President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Kadir Özkaya, received Mr. Jacques Mézard, Member of the Constitutional Council of France, who paid a working visit to Türkiye.

Among those who attended the meeting were Vice-Presidents Mr. Basri Bağcı and Mr. İrfan Fidan, Secretary General Mr. Murat Azaklı, Director of the Department of International Relations Mr. Korhan Pekcan, and Head of the External Relations Bureau of the French Constitutional Council Ms. Emilie Cazenave. During the meeting, discussions focused on individuals’ access to constitutional courts, the effective management of the increasing number of cases, the establishment and reinforcement of bilateral cooperation, the strengthening of dialogue between constitutional courts, and the effective protection of human rights.

Emphasising the significance of the visit, President Özkaya expressed his deep satisfaction. Providing comprehensive information on the structure, duties, powers, and working procedures of the Court, he also touched upon constitutional review mechanisms, as well as the functioning of the individual application system. He noted: “The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye is among the earliest-established constitutional courts in the world. Since its establishment in 1962, individuals had no direct access to the Court until the constitutional amendment of 2010. Whereas, indirect access was possible through the ‘contention of unconstitutionality’, known as the concrete constitutional review. However, the constitutional amendment of 2010 introduced a new and effective constitutional review mechanism within the domestic legal system to ensure the effective protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, and the individual application mechanism was put into effect on 23 September 2012. Within the scope of the authority granted by the Constitution, the Constitutional Court performs its duties in line with the principles of independence and impartiality. The individual application system, through which many significant judgments have been rendered, has made substantial contributions to the harmonised development of the legal system.”

Highlighting the importance of dialogue and exchange of experience among constitutional courts for the effective protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, President Özkaya underlined the necessity of strengthening cooperation between judicial bodies at both national and international levels.

Mr. Jacques Mézard also stressed the importance of the visit and expressed their wish to maintain regular mutual visits to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience between the two courts. He stated: “While our working methods may differ, both Courts are united by the shared objective of protecting human rights.”

The meeting, which addressed best practices in the field of constitutional justice, also concluded with a mutual understanding to further develop and maintain bilateral cooperation in this area.