech, I would like to dwell upon the notion of justice, followed by the persons and institutions that engage in the administration of justice, and subsequently the activities of the Constitutional Court.

In the Qur’an, our holy book, a provision regarding justice reads as follows:

“And the heaven
He has raised high and set up a balance
That you may not transgress the balance
So weigh all things in justice and fall not short of the balance
And the earth he laid out for all creatures.”

His Excellency Mr. President,

As human beings, we are constantly witnessing how the heavens and the earth, whose grandeur and splendour constantly manifest in their material and spiritual realms, are set up in a great order, how each creature in this order is taking up space and positioned according to its own right and law, and how such an astounding balance and just order exists between them, and that the order and regularity in question would never be attained without such a balance and justice, and that the earth, which is created for the creatures to live on it, has been endowed with humility and rendered humble, and that it serves the creatures on it with such devotion even though it is trampled underfoot and trampled on.

Accordingly, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the continued existence of the heaven and the earth may only be assured by the enduring maintenance of balance and justice between them.

Therefore, bearing in mind the saying “Justice is the foundation of the state”, it is essential to note that peace, tranquillity and prosperity in societies can only be ensured by the very existence of justice.

Justice has been one of the most widely discussed and debated topics in every era, in every society, in every belief and understanding. It is a notion with implications in law, philosophy, sociology, psychology and almost every field of social sciences; it is a moral virtue. Justice is the sine qua non of social life and the foundation of the state, the organised form of society. It is not only a matter of words and discourse, but also of conduct and action. To do something properly is a matter of placing things in their proper place in the most convenient manner. To be fair and to act justly is a characteristic that attributes value to people and societies at the highest level.

World order will perish and chaos will ensue if people and societies do not adhere to justice and rights, and if they attempt to abuse rights (justice) to serve their own arbitrary desires. Everyone starts to consider themselves as the rightful party in the absence of the actual right and rightful. Oppression prevails. This is why the scales of justice should always be weighted in favour of what is right and fair, rather than arbitrary interests. We must also have in mind that none of us is eternal. There will come a day when everyone is weighted by the scales of justice.

Additionally, it should be recognised that the whole universe benefits from righteous people, righteous societies, righteous minds and righteous consciences. Therefore, no reason should ever be an obstacle to the upholding of fairness by individuals and societies, nor should it lead them to do injustice.

Inequity and injustice are the root causes of most of the fights, quarrels, conflicts and deaths on earth. Every fight, quarrel, conflict and death involve injustice, as those who are well aware of and observe the justice do not give rise to any injustice.

His Excellency Mr. President,

The underlying purpose of all judicial endeavours is to secure justice. Justice is, in essence, an expression of balance. Justice does not refer to absolute equality; it is a matter of being treated in accordance with one’s merits. Justice is the supreme ideal, the foundation upon which the universe and life itself are built.

In addition, the ultimate responsibility for upholding the law and ensuring justice rests with judges. Every judge’s scales must be equal, non-discriminatory and accurate. Judges must always side with what is right and just. They should be as broad and humble as the earth, with reason and science as their benchmark, while preserving the dignity of the profession. They should be of exemplary morality and never tarnish their personality or conscience. Therefore, no reason should ever be an obstacle to the upholding of truth by individuals and societies, nor should it lead them to do injustice. They should be able to decide freely and impartially, without hesitation or fear, and without being exposed to any external influence, including their inner feelings and thoughts.

It should be noted that the existence of an independent and impartial judiciary, which is the main guarantor of the principles and values constituting our constitutional identity, is only ensured by the very existence of independent and impartial judges. Consequently, members of the judiciary should be free in their ideas, free in their conscience and free in their wisdom. After all, the ultimate aim of the law is to secure justice.

At this point, I would also like to point out that, in regard to this responsibility, all supreme courts should be even more delicate than other courts as to the administration of justice, given the jurisprudential nature of their decisions and their legal consequences.

His Excellency Mr. President,

As is well known, constitutions, deemed to be social contracts, regulate the exercise of sovereign power by safeguarding fundamental rights and freedoms. Constitutional courts are institutions which, through constitutional review, serve the common purpose of democratic societies to ensure that individuals and the state act lawfully.

The protection of human rights and freedoms is of fundamental importance in democratic societies governed by the rule of law. Rights and freedoms are fundamental to democracy and can only be protected by independent and impartial courts and adequate legislation and safeguards in place.

