JOINT PROJECT ON “SUPPORTING THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TURKISH CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGMENTS IN THE FIELD OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS”

OPENING ADDRESS OF THE PROGRAMME FOR JUDGES AND PUBLIC PROSECUTORS

Dear Guests,

I extend my respectful and warm greetings to all of you.

The event we are inaugurating today is part of the week-long celebrations marking the 75^th anniversary of the Council of Europe and the 20^th anniversary of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara. I extend my congratulations to the Council of Europe and its Programme Office in Ankara on their respective anniversaries.

Our country is a founding member and an integral part of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara also carries out successful projects with various public institutions and organisations in our country. A notable example of these projects is the joint project on the effective implementation of the Turkish Constitutional Court’s judgments in the field of fundamental rights, which is carried out in cooperation with the European Union, the Council of Europe, and our Court. Today, we are gathered to launch an important phase of the project and to hold the first training session coordinated by the Justice Academy of Türkiye.

As is known, the individual application system, which was introduced in 2012, is one of the most significant reforms in the field of law and human rights in our country. This system has fostered a strong awareness in the Turkish legal system and at the same time has demonstrated itself as an institution with a powerful transformative effect. In the past period, the Constitutional Court has issued numerous and highly significant judgments in human rights cases. In the decision-making process, the Court follows a procedure involving many structures that monitor each other. Universal legal principles and standards, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the case-law and jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and our country’s high courts, and the valuable experience of our justices are all considered in the deliberation of cases. In this regard, the individual application system has been successful both quantitatively and qualitatively, and it has been recognised by the European Court of Human Rights as an effective domestic remedy. I would like to emphasise that our Court has assumed an important responsibility in this regard and in terms of incorporating universal principles and standards into Turkish law. On the other hand, I am pleased to point out that one of the objectives of the introduction of the individual application into our legal system, which was to reduce the number of applications to the European Court of Human Rights and the number of judgments finding a violation against our country, has been achieved. I would like to reiterate that our Court will continue its efforts to strengthen the individual application and to protect human rights with great determination.

At this point, it is of great importance that we maintain cooperation and dialogue with all judicial institutions. We wish to establish close communication with the higher judiciary, the regional courts, and the courts of first instance. We consider this to be a necessity.

A significant part of the work carried out under the current project is aimed at informing judges, public prosecutors, public officials, and lawyers about the judgments of the Constitutional Court and ensuring that these judgments are implemented in practice.

In line with this objective, joint efforts are being made with valuable stakeholders, including the Justice Academy of Türkiye. As part of the project, coordination meetings were held with the Court of Cassation, the Council of State, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, the Justice Academy of Türkiye, and other public institutions. In addition, conferences and roundtables were organised in five different provinces, targeting regional courts of appeal and regional administrative courts. These roundtables, with the participation of rapporteur-judges from the Constitutional Court, provided general information on individual applications and constitutionality review, and presentations were made in the field of fundamental rights and freedoms.

One of the main objectives of the activities carried out under the project is to ensure that the subjective effect (inter partes) and objective effect (erga omnes) of judgments finding a violation in individual applications are comprehended and implemented. It is well known that the enforcement of a judgment finding a violation in an individual application requires either retrial, reinvestigation, or restitution, which primarily concern the parties to the specific application. This effect, which we can be defined as the inter partes effect of the judgments, is an obvious requirement of the provisions of our Constitution and of Law no. 6216.

In this regard, I would like to note that, despite being a relatively new legal institution, it is gratifying to see that our judiciary and other public institutions have adopted a positive approach to the judgments of the Constitutional Court and that these judgments are complied with. The Court also monitors whether or not the judgments finding a violation are enforced. According to our Court’s statistics, 99.2% of the violation judgments issued since 2013 have been enforced, with problems arising only in a very limited number of cases due to technical issues.

The programme we are launching today and the subsequent activities will greatly contribute to identifying and resolving such problems. We believe that through joint efforts with all our judicial institutions, we can resolve or at least minimise these problems.

Another and perhaps more important aspect of individual applications is the erga omnes effect of judgments. The main issue in the enforcement of judgments on fundamental rights is the prevention of similar violations and breaches of the Constitution. This is also important to reduce the excessive workload of the Constitutional Court. Today, the number of individual applications to the Constitutional Court is enormous compared to its counterparts around the world. In concrete terms, currently, 106,000 individual applications are pending before the Constitutional Court. In 2024 alone, 32,000 applications have been filed. We are therefore faced with an average of over 100,000 applications per year.

This situation prevents the examination of individual applications in due time and thus hinders the timely restoration of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms.

This is where the erga omnes effect of the Constitutional Court’s judgments should come into play. In this regard, all actors in the judiciary have an important role. When examining individual applications, the Court not only examines whether fundamental rights have been violated in a given case but also interprets the provisions of the Constitution regarding fundamental rights and freedoms and lays down the principles and guidelines for their implementation. At this point, the subsidiary nature of the individual application should be recalled. The protection of fundamental rights and freedoms is primarily the responsibility of the public authorities and the judiciary.

Therefore, the adoption by the judicial authorities of the judgments of the Constitutional Court in the field of fundamental rights is essential for the effective protection of human rights. The judgments of the Constitutional Court concern the entire society in terms of their outcomes and their effects extend beyond the parties to the case. The judgments of the Constitutional Court reflect an approach that places human rights at the centre in all areas of law. The strength and continuity of this erga omnes effect is only possible if the principles and interpretations set out in the judgments of the Constitutional Court are observed and respected in future cases.

The effective implementation of the Court judgments is not a technical matter that can be achieved solely through normative regulations. It requires the coordination of the judicial institutions and the development of a judicial culture based on fundamental rights.

In this sense, the importance of establishing and maintaining a sound dialogue between the Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation, the Council of State, the regional courts, and the courts of first instance is undeniable. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and other international organisations also emphasise the development of judicial dialogue in the implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court. It is a necessity of society and public life that state organs, which have a shared responsibility to uphold the Constitution, work together to protect fundamental rights and freedoms and to establish justice.

As the Constitutional Court, I would like to clearly reiterate our intention to establish and maintain a healthy dialogue with other judicial institutions. Of course, when we speak of dialogue, we mean mutual communication. By dialogue, we do not merely intend to dictate our own judgments. On the contrary, we seek to resolve the issues before us by listening to our colleagues at all levels of the judiciary with an approach based on the Constitution and human rights. In this way, we aim to adopt and implement an approach involving other judicial institutions.

In this context, I would like to emphasise that I attach great importance to the activities to be carried out within the framework of today’s event with a view to improving communication and the exchange of information between judicial institutions. The project activities in general, and today’s training programme in particular, will make a significant contribution to the judicial dialogue we aim to achieve.

Within the framework of the programme, with the participation of the Court’s rapporteur-judges, experience and knowledge regarding the right to a fair trial in criminal and civil proceedings will be exchanged among our judges and prosecutors. Their opinions and suggestions, as well as the challenges they face, will be heard and will certainly be taken into account in our future work.

I would like to thank the judges and public prosecutors who participated in this programme, our rapporteur-judges, the Council of Europe officials who organised the programme, in particular the officials and staff of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, the Justice Academy of Türkiye, and all who contributed. I would like to reiterate that we, as the Constitutional Court, will always participate with dedication in such activities and continue our efforts together with other stakeholders.

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to our judges and public prosecutors for participating in the programme despite their heavy workloads.

In closing, I extend my best regards to all of you.

Stay safe and healthy.