Symposium on the “Right to Respect for Private Life within the scope of Professional Life”

The Constitutional Court organised a symposium on the “Right to Respect for Private Life within the scope of Professional Life”.

Among those who attended the symposium were President of the Constitutional Court Mr. Zühtü Arslan, President of the Court of Cassation Mr. Mehmet Akarca, President of the Council of State Mr. Zeki Yiğit, Minister of Justice Mr. Abdülhamit Gül, justices of the Constitutional Court, officials from higher judicial bodies, academics and jurists.  

The programme started with a moment of silence and the National Anthem. Following the presentation of the introductory film of the Constitutional Court, President Arslan delivered his opening speech.

President Arslan, underlying during his speech that the maxim to be followed by judicial members liable to administer law and to secure justice, notably the judges, should be mind, morals and justice, stated that those who could not dare to use their own minds were doomed to be under tutelage, and the judicial mind under tutelage could not secure justice. Pointing to the coup attempt of 15 July as the de facto example of this fact, President Arslan noted that one of the most significant lessons that should be taken from this malicious coup attempt, the 5^th anniversary of which would be two weeks later, was to secure judicial independence and impartiality, as well as to ensure judicial members to decide by merely being bound by law.

He further emphasised that the exclusive venue of justice in a state of law was courts and accordingly pointed to the necessity that courts would operate in accordance with the independent and impartial trial principles. 

Continuing his speech, President Arslan dwelled on the right to respect for private life that is the topic of the Symposium and referred to the Court’s important judgments in this regard. He indicated that it was primarily incumbent upon the judiciary to put in place the principles of freedom as well as the Constitution.

After President Arslan’s speech, the first session of the Symposium commenced. In the session themed “Right to Respect for Private Life within the scope of the Professional Relations under Private Law” chaired by Prof. Dr. M. Fatih Uşan, Founding Dean of Faculty of Law of the Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University; Dr. Seracettin Göktaş, Head of the 9^th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, Dr. Gülay Arslan Öncü, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the Istanbul University, and Dr. Hilal Yazıcı, Rapporteur of the Constitutional Court made presentations.

In the second session of the Symposium, themed “Right to Respect for Private Life within the scope of Public Officials’ Professional Lives” chaired by Prof. Dr. Ece Göztepe Çelebi, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Bilkent University; Mr. Fethi Aslan, Head of the 5^th Chamber of the Council of State, Prof. Dr. Ali Dursun Ulusoy, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the Ankara University, and Mr. Fatih Alkan, Coordinator Rapporteur of the Constitutional Court made presentations.

The Symposium ended following the question & answer session and President Arslan’s giving plaques to the chairpersons of the sessions as well as to the participants who made presentations.

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