The Turkish Constitutional Court, is vested by the Constitution with the powers, inter alia, to review the constitutionality of certain norms and to adjudicate on individual applications.

The individual application mechanism, which is among the greatest reforms in the Turkish judicial history, is one of the most remarkable achievements of our judicial system in the century-long history of the Republic. The purpose of introducing this mechanism is, in the words of the constitution-maker, “to provide better protection for the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals and to reduce the number of applications before the European Court of Human Rights (the ECHR) against Türkiye by addressing the grievances at the national level”.

The Constitutional Court has so far rendered hundreds of thousands of decisions on individual applications concerning rights and freedoms, including but not limited to right to life, freedom of expression, right to property, freedom of association.

In 12 years of the Court’s adjudication on individual applications, there has been a considerable decrease in the number of applications filed against Türkiye before the ECHR.

As of 23^rd September 2012, a total of 601,726 individual applications have been lodged with the Court, 499,737 of which, amounting to 83%, have been concluded. In 2023, the ratio of the case-files concluded to the case-files received is 101%. However, 101,983 individual applications are currently pending.

In 16,646 of approximately 355,000 applications adjudicated since 23 September 2012, the Court has found violations of at least one of the fundamental rights and freedoms, with the exclusion of the right to a trial within a reasonable time,

Considering that a significant proportion of violations found in 16,646 applications stemmed from the violations of procedural safeguards, the rate of substantive violations is around 3-3.5%.

In sum, through its judgments, the Constitutional Court contributes to the realisation of values including justice, the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms. We are convinced that these judgments strengthen the confidence of individuals in the state and the law by satisfying their sense of justice.

In this regard, I would also like to point out that among the judgments of the Constitutional Court, touching upon every aspect of life in terms of safeguarding rights and freedoms, only very few have been the subject of public debate. In fact, in some countries that have adopted the individual application mechanism, it is observed that debates take place, certain issues arise from time to time and certain measures are taken to prevent or eliminate problems that have occurred or may possibly occur. Therefore, certain regulations may be envisaged for specific situations that are considered problematic in our country.

Furthermore, a common opinion has been formed in our society on the absolute necessity of the individual application mechanism, which, also owing to Your Excellency’s major contribution, has been introduced into our legal system in its present form. As a requirement of this common opinion, we consider that the continued functioning of mechanism should be ensured without compromising its current functionality in any constitutional or legal regulations that may be adopted. After all, the individual application mechanism with almost 12- year past, has been institutionalised as a means for the Republic, as a democratic state governed by the rule of law and based on human rights, to resonate with society and address the grievances concerning fundamental rights by offering redress to the victims.

In this sense, it should also be noted that the Turkish Constitutional Court remains fully committed to fulfilling all the functions conferred upon it by the Constitution, including individual application mechanism, in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

His Excellency Mr. President,

The moments like this when the former president of the Court hands over his seat to the newly-elected president reminds us of the temporary nature of this office. Undoubtedly, the proverb in our ancient culture “The court is not a property of the judge” is one of the cautionary sayings that nails this notion into our consciousness.

I would like to emphasise that we, as the justices of the Constitutional Court, strive for exercising our duties in line with the law and the Constitution, with a full sense of responsibility by acknowledging the true meaning of trust, justice, freedom and the unity and solidarity of the nation, also bearing in mind that our offices are just temporary.

At this juncture, we should also recall the fact that the power we exercise as judges is merely exercised in the name of the Turkish nation before which we have taken an oath. The 23^rd April National Sovereignty and Children’s Day celebrated two days ago reminds us once again, as it does every year, that sovereignty, which is exercised through competent authorities under the rules prescribed by the Constitution, indeed lies at the hands of the Turkish nation.

The “separation” in the principle of the separation of powers, one of the core constitutional principles, does not actually imply a complete separation, but rather refers to the division of functions between constitutional bodies -which are, however, expected to operate in full harmony and cooperation- for the better fulfilment of the duties imposed on the state, notably the realisation of fundamental rights and freedoms. The principle of separation of powers requires state organs to exercise their duty in cooperation with each other without overstepping their own constitutional limits.

The Preamble of the Constitution defines the separation of powers as “civilised cooperation and division of functions”. Therefore, it is observed that the constitution-maker envisaged constitutional organs to act in “civilised cooperation” and in an “orderly and harmonious” manner while fulfilling their duties.

