An online program themed “Reflections on Human Rights” was held with the collaboration and joint initiatives between the Constitutional Court Constitutional Jurisdiction Research Centre (AYAM) and the Bahçeşehir University, Global Law Programs Directorate as well as the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. 

In the program, President of the Constitutional Court, Mr. Zühtü Arslan, made a presentation titled “The Role of Individual Application in the Protection of Human Rights in Turkey”. Besides, Justice of the European Court of Human Rights, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saadet Yüksel, and Senior Judge for the District of Arizona, Mr. David G. Campbell, made presentations titled respectively “The Subsidiarity Principle in the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights” and “Human Rights Justice in the United States of America”.

President Arslan: “Adoption of individual application mechanism is a milestone for the judicial protection of human rights in Turkey”

Dwelling on the historical and intellectual roots of the human rights jurisdiction during his speech, President Arslan emphasised that the adoption of individual application mechanism was a milestone for the judicial protection of human rights in Turkey”. President Arslan, pointing to and explaining five inter-related basic effects of individual application, noted that the Turkish Constitutional Court, founded in 1962 and being among the courts with the highest experience in Europe, underwent a transformation process regarding its field of operation, structure and basic paradigm, with the adoption of individual application mechanism. He further stated that the Court had already turned into an institution interacting with the society and adopted a rights-based paradigm since the adoption of the individual application mechanism, indicating that this mechanism had significant bearings on our social lives, legal system and judicial practice.

Touching on the problems with respect to individual application mechanism and excessive workload, as well as making comparisons in this sense between Turkey and other countries, President Arslan stated that the success of individual application, intended for the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms, was conditional upon a social and political culture predicated on human dignity.

The online program held via Zoom was broadcast live on the official Twitter account of the Court and AYAM’s website. The panel, requiring a pre-registration for the participants, ended with the Question & Answer and Discussion Session moderated by Prof. Dr. Feridun Yenisey.

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