ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT OF UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR’S THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION IN YASAK V. TÜRKİYE

The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur, established pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution 40/16, serves as an independent expert mandated to promote the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. Within this framework, Professor Ben Saul monitors the compliance of national counter-terrorism practices with the principles of international human rights law, particularly addressing issues such as the prohibition of retroactive application of criminal penalties.

In this context, the Special Rapporteur submitted a third-party intervention in the case of Yasak v. Türkiye (no. 17389/20). This submission was prompted by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) raising concerns as to whether the applicant’s conviction for membership in an armed terrorist organisation complied with the requirement of “foreseeability” under Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The Special Rapporteur’s intervention aimed to provide the Court with an international legal perspective by analysing the human rights implications of vague definitions of terrorism offences and the retroactive application of criminal law (Special Rapporteur’s Opinion, p. 6). The Opinion is structured around six main themes, examining its consistency with the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and offering reflections relevant to the Yasak v. Türkiye case, which is scheduled to be heard before the Grand Chamber on 7 May 2025.