The Constitutional Court held an official ceremony in the Grand Tribunal Hall on the occasion of its 61^st anniversary of its establishment.

Among those attending the ceremony were President of the Republic of Türkiye Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Court of Cassation Mr. Mehmet Akarca, President of the Council of State Mr. Zeki Yiğit, Chairperson of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and members of the high judicial bodies.

In his speech, President of the Turkish Constitutional Court Mr. Zühtü Arslan indicated that the theme of the symposium was designated as “The Republic in its Hundredth Anniversary and the Constitutional Justice” on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the Republic and expressed his assessments on the constitutional identity of the Republic.

The rule of law: the core essence of the Turkish constitutional identity

Pointing out that every constitution has its own living and evolving identity formed in time and space, President Arslan stressed “the rule of law is the core essence of the Turkish constitutional identity.”

Reminding that the Republic of Türkiye was also a social state governed by the rule of law; President Arslan added “According to the Constitutional Court, a social state must ensure the minimum living standards worthy of human dignity for each individual in the pursuit of the welfare and happiness of its citizens”

He underlined that the individual application mechanisms introduced to the Turkish legal system by the constitutional amendment of 2010 facilitated the effective implementation of the rule of law based on human rights paradigm. He also indicated that the individual application mechanism had greatly contributed to the rights-based interpretation of the characteristics of the Republic. 

Freedoms constitute the backbone of the democratic constitution.

President Arslan, expressing that the widespread use of the notion of “democratic state governed the rule of law” by the Constitutional Court put emphasis on the constitutional democracy reflecting today’s understanding of democracy, pointed to the vital nature of the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms for the preservation of the liberal democracy.

Stressing the separation of powers in his speech, President Arslan touched upon the importance of the separation and limitation of powers exercising sovereignty. In this respect, he added:

“As it is well known, the democratic constitutions lay down constitutional principles and provisions entailing the separation and limitation of powers exercising sovereignty mainly to protect freedoms. As a matter of fact, as underlined by the Constitutional Court in its judgements, the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution is intended for prevention of the abuse of power and the violations of fundamental rights.

He noted that we all had a common goal that the Republic maintained its nature as a democratic state governed by the rule of law where the citizens as equal and free individuals would boost their feeling of belonging to it and accordingly underlined that the realization of this goal, however, was dependent upon two essential conditions, one of which was related to societal sphere while the other was related to legal and political spheres.

We together need to create a culture of coexistence despite our differences.

Pointing out to the need to cultivate healthy relationships with those who were socially different from us, who were believing and living differently from us, President Arslan expressed “There is no possibility of establishing this sound relationship unless we acknowledge the ontological entity of those we see as others. By recognising the “other” as deserving of what we consider ourselves to deserve, by seeking justice and freedom not only for ourselves but also for others, we must foster a climate of coexistence with our differences.”

The primary prerequisite for the administration of justice is the independence of the judiciary and the security of tenure of judges.

President Arslan, laying emphasis on the importance of the independence of the courts, noted that for the judiciary to be independent and impartial, a judge must be able to render decisions freely and impartially, without reservation or concern, and free and clear of any outside interference and pressure.

He pointed out that the independence of the judiciary and the security of tenure of judges were the prerequisite for the administration of justice, stating that in the absence of justice, the State would one day be destroyed regardless of the advanced extent its dignity or power had already reached.

Stressing that the independent and impartial judiciary was one of the most crucial safeguards of all the principles and values entailing our constitutional identity, President Arslan stated “The Republic requires from us, as a democratic state governed by the rule of law, to have members of the judiciary who are, in the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, "with free intellect, free wisdom, and free conscience.”

Underlining the importance of institutional cooperation for the continued functioning of the individual application as an effective remedy, thus enabling it to further protect fundamental rights and freedoms, President Arslan expressed that the most effective way to ensure the successful implementation of the individual application was to address the root causes of violations.

In his speech, President Arslan stressed that the Constitutional Court, while fulfilling the duties vested in it through both constitutionality review and individual application, was mindful not to go beyond the jurisdictional framework established by the Constitution and accordingly noted “In this sense, our Court neither resorts to judicial activism nor restricts itself by refraining from exercising its constitutional and legal powers.”

Ending his speech, President Arslan extended his thanks to the vice-presidents, justices, rapporteur-judges and all the staff of the Court for their dedicated work despite all kinds of adversities and difficulties.

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