25 December 2018 Tuesday

Yasemin Bodur, no. 2017/29896, 25 December 2018

Violation of the right to a fair hearing due to dismissal of the case for difference of opinion among the chambers of the Court of Cassation

The applicant, working as an office staff in a social assistance and solidarity foundation on a contractual basis, requested an additional payment to which she was entitled under the relevant law. Upon rejection of her request by the foundation, she brought an action at the end of which she was awarded the relevant amount. However, on appeal, the Regional Court of Appeal quashed the first instance decision and dismissed the case whereas the other chambers of the Regional Court of Appeal decided in favour of the workers having similar claims, which allegedly resulted from the difference of opinion among the chambers of the Court of Cassation, which had held the appellate reviews on such disputes in the past. Finding a violation, the Constitutional Court concluded that the fairness of the proceedings was prejudiced due to the failure to operate the mechanism of case-law unification, which was capable of eliminating the deep-rooted and long-standing difference.

22 November 2018 Thursday

Yıldız Eker [Plenary], no. 2015/18872, 22 November 2018

Violation of the right of access to court due to imposition of an excessive fine at the end of an action for annulment of tender 

The applicant, wife of the deceased A.E.E., became a party to the attachment proceedings initiated due to the bills of exchange issued in the name of her husband. Upon the finalization of the proceedings, the residence owned by her husband A.E.E. was attached by the creditor. It was then sold to a third party by auction. The enforcement court, dismissing the applicant’s request for termination (annulment) of the tender, also imposed an administrative fine on her due to the procedure whereby a fine was automatically imposed in every case where such request was dismissed on the merits. Finding a violation, the Court concluded, inter alia, that the impugned fine placed an extraordinary burden on the applicant.

25 October 2018 Thursday

Hesna Funda Baltalı and Baltalı Gıda Hayvancılık San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti. [Plenary], no. 2014/17196, 25 October 2018

Violation of the right to property due to lengthy enforcement of the provisional attachment 

The applicants allegedly performed malicious actions as they were involved in the sale and donation processes of a residence so as to preclude a debtor from receiving his receivables. The debtor requested the incumbent court to annul the impugned sale and donation and to levy a provisional attachment on the immovable. The debtors’ requests were accepted. The applicants’ subsequent request for the lifting of the provisional attachment against a security was rejected. Finding a violation, the Court concluded that the imposition of provisional attachment measure, lasting for nearly 10 years, placed an excessive and extraordinary burden personally on the applicants.

25 October 2018 Thursday

İskenderun Demir ve Çelik A.Ş. [Plenary], no. 2015/941, 25 October 2018

Violation of the right to property due to consumption tax on electricity and coke-oven gas generated by the applicant

The applicant is a company that obtains coking coal and coke-oven gas by itself and uses them in the production process of steel. It put forth that although the electricity and coke-oven gas it consumed was generated by itself, electricity and coal gas consumption taxes were collected from it, causing the alleged breach. Concluding that as the essential elements of the consumption taxes on the electricity and coal gas generated by the applicant were neither specified in the law nor were they predictable, the Plenary of the Constitutional Court found a violation of the right to property.

25 October 2018 Thursday

Şevket Karataş [Plenary], no. 2015/12554, 25 October 2018

Violation of the right to property due to power transmission line running through the property by confiscation without expropriation

A power transmission line was installed on the part of the property of the applicant, without expropriation. In the civil action brought by the applicant, the value appraised for the relevant part of the property was higher than the restitution granted to the applicant at the end of the proceedings. However, the applicant’s requests for rectification were dismissed.  He subsequently lodged an individual application maintaining that his right to property was violated due to the power transmission line crossing over a part of his land without expropriation. The Constitutional Court found a violation of the right to property without granting additional compensation.

20 September 2018 Thursday

Hüseyin Ünal, no. 2017/24715, 20 September 2018

Violation of the right to property due to dismissal of expropriation-related claim

The applicant’s immovable property was allocated as a road in the city development plan and had to be expropriated. Among others, the failure to expropriate the immovable even though fourteen years had elapsed since the ratification of the plan, has placed an excessive personal burden on the applicant. It has been concluded that the fair balance between the applicant’s right to property and the public interest had been upset to detriment of the applicant, and that the interference was not proportionate.

