The 9^th International Summer School event (7-8 September 2021) organised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey, in its capacity as the Centre for Training and Human Resources Development under the Permanent Secretariat of the Association of the Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC), was held once again with online participation as a part of precautions taken against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Representatives from twenty-eight different courts and institutions attended the summer school program. The event started with the opening remarks of Mr. Zühtü Arslan, President of the Turkish Constitutional Court, on “Current Problems in Execution of Judgments: Constitutional Justice”.

Expressing his sadness for not being able to host the participants in Ankara for two years due to Covid-19 pandemic, President Arslan noted that he sincerely hoped to hold the event in person at the building of the Constitutional Court next year. He also expressed his satisfaction with the ever-increasing participation in the summer school events and pointed to the contribution of such events to the reinforcement of the relations and cooperation among the respective courts.  

In his presentation titled “A Cursory Review of the Execution of Judgments of the Turkish Constitutional Court”, President Arslan stated that the enforcement of judicial decisions was an indispensable part and parcel of a fair judicial process. Noting that the non-execution of judgments would render meaningless all fundamental rights and freedoms, he accordingly pointed to the significant role of the execution of judicial decisions for the protection and upholding of the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.

During his speech, he also provided information on the legal framework, as well as the practice, concerning the execution of the decisions/judgments in the specific context of the Turkish Constitutional Court. Stating that as explicitly set out in Article 153 of the Constitution, decisions and judgments of the TCC shall be binding on the legislative, executive and judicial organs as well as on all natural persons and legal entities, President Arslan emphasized that the most important aspect of the binding nature of the judgments was the proper execution of them.

He further recalled that the reluctance and resistance of the inferior courts to execute some judgments of the TCC gave rise to new individual applications and accordingly noted that in such cases, the TCC, acting swiftly, ordered the inferior courts to execute its judgments and redress the violations, and the inferior courts ultimately complied with the judgments. Noting that the European Court of Human Rights declared the individual application system in Turkey as an effective remedy, President Arslan stressed that the TCC’s judgments were to be properly executed by the relevant authorities for ensuring the continued effectiveness of this mechanism.

President Arslan, expressing that the effectiveness of any legal system was based on the proper execution of judicial decisions, which in turn entailed a continuous cooperation and dialogue between state organs, stated “Therefore, we must discuss the problem of non-execution of judgments and seek for firm solutions to this problem by sincerely exchanging the experiences in respective states”. Ending his speech, President Arslan extended his thanks to the participants as well as to those who had contributed to the organisation of the summer school event.

Summer School Activities

Within the scope of the 9^th International Summer School activities, thematic discussions, moderated by Yücel Arslan, Deputy Secretary General of the Turkish Constitutional Court, were held. Short introductory videos promoting the historical and cultural values of Turkey and giving an insight into the Constitutional Court were presented during the breaks.  The program was ended with the closing remarks of Mr. Murat Şen, Secretary General of the Turkish Constitutional Court.

Along with the Turkish Constitutional Court, the participating courts/institutions of the 9^th Summer School, are as follows:

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea, Constitutional Court of Albania, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Constitutional Court of Bulgaria, Constitutional Council of Cameroon, Constitutional Court of Georgia, Supreme Court of India, Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kosovo, Constitutional Court of the Kyrgyz Republic, Federal Court of Malaysia, Constitutional Court of Mongolia, Constitutional Court of Montenegro, Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Constitutional Court of North Macedonia, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Constitutional Court of Romania, Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Tajikistan, Constitutional Court of Thailand, Supreme Court of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and Constitutional Court of Uzbekistan.

Click for list of participants.

Click for the full text of the speech delivered by President Zühtü Arslan.

Click for the publications regarding the previous summer school events.