Impact of the ECtHR rulings on Turkey's democratization: An evaluation

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 35, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 985-1008

  Özbudun, Ergun ^a   Türkmen, Füsun ^b  

^a ISTANBUL SEHIR UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

^b GALATASARAY UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEMOCRATIZATION; GOVERNMENT RELATIONS; HUMAN RIGHTS; POLITICAL REFORM;

TURKEY;

EID: 84887368791     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2013.0054     Document Type: Article

References (91)

1. This places Turkey on top of the Court's fifty year-old condemnations list. European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Country Fact Sheets 1959-2010 (2012), available at http://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=reports&c=.
2. ECtHR, Press Country Profile, available at https://ais.ku.edu.tr/course/18873/ECHR%20and%20Turkey.pdf
3. Thomas W. Smith, Leveraging Norms: The ECHR and Turkey's Human Rights Reforms, in Human Rights in Turkey 262-63 (Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat ed., 2007).
4. Hilal Elver & Richard Falk, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Abusing the Rule of Law in Turkey (18 Aug. 2008), available at http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2008/08/18_falk_elver_turkey.php.
5. Smith, supra note 3, at 265.
6. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, art. 27, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.39/27 (1969), 1155 U.N.T.S. 331 (entered into force 27 Jan. 1980), reprinted in 8 I.L.M. 679 (1969).
7. Riza Turmen (former Turkish judge of the ECtHR), Avrupa I ̇nsan Haklari{dotless}Hukukumuza Etkileri (The impact of the ECHR on our Internal Law), Opening Remarks at the 38th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Constitutional Court, Ankara (25 Apr. 2000).
8. European Convention on Human Rights, art. 10, ¶ 2, opened for signature 4 Nov. 1950, 213 U.N.T.S. 221, Eur. T.S. No. 5 (entered into force 3 Sept. 1953) [ECHR].
9. Case of Handyside v. The United Kingdom, Application No. 5493/72, Judgment, Strasbourg (7 Dec. 1976).
10. Ergun Ozbudun, Democratization Reforms in Turkey, 1993-2004, 8 Turkish Stud. 179, 183 (2007).
11. Turkish Const. art. 28 (1982).
12. Turkish Penal Code No. 765 (1926).
13. Turkish Anti-Terror Law No. 5532 (2006).
14. Işil Karakaş (Turkish judge at the ECtHR), Conference, Turquie et Droits de l'Homme, Paris Descartes University (17 Oct. 2009), available at http://www.canal-u.tv/video/universite_de_tous_les_savoirs/turquie_et_droits_de_l_homme_isil_karakas.5212, (trans. by authors).
15. Smith, supra note 3, at 272.
16. Turkish Penal Code, Law No. 5759 (2008). Introduced by the relatives of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin assassinated in Istanbul on 19 January 2007 shortly after his condemnation for denigrating "Turkishness" in his writings, the case contends that the verdict was contrary to Article 10 of the ECHR.
17. ECHR, supra note 9, art. 10.
18. Affaire Dink v. Turquie, (Requetes Nos. 2668/07, 6102/08, 30079/08, 7072/09, 7124/09), Arret, Strasbourg (14 Sept. 2010), Definitif. (Judgment available in French only), (trans. by authors).
19. Affaire Dink v. Turquie, (Requetes Nos. 2668/07, 6102/08, 30079/08, 7072/09, 7124/09), Arret, Strasbourg (14 Sept. 2010), Definitif. (Judgment available in French only), (trans. by authors). ¶ 28.
20. Affaire Dink v. Turquie, (Requetes Nos. 2668/07, 6102/08, 30079/08, 7072/09, 7124/09), Arret, Strasbourg (14 Sept. 2010), Definitif. (Judgment available in French only), (trans. by authors). ¶¶ 131-32.
21. Affaire Dink v. Turquie, (Requetes Nos. 2668/07, 6102/08, 30079/08, 7072/09, 7124/09), Arret, Strasbourg (14 Sept. 2010), Definitif. (Judgment available in French only), (trans. by authors). ¶ 135,
22. Affaire Dink v. Turquie, (Requetes Nos. 2668/07, 6102/08, 30079/08, 7072/09, 7124/09), Arret, Strasbourg (14 Sept. 2010), Definitif. (Judgment available in French only), (trans. by authors). ¶ 137.
23. Case of Urper and Others v. Turkey, (Application Nos. 14526/07, 14747/07, 15022/07,15737/07,36137/07,47245/07,50371/07,50372/07, 54637/07), Judgment, Strasbourg, (20 Oct. 2009).
24. Turkey Progress Report, at ch. 23, § 4.23, (2011).
