Membership To International Organizations

Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Turkic World (TÜRK-AY)

About

The Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Turkic World (TÜRK-AY) was established among the Constitutional Courts and Councils of the Member/Observer States of the Organization of Turkic States. It carries out its activities for the purpose of protecting and promoting the rule of law and human rights in the Member/Observer States of the Organization of Turkic States, exchanging views and experiences on issues of common interest and enhancing cooperation and dialogue among these States.

The Inaugural Congress of the TÜRK-AY was held on 27 April 2022 by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye on the occasion of its 60^th Anniversary. At the end of the Congress attended by the Presidents/Heads and representatives of the Member Courts and Councils, the Istanbul Declaration on the Establishment of the TÜRK-AY was adopted.

The Statute of the TÜRK-AY (“the Statute”) was signed and adopted by the members at the meeting held in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 24 December 2022. The Constitutional Court of Republic of Türkiye was elected as the first term President of the TÜRK-AY.

Pursuant to the Provisional Article of the Statute, the First Congress of the TÜRK-AY shall be held within two (2) years upon the entry into force of the Statute (i.e., 24 December 2022) in the venue to be decided by the two-thirds (2/3) majority of the members present at the Board of Members meeting. Accordingly, following the official procedure initiated electronically by the TÜRK-AY Permanent Secretariat in March 2024 and the subsequent electronic voting conducted by the presidents/heads of member courts/councils, it was decided that the First Congress of the TÜRK-AY would be hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Click for the Istanbul Declaration.

Click for the Statute of the TÜRK-AY.

Organs

The organs of the TÜRK-AY are the Board of Members, the Congress and the Permanent Secretariat (Article 12 of the Statute).

The Board of Members is composed of the Presidents or Heads of the constitutional courts with member status. It is the central decision-making body of the TÜRK-AY. The Board of Members shall take decisions by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the members present at a meeting. However, the dissolution of the Conference shall be effected by a unanimous decision of the members. Each member has one (1) vote (Article 18 of the Statute).

The Board shall insofar as possible hold at least one (1) meeting between the Congress dates and, in principle, on the day preceding the opening of the Congress and also before the closing of the Congress. It shall meet, in principle, at the seat of the member responsible for organizing the next Congress, with a simple majority. In particular cases, the Board of Members may determine another venue.

The Congress is composed of members, observers and guests. However, observers and guests cannot take part in voting or decision-making (Article 20 of the Statute). In principle, TÜRK-AY holds a Congress once every two (2) years. The Congress consists of an opening and a closing session as well as the debates. The Congress shall begin with a solemn opening session. It shall end with a special closing session. The Board of Members shall designate a chairperson for each session of the Congress. On the proposal of the President of the Conference, approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the members of the Conference, the Congress may, in exceptional cases, be held in special order and in electronic format, using information technologies. In this case, the Congress in electronic format shall be organized by the Host Secretariat (Article 21 of the Statute).

The Permanent Secretariat is run by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye, in coordination with the member holding the term Presidency. Its competences are defined in Article 22 of the Statute.

Click to access the official website of the TÜRK-AY.

Working Visit to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan

The President of the Constitutional Court of Türkiye, Mr. Kadir Özkaya, in his capacity as the first term President of TÜRK-AY, and the accompanying delegation paid a working visit to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, from 23 to 27 July 2024, in order to exchange views on the venue and date of the 1^st Congress of TÜRK-AY and the handing over of the Presidency. The delegation of the Turkish Constitutional Court consisting of Mr. Kadir Özkaya, the President, Mr. Hasan Tahsin Gökcan, the Vice-President, and the Members Mr. Selahaddin Menteş, Mr. Yılmaz Akçil, Mr. Ömer Çınar and the Secretary General, Mr. Murat Azaklı, met the Chairman and the Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan. During the meeting, the strengthening of cooperation and collaboration in the constitutional field was also discussed.

Congresses

2022 – The “Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States” (now the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Turkic World - TÜRK-AY) was established on 27 April 2022, at the First Meeting of the Heads and Representatives of the Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States, held at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, Türkiye, hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye on the occasion of the celebration of its 60^th anniversary. The meeting was attended by the Presidents/Heads and representatives of the Constitutional Courts of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Türkiye, as well as the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan (now the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan), which participated online.

TÜRK-AY was established as an “autonomous, independent, and non-political” official constitutional platform with the aim to contribute to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights among its members and to strengthen solidarity and cooperation among its members by sharing knowledge, best practices, and experiences in constitutional law and practice and by discussing issues of common interest. At the end of the meeting, the Istanbul Declaration on the Establishment of the TÜRK-AY was unanimously adopted by the participants.

The Statute of the TÜRK-AY (“the Statute”) was signed and officially adopted at the Second Meeting of the Heads and Representatives of the Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States, held in Istanbul, Türkiye on 24 December 2022. The meeting was attended by the Presidents/Heads and representatives of the Constitutional Courts of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Türkiye, as well as the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan (now the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan), which participated online. The Presidents/Representatives of the constitutional jurisdictions of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Turkmenistan also attended the signing ceremony as guests. At the end of the meeting, a provisional article was added to the Statute stating that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye shall be the First Term President of the TÜRK-AY. It was also decided that the official name of the platform would be the “Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Turkic World (TÜRK-AY)”.