Where fundamental rights are violated we conduct individual applications to the Constitutional Court and applications to the European Court of Human Rights. Fair trial, property rights and freedom of expression are our main focus.
Our constitutional law practice focuses on representing people whose fundamental rights and freedoms have been violated in individual applications to the Turkish Constitutional Court and, where necessary, in applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). These applications do not replace the ordinary appeal routes; being subsidiary, they can only be used once every other remedy has been exhausted.
Individual Application to the Constitutional Court
Admissibility Requirements
- The right in issue must be guaranteed both by the Constitution and by the European Convention on Human Rights,
- The ordinary appeal routes must have been exhausted,
- The application period running from the final decision must be observed,
- The applicant must have a current and personal grievance.
A significant proportion of applications are rejected without any examination of the merits because these requirements are not met. The way the application form is drafted, and the rights relied on, are therefore decisive.
Commonly Raised Violations
The right to a fair trial (the right to a reasoned decision, equality of arms, access to a court), the right to be tried within a reasonable time, the right to property, freedom of expression and of the press, liberty and security of person, privacy and the prohibition of discrimination.
Application to the ECtHR
Where the application to the Constitutional Court produces no result, an application may be made to the ECtHR alleging a violation of the rights guaranteed by the Convention. Here too, domestic remedies must have been exhausted and the application period running from the final decision must be observed. The application must be prepared exactly in accordance with the Court's own form and rules of procedure; formal defects are in themselves a ground for rejection.
Consequences of a Finding of Violation
If a violation is found, a retrial, compensation, or the steps required to remove the consequences of the violation may be ordered. A retrial order is carried out by the relevant first-instance court.