25. Report by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Turkey (12 July 2011), CommDH(2011)25, available at https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1814085.
26. Treaty of Lausanne (1912), available at https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos142.htm.
27. Law on Professions and Services Assigned to Turkish Citizens in Turkey, 1934 Law No. 2510 on Settlements, 1934 Regulation No. 2/1777 on Settlement Exemptions, 1937 Vacancy Announcements of the Air Force Academy (published by the daily Cumhuriyet, 14 July 1937), Military Veterinary School (Cumhuriyet, 2 July 1938), War Academy (Cumhuriyet, 25 Jan. 1938). These sources are on file with authors.
28. Imposed upon businessmen and producers who made unfair profit from war time export prices, the 1942 Wealth Tax has also included "others" who had to pay arbitrarily determined taxes. The criteria for this last category were religion and ethnic origin. Consequently, non-Muslims had to pay twice as much as those converted into Islam and often ten times more than Muslims. The Law on Wealth Tax (11 Nov. 1942), Resmi^ Gazete (Official Gazette) Issue No.5255 (12 Nov. 1942). A detailed account on its application was provided by Faik Okte, Treasurer of Istanbul at that time, in his book entitled, Faik Ökte, Varlik Vergisi Faciasi (The Tragedy of the Turkish Capital Tax) (1951).
29. Civil Code, art.74(2) (1926), Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette) No. 339 (4 Apr.1926).
30. Municipality Law No. 1580, Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette) Issue No. 1471 (3 Apr. 1930).
31. Law for Foundations No. 2762, Resmî Gazete, (Official Gazette) Issue No. 3027 (13 June 1935).
32. General Board of the Court of Cassation, Decision No. E. 1971/2-820, K. 1974/505 (8 May 1974). Yargitay Kararlar Dergisi (YKD) (Court of Cassation Reports) 8/1975, at 16 (on file with authors).
33. Case of Fener Greek High School Foundation v. Turkey, Application No. 34478/97, Judgment, Strasbourg, (9 Jan. 2007).
34. Mehmet Atilgan, Onat Eren, Nora Mildanoǧlu & Mehmet Polatel, 2012 Declaration:The Seized Properties of Armenian Foundations in Istanbul 142-43 (2012)
35. Cases of Foundation for the Armenian Surp Pi{dotless}rgic Hospital in Yedikule v. Turkey (Application Nos. 50147/99, 51207/99), Friendly Settlement, Strasbourg, (26 June 2007).
36. Case of Fener Greek Patriarchate (Ecumenical Patriarchate) v. Turkey (Application no. 14340/05), Judgment, Strasbourg, (8 July 2008).
37. Law on Foundations (No. 5737) ratified by the Turkish parliament on (20 Feb. 2008).
38. Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette), Issue No. 28038 (27 Aug. 2011).
39. Ergun Ozbudun, "Democratic Opening," the Legal Status of Non-Muslim Religious Communities and the Venice Commission, 12 Insight Turkey 214 (2010).
40. This was also adopted during the National Security Council (NSC) rule, Law No. 2820 (22 Apr. 1983).
41. Law on Political Parties, Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette), Issue No. 18027 (24 Apr. 1983).
42. Constitutional Court Decision, E. 1993/3, K. 1994/2 (16 June 1994), Anayasa Mahkemesi Kararlar Dergisi (AMKD) (Constitutional Court Reports), Vol.2, No. 30, at.1199-1201
43. Court's ruling on the Socialist Party, E. 1991/2, K. 1992/1, (10 July 1992), AMKD, Vol. 2, No.28, at 696-831, esp. 701, 804-05, (trans. by the authors).
44. Case of the Socialist Party and Others v. Turkey, (Application No. 20/1997/804/1007), Judgment, Strasbourg, 25 May 1998.
45. Ergun Ozbudun, Party Prohibition Cases: Different Approaches by the Turkish Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, 17 Democratization 125 (2010)
46. Mustafa Kocak & Esin Orucu, Dissolution of Political Parties in the Name of Democracy: Cases from Turkey and the European Court of Human Rights, 9 Eur. Pub. L. 399 (2009).
47. Venice Commission, Guidelines on Prohibition and Dissolution of Political Parties and Analogous Measures, Venice, (10-11 Dec. 1999), CDL-INF (2000), 1.
48. Case of Refah Partisi and Others v. Turkey, (Application Nos. 41340/98, 41342/98, 41343/98 and 41344/98), Judgment, Grand Chamber, Strasbourg, (13 Feb. 2003).
49. The ECtHR maintained the same reasoning in its ruling on the Case of Yazar, Karataş, Aksoy and the People's Labour Party (HEP) v. Turkey, (Application No. 22723/93/ECHR408) Judgment, Strasbourg, (9 Apr. 2002), as well as Affaire Dicle pour le Parti de la Democratie (DEP) v. Turquie, (Requete no. 25141/94), Arret, Strasbourg, (10 Dec. 2002).
