THE IMPARTIALITY, INDEPENDENCE, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT IN SENSITIVE APPLICATIONS

The right to a fair trial, stipulated in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), is a fundamental principle that guarantees that individuals have their cases heard fairly before an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. This principle requires not only that justice be actually served but also that it be visible to the public, as public trust in the judiciary depends on this visibility. Article 13 of the ECHR, on the other hand, grants individuals the right to an effective remedy before a national authority in the event of violations of the rights and freedoms recognized in the Convention. The Constitutional Court (AYM) plays a key role in protecting fundamental rights and freedoms in Türkiye and is considered an important domestic remedy for redressing violations of these rights through the individual application mechanism. However, in the period following July 15, 2016, particularly in cases related to the Gülen movement, serious criticism has emerged that the AYM is not only failing to function as an impartial and independent court, but that individual application has ceased to be an effective legal remedy. The political ties of the majority of the Constitutional Court members to the government, their prejudiced attitudes towards the Gülen movement, their accusatory rhetoric, and their direct actions such as profiling cast doubt on the objective impartiality and independence of the court and threaten the principle of a fair trial.

Furthermore, the Constitutional Court’s justification for unlawful practices in these cases, its deliberate delays in filing applications, and its failure to address systemic problems identified by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in its decisions such as Yalçınkaya v. Turkey, undermine the effectiveness of individual application. This study provides a detailed analysis of the Constitutional Court’s lack of impartiality and independence through the specific actions, statements, and past activities and duties of its members. It also assesses why individual application to the Constitutional Court has ceased to be an effective legal remedy in light of ECtHR precedents and judicial practice in Türkiye. The Constitutional Court’s current structure and practices seriously undermine both the visibility of justice and the protection of individuals’ fundamental rights, compelling the ECtHR to reassess its effectiveness.