™s Constitutional Court

The family of a young Istanbul architect who committed suicide in 2010 after being subjected to police torture has submitted an individual complaint to Turkey’s Constitutional Court, after the Council of State approved a decision that rejected the relatives’ appeal regarding “insufficient punishment for police officers.”

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was not efficiently probed and the rights of his family were therefore violated.

An independent judicial power is needed to control those use public opportunities as a “tool of hatred,” Turkish Constitutional Court head Haşim Kılıç said, during a speech at a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) panel in Strasbourg.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court halted July 5 a legal amendment that exempted companies from preparing an environmental impact assessment report (ÇED) on dozens of gigantic projects that have drawn controversy for their potential damage to nature.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has rejected Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım’s individual appeal on a “rights violation.” The decision was released in the Official Gazette July 2, making the ruling official.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled the rights of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), were violated when his books were seized and their publishing prohibited.

The prevention of a headscarf-wearing female lawyer from representing her client at a local court in Ankara violated her rights, Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled.

Banning access to YouTube constitutes a “heavy intervention into the freedom of expression of all users,” Turkey’s Constitutional Court has said in its detailed ruling, while underlining that social media is a transparent platform enabling communication.

Some 17,000 people representing a wide variety of backgrounds have filed individual appeals to the top court of Turkey since individual access to the top court became effective as of Sept. 24, 2012.