50. In both cases, the Court ruled that the closure of these parties constituted a violation of the Constitution.
51. Venice Commission, Opinion on the Constitutional and Legal provisions Relevant to the prohibition of Political Parties in Turkey, adopted, 78th Plenary Session, Venice (13-14 Mar. 2009), CDL-AD (2009), 006, ¶ 86.
52. Id. ¶ 85.
53. Id. ¶ 30.
54. Case of Sadak and Others v. Turkey (No. 2), (Application Nos. 25144/94, 26149/95 to 26154/95, 27100/95, 27101/95) Judgment, Strasbourg, (11 June 2002)
55. Affaire Kavakci{dotless} v. Turquie (Requete No. 71907/01), Arret, Strasbourg, (5 July 2007)
56. Affaire Ili{dotless}cak v. Turquie (Requete No. 15394/02), Arret, Strasbourg, (15 Mar. 2007)
57. Case of Sobaci{dotless} v. Turkey (Application No. 26733/02), Judgment, Strasbourg, (29 Feb. 2008).
58. Constitutional Court Decision, E. 2008/16, K. 2008/116 (05 June 2008)
59. Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette), Issue No. 26905 (13 June 2008).
60. Case of Refah Partisi, supra note 44, ¶ 131.
61. Case of Refah Partisi. ¶ 123.
62. Const. Ct. Dec., supra note 49.
63. Constitutional Court Decision, E. 2002/1, K. 2008/1, (29 Jan. 2008), Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette), Issue No. 26923 (1 July 2008).
64. Constitutional Court Decision, E. 2003/6, K. 2008/4, (8 Jan. 2008), Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette), Issue No. 26824 (22 Mar. 2008).
65. Fusun Turkmen, La Montée du Nationalisme en Turquie: Continuité et Changement, in Turquie, Europe:Le retour des Nationalismes? 111-34 (Fusun Turkmen ed., 2010).
66. Zuhtu Arslan, Reluctantly Sailing Towards Political Liberalism: The Political Role of the Judiciary in Turkey, in Fighting for Political Freedom: Comparative Studies of the Legal Complex and Political Liberalism 220-23 (Terence C. Halliday et al. eds., 2007).
67. Suavi Aydin, Meryem Erdal, Mithat Sancar & Eylem Ümit Atilgan, Just Expectations: A Compilation of TESEV Research Studies on the Judiciary in Turkey (Asena Gunal ed, Suzan Bolme trans., 2009).
68. Id. at 34, (Interview 1).
69. Id. at 35, (Interview 5).
70. Id. 35, (Interview 34).
71. Id. at 37, n.30.
72. Id. at 42 (Interview 14).
73. Id. at 43, (Interview 32).
74. Id. at 43-44, (Interviews 35, 21).
75. Id. at 45.
76. Venice Commission, "Judicial Appointments," Report adopted at its 70th Plenary session, Venice, (16-17 Mar. 2007), CDL-AD (2007)028, ¶¶ 27-31.
77. The Commission reiterated its opinion in a more recent report, stating that "in all cases the council should have a pluralistic composition with a substantial part, if not the majority, of members being judges. With the exception of ex-officio members these judges should be elected or appointed by their peers," "Report on the Independence of the Judicial System: Part I: The Independence of Judges," Venice Commission, (11-12 Dec. 2009), CDL (2010)006, ¶ 32. Also in favor of a mixed composition for the judicial council, Consultative Council of European Judges, Opinion No. 10, Strasbourg, (21-23 Nov. 2007).
78. Ergun Özbudun, The Constitutional System of Turkey: 1876 to the Present 105 (2011).
79. Venice Commission, Interim Opinion on the Draft Law on the High Council for Judges and Public Prosecutors (of 27 Sept. 2010) of Turkey, (17-18 Dec. 2010), CDL-AD (2010)042, ¶¶ 26-28.
80. Resmî Gazete (Official Gazette) Issue No. 27894 (3 Apr. 2011).
81. Report by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe, Administration of Justice and Protection of Human Rights in Turkey (10 Jan. 2012) CommDH(2012)2, at 5.
82. Id. at 13.
83. Id. at 13.
84. Id. at 7-9.
85. Case of Aksoy v. Turkey (1996), precedent to 200 cases; Case of Bati{dotless} and others v. Turkey (2004), precedent to more than sixty cases.
86. Case of Serdar Guzel v. Turkey (2011) is a case in point, as indicated in Hammarberg Report, supra note 70, at 14, ¶ 49.
87. Opinion of the Commissioner for Human Rights concerning Effective Determination of Complaints against the Police, Strasbourg, (12 Mar. 2009), CommDH (2009)30.
88. Hammarberg Report, supra note 70, at 16.
89. Id. at 16-21.s
90. Id. at 27.
91. Laws in the Context of Human Rights and Freedom of Expression (No. 6459) (11 Apr. 2013), Resmî Gazete, (Official Gazette) Issue No. 28633 (30 Apr. 2013).