The Constitution indicates no order of precedence among the legislative, executive, and judicial bodies of the state, nor any hierarchical relationship between the higher judicial bodies. Each supreme court is obliged to fulfil the duties entrusted to it by the Constitution and the law. Duties, powers and functioning of each supreme court, as well as the nature of its judgments are explicitly laid down in the Constitution and the law. In fulfilling their duties. each court is bound by the jurisdiction and procedures established by the Constitution and the laws.

Additionally, in order to ensure cooperation, order and harmony between the constitutional bodies (the Constitutional Court and other judicial bodies, the legislature and the executive), they are required to act in accordance with the Constitution and the laws, and to maintain sound communication among them at all times, since these bodies consist of people, which may bring along different approaches, different ideas and conflicts.

I also strongly believe that the solutions to be developed in light of this approach will increase our nation’s confidence in the state and in each of its constitutional organs.

In this context, I would like to indicate in particular that we should always refrain from separatism, discrimination and injustice as underlined by many of our statesmen, philosophers and opinion leaders, especially the founder of our Republic, the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. We, as a nation, must act and work in harmony by finding a common ground for each of us, uniting and embracing each other as one for the sake of our common interests and future.

The Turkish nation is noble and endowed with the strength and competence to achieve anything it sets its mind to. To this end, it must not waste its strength and energy and use it appropriately. There should be no room for those who attempt to interrupt our unity and solidarity. This is a matter of vital importance to have a voice in ensuring the proper administration of justice all around the world. One must not forget that justice without power is dysfunctional, and power without justice is tantamount to cruelty.

His Excellency Mr. President,

I strongly believe that power and authority are bestowed upon certain individuals to ensure that people and societies can enjoy a happier, more prosperous and fulfilling life in peace and stability, and if this power and authority are harnessed for the sake of humanity, the people and states wielding this power and authority shall endure. Otherwise, the abuse of the power and authority will eventually result in the disqualification of those who harness it, and if they have used this power and authority to commit cruelty, the cruelty will find its way to the inflictors. I believe that this also applies to people who consider themselves the heirs of the Prophet Solomon but fail to act in line with his teachings and sense of justice.

On this occasion, I consider it my responsibility to express the voice of the collective conscience that we will not bow to the double standards and hypocrisy displayed in the face of the atrocities around the world, notably in Gaza.

I must also underline that although justice is a universal common value of humanity, humanity sinks into despair when states and institutions with economic and military power, which lecture about justice, fairness, human rights and freedoms, and democracy, and which develop many discourses, organise numerous events, print and publish several books to glorify these concepts, open universities and offer education on these matters, unfortunately overlook the inhuman treatment, cruelty, injustice and disproportionate harm inflicted upon victims and oppressed people in many parts of the world.

Furthermore, let me further add that moral values and justice and the restoration of justice on earth are the mere prerequisites for the common future of humanity and for everlasting peace.

His Excellency Mr. President,

As a tradition, our court organises symposiums on various legal topics on the occasion of its foundation anniversaries. The theme of this year’s symposium is “The Horizontal Effect in the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms”. I would like to take this opportunity to express my best wishes for a successful and fruitful symposium, and I would like to extend my gratitude to the moderators, speakers, participants and all those involved in the organisation of the symposium for their contributions.

I would also like to congratulate Mr. Rıdvan Güleç, who was recently elected as the President of the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes, Mr. Basri Bağcı, who was recently elected as the Vice-President of the Constitutional Court, and Mr. Kenan Yaşar, who was elected as the Vice-President of the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes, and extend my best wishes for their new term of office.

I also would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Zühtü Arslan and Mr. Muammer Topal, who have retired from office after 12 years of service. I wish them a healthy, peaceful and prosperous lives ahead.

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the former presidents, vice-presidents, justices, rapporteur-judges and administrative staff who have retired or concluded their terms of office for their dedicated service to the Court, as well as to the vice-presidents, justices, rapporteur-judges and all staff who have been still working devotedly. I express my best wishes for health, peace and prosperity to those who are still among us and Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives.

Once again, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our nation and our children on the occasion of the 23^rd April National Sovereignty and Children’s Day.

With these feelings and considerations, let me also express my thanks to you all for your participation in our ceremony and wish you all a healthy and prosperous life.