19 July 2018 Thursday

Ebru Bilgin [Plenary], no. 2014/7998, 19 July 2018

Violation of the right to protect and develop the corporeal and spiritual existence due to psychological harassment

The applicant alleged that she was unjustly transferred to another institution; that she was systematically and consistently exposed to psychological harassment and that she was deprived of an opportunity to an effective redress. Concluding that the positive obligations incumbent upon the public authorities were not fulfilled due to the failures to take efficient precautions, to redress the applicant’s damages as well as to explain the conclusions reached by the inferior courts, the Plenary of the Constitutional Court found a violation of the right to protect and improve the corporeal and spiritual existence.

18 July 2018 Wednesday

İbrahim Kaptan, no. 2017/30510, 18 July 2018

Inadmissibility of the alleged violations of the prohibition of ill-treatment and principle of equality

The applicant was detained under investigations into FETÖ/PYD organisations following the coup attempt of 15 July 2016. The detainees were deprived from training and rehabilitation activities in line with a decision of the Administrative and Supervisory Board of the Penitentiary Institution in order to prevent any security vulnerability. The Second Section of the Constitutional Court found inadmissible the alleged violations of the prohibition of ill-treatment and the principle of equality for being manifestly ill-founded.

17 July 2018 Tuesday

Abdullah Altun, no. 2014/2894, 17 July 2018

Violation of the right to be tried by an independent and impartial tribunal

The applicant was sentenced to life imprisonment by the State Security Court (a military court) and the sentence became final upon the appellate review of the Court of Cassation. The applicant lodged an application to the ECHR that found a violation of his right to be tried by an independent and impartial court. The applicant’s request of re-trial, in consequence, was dismissed as well as the appeal he lodged against this decision. The Constitutional Court found a violation of the right to be tried by an independent and impartial tribunal.

03 July 2018 Tuesday

Bayram Sivri, no. 2017/34955, 3 July 2018

Inadmissibility of the alleged violations of the freedom of communication and the right to respect for family life due to the restriction imposed

The applicant was placed in a penitentiary institution for alleged membership to FETÖ/PYD organizations. During his detention, he was allowed to communicate with telephone every fifteen days, under the relevant legislation. The applicant’s objections and appeals were dismissed. Noting that the interference in the present case cannot be considered being unnecessary in a democratic society and that the restriction was applied only during the state of emergency, the Second Section of the Constitutional Court found inadmissible the alleged violations.

28 June 2018 Thursday

Pınar Durko, no. 2015/16449, 28 June 2018

Violation of the prohibition of ill-treatment due to injury resulting from the police intervention and failure to conduct an effective investigation

The applicant lost one of her eyes after a police’s rubber ball hit it during a conflict occurred following a march organized by university students. At the end of the investigation by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, a decision of non-prosecution was issued, however the Assize Court revoked it. In the final judgement of the criminal case initiated subsequently, the accused were acquitted for lack of evidence. A new investigation was launched to identify the real perpetrators within the statute of limitation time period. Even though the applicant alleged that her right to a fair trial was violated, the First Section of the Constitutional Court found a violation of the prohibition of treatment incompatible with human dignity.

12 June 2018 Tuesday

M.K., no. 2015/13077, 12 June 2018

Violation of the right to protect and improve the corporeal and spiritual existence due to denial of authorisation sought for gender reassignment

The applicant brought a civil action seeking authorization to undergo a gender reassignment surgery following the approval of the relevant health authority. However, the civil court dismissed the action on the ground that the condition of being permanently sterilized was not fulfilled. Meanwhile, the law requiring the relevant condition was annulled. In the individual application lodged by M.K., the Second Section of the Constitutional Court found a violation of the right to protect and improve corporeal and spiritual existence safeguarded in Article 17 of the Constitution.