President of the Turkish Constitutional Court, Mr. Zühtü Arslan, was awarded the title of “Honorary Professor” by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, one of the well-established universities of Kazakhstan.

President Arslan and the accompanying delegation, paying a visit to Kazakhstan, attended the International Conference on “30 Years of Independence of Kazakhstan - The Legal Model of Nursultan Nazarbayev as the Basis of Political Stability and Economic Prosperity” held at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty on 19 November 2021.

President Arslan, in his speech at the Conference, expressing their gratitude and happiness for being in Almaty, stated “This is a very special moment for me and my esteemed colleagues. Taking this opportunity, on the 30^th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence, we wish the Kazakh people and state further 30 years of independence. As long as the world exists, may the Kazakh state and nation continue to survive.”

Mentioning the fact that a historical development was achieved for the Turkic world in İstanbul on 12 November, President Arslan noted “The name of the Turkic Council was changed to the Organisation of Turkic States with a new structure. With the establishment of this Organisation, the fellowship among the countries of the Turkic world will be much stronger.”

Stating that Al-Farabi, one of the outstanding figures of the Turkic world, set forth the basic principles of the ideal society and state, President Arslan added “According to Al-Farabi, the aim of the ideal state is to achieve happiness. The ideal society and state strive to achieve happiness. However, the happiness he refers to is not simply hedonism. In today’s terminology, this happiness is the prosperity in the world and the hereafter. Al-Farabi says that this happiness can only be achieved through the solidarity and cooperation between the individuals constituting the cities and the state. Accordingly, the basic concept in Al-Farabi's political theory is the solidarity, collaboration and cooperation he refers to.”

Pointing to the fact that the basic principle in Al-Farabi’s virtuous state was justice, President Arslan noted “A virtuous society can only exist where justice is secured. However, we all know that the society we live in is not the ideal society Al-Farabi longed for. There have been mistakes, failures and irregularities. However, in my opinion, law and justice are the solution for all these. Political stability and economic prosperity depend on the achievement of the rule of law.”

At the ceremony held after the Conference, Rector Canseyit Tüymebayev presented President Arslan with the title of “Honorary Professor” of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

President Arslan Addressed University Students in Turkistan

Zühtü Arslan, President of the Turkish Constitutional Court, addressing the students of Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University in Turkistan, stated “Indeed, the basic principles of justice and the way how it will be put into practice have been magnificently demonstrated in the roots of our civilisation. Therefore, there are plenty of messages we will give to the world by getting inspired by Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and Anatolian scholars.”

President Arslan, accompanied by Vice-President Mr. Kadir Özkaya, Justice Mr. İrfan Fidan and Private Secretary to the President Mr. Orhan Yalınız during his visit to Kazakhstan, went to Turkistan, the spiritual capital of the Turkic world, on 20 November 2021, and paid a visit to Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University and subsequently to the Turkic Museum.

President Arslan then gave a lecture to the university students, titled "Constitutional Justice". During the lecture, he expressed that Constitutional justice was adopted worldwide, with some exceptions, stating “Constitutional justice has emerged as an institution that, on one hand, serves to protect fundamental rights and freedoms by supervising and limiting the political power, and endeavours to ensure social diversity, which is the main issue, on the other.”

President Arslan pointing out that problems continued to exist, even in different forms, throughout the history of humanity, attracted attention to the ever-increasing spread of troubles such as xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia in the western world. He added “This matter results from the West’s inability to establish and maintain a sound relationship with the other. The matter we discuss in the specific context of refugees is the act of refusing to embrace the others.” 

Emphasising that the hikmets (mysteries) of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi should be a solution to such desperations of the modern era, President Arslan referred to the hikmet “Abstain from breaking any person’s heart even those of the unbelievers because this will offend and displease the God”. He further pointed out that human was the value forming the basis of Yasawi’s teaching and explained that the architects of the Anatolian culture who ensured the maintenance of the mission adopted by Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Anatolia, namely Yunus Emre, Mewlana and Hadji Bektash Veli, conveyed this human-oriented message to the whole world, citing these poets’ expressions concerning love and tolerance. 

President Arslan, making a definition of justice, referred to Mewlana’s saying “Justice is to give due to what one deserves. Treat them in the way they deserve. Justice is to water the rose. But when you water thorn in the same way, this amounts to injustice and tyranny.” He accordingly noted that treating someone in the way he deserves is the basic principle of justice.

Noting that some of the political theorists of the West set the basic principles and procedures of justice through certain elegant expressions, President Arslan stated “Indeed, the basic principles of justice and the way how it will be put into practice have been magnificently demonstrated in the roots of our civilisation. Therefore, there are plenty of messages we will give to the world by getting inspired by Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and Anatolian scholars. However, there is a crucial condition to be fulfilled first: To put this notion into practice. As I always express, justice is not a matter of discourse but of action.”

President Arslan further mentioned the 60-year history of the constitutional justice in Turkey as well as the structure and experiences of the Constitutional Court and pointed to the significant function undertaken by the Turkish Constitutional Court. He highlighted that apart from being empowered to make the constitutionality review of laws and Presidential Decrees and to annul those which are found unconstitutional, the Turkish Constitutional Court also dealt with and adjudicated individual applications so as to protect fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals. Pointing to the Turkish Constitutional Court’s success in operating the individual application mechanism for 9 years, President Arslan also stressed that individual application mechanism was a significant acquisition for the establishment of a sound relationship with the other as well as for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms through the supervision of political power.

President Arslan, stating that Abay Ibrahim Kunanbay-ulï, a great Kazakh thinker and poet, shed light on our world today through his works in pursuit of Ahmed Yasawi, mentioned the argument between “will, reason and heart” in Abay’s word seventeen, which also had a great impression on him, as well as the dialogue among these three values under the arbitration of knowledge.

Following the Conference, President Arslan and the accompanying delegation attended the planting ceremony together with the university authorities at the campus and subsequently visited the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, symbol of Turkistan.