On the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the individual application to the Constitutional Court (AYM), a symposium titled "The Effect of the Norm Supervision Decisions of the Turkish Constitutional Court on Individual Application" was held.
In his opening speech of the symposium in the Supreme Court Hall, Constitutional Court President Kadir Özkaya explained the point that individual application has reached in 14 years and its connection with norm control.
Özkaya noted that a total of 756 thousand 726 individual applications have been made to the Supreme Court since September 23, 2012, when the individual application started, and that 648 thousand 410 of them have been concluded and approximately 85.7 percent of the applications have been decided.
"99.9 PERCENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT'S VIOLATION DECISIONS WERE IMPLEMENTED"
Stating that the work continues with the same determination in 2026, Özkaya said:
"As of today, approximately 40 thousand 769 individual applications have been made to our Court, and approximately 30 thousand applications have been concluded. The approach taken by our institutions in fulfilling the requirements of the violation decisions given by the Constitutional Court has made a significant contribution to the rooting of individual applications in our legal system. Our Court also closely monitors whether the violation decisions it has given are fulfilled.
According to our court's statistics, 99.9 percent of the 86 thousand 849 violation decisions given since 2013 have been implemented. The problems experienced in implementation were limited to a very limited number of concrete cases and some technical issues. This high application rate is extremely meaningful in terms of the fourteen years of experience of individual application. Because the real impact of individual applications emerges when the violation decisions are implemented. "Eliminating the violation and its consequences, as well as detecting a violation, is an indispensable element of the effective protection of fundamental rights."
"IN A PLACE WHERE JUSTICE IS WEAK, NEITHER THE STATE NOR SOCIAL PEACE CAN BE MENTIONED"
Addressing the judges and prosecutors in his speech, Özkaya emphasized that all of his words were valid for him as well and used the following expressions:
"Dear judge and prosecutor brothers, our Almighty God orders us to do justice and fairness. Our constitution and laws order us to do justice. So, what is justice? Justice means putting everything in its proper place, giving its due to those who deserve it. It is the backbone of the human spirit and the mortar of the state.
Throughout history, the highest ideal has always been justice, both in books and teachings based on revelation and in legal systems that are the product of reason. In a place where justice is weakened, neither the state nor social peace can be mentioned. Because the only basis of trust, prosperity and inner peace is justice. Justice is also the conscience of society. When that conscience is damaged, social ties also dissolve.
For this reason, as judges and prosecutors, we must always treat everyone fairly in every matter. When we rule between people, we have to rule with justice. We must always be people who stand for the truth and uphold the truth. We have to judge with justice. We have to be fair within the framework of fairness.
We have to be an example of justice. In this context, let's not forget that all people are equal in the face of justice, regardless of their faith or nationality. For this reason, we should not move away from justice by following our own desires. Also, let's not forget that God and the people love those who are just. It protects them and elevates their dignity.”
"THE robes have no buttons or pockets"
"Dear judge and prosecutor brothers, another thing we should not forget is that the robes of judges and prosecutors do not have buttons or pockets. We all have to always act with the understanding of what this means.
Dear judge and prosecutor brothers, "Do not stare at a mountain that you cannot climb, do not destroy a heart that you cannot build, do not ruin it, you are the referee, the decision is yours, God has given it to you, do not waste it with the wrong decision."
