Istanbul Medical Chamber (ITO) Honorary Board and ITO Board of Directors held a press conference regarding the new regulation expected after the Constitutional Court annulled Article 39 of the Turkish Medical Association Law No. 6023.
The meeting was attended by İTO Chairman Talat Kırış, Secretary Irmak Saraç, Board members Benan Koyuncu and Fikret Aydın, Honorary Board Member Nadir Arıcan and Dr. Ahmet Tellioğlu attended. At the meeting, Irmak Saraç, ITO Secretary General, read the press release on the subject.
"THERE HAS BEEN A LEGAL GAP SINCE JANUARY 29, 2026"
In the statement, it was stated that the Constitutional Court decided to annul Article 39 of the Turkish Medical Association Law No. 6023 on the grounds that disciplinary offenses and the penalties to be applied were not clear and predictable enough in the law, but postponed the decision to come into force for 9 months in order to make a new regulation. Since no new regulation was made in the 9-month period, the disciplinary authority that allows the Turkish Medical Association and medical chambers to protect the ethical rules of the medical profession and evaluate professional violations was lost on January 29, when the article was abolished. It was stated that it has been facing a legal gap since 2026.
In the statement, it was announced that 1655 files, covering approximately 2000 physicians, which came to the Medical Practices Bureau and whose investigation was completed, are waiting to be finalized in the Board of Directors, 554 files, covering a total of 860 physicians, in the Honor Board, and 60 files, covering a total of 73 physicians, in the High Honor Board. Among these files, applications from patients and patient relatives, files sent as a result of the Ministry of Health and SSI inspections, files related to medical malpractice, and public opinion. It was stated that there were also files related to the process known as the 'Newborn Scandal'.
It was also noted that there is a risk that some files may expire if the process is prolonged.
In the statement, it was stated that "The patient expects the incident he experienced to be examined and the responsibility, if any, to be revealed; and the physician against whom the allegation is made expects the process to be concluded fairly and in accordance with the law." It was emphasized that the situation caused grievances for both patients and physicians, and called on the Turkish Grand National Assembly to implement the new regulation as soon as possible.
The statement said:
"The issue is that the professional organization can work independently and effectively in its field. Autonomous, independent expertise-based professional mechanisms such as professional organizations are the guarantees of the public interest and the democratic legal order. The independence of the professional organization is the assurance of the physician, and the independence of the physician is the assurance of the patient.
The solution is clear. A new draft law has been prepared by the authorized boards of TTB in order to eliminate the legal gap. The draft was shared with the General Directorate of Legal Services of the Ministry of Health and an agreement was reached. It was conveyed to the group deputy chairmen of the political parties that have groups in the Turkish Grand National Assembly and attempts were made for the necessary legal regulation. Minister of Health Prof. Dr. "In the meeting with Kemal Memişoğlu, the issue was brought to the agenda and the legal gap was requested to be eliminated."
"WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS TO IMPLEMENT REGULATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES SET OUT BY THE Constitutional Court"
Despite all these initiatives, it is unacceptable that there are still legal obstacles to finalizing all these files. What needs to be done is to implement a new regulation without delay, in line with the principles of clarity, certainty and predictability set forth by the Constitutional Court.
As the Turkish Medical Association, we call on the Turkish Grand National Assembly to fulfill its responsibility. Legal regulations must be made without delay to ensure that TTB and medical chambers can fulfill their disciplinary duties in accordance with the law, that pending files are concluded, that patients and their relatives do not lose their rights, that physicians are not left in uncertainty, and that ethical violations are not left unsanctioned. For this reason, we expect the meeting appointment we requested from the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Numan Kurtulmuş, to be held without delay.
LEGAL VACUUM CAUSES SERIOUS VICTIMIZATIONS
İTO Chairman of the Board of Directors Talat Kırış also made a statement on the subject.
Stating that the draft law prepared by TTB was prepared by taking the opinions of lawyers, Kırış said:
"The reason for the annulment of the Constitutional Court was actually based on a justified reason. Because it said that the penalties to be imposed should be determined by the relationship between crime and punishment. In other words, he emphasized that this aspect is important and said, 'I am canceling this article and calling on the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to take action. Make a new regulation, taking into account these issues I have said," he said and gave a period of 9 months. During this 9-month period, of course, all our files were suspended, because the Constitutional Court annulled it. This 9-month period has passed. Almost a year has passed since then. passed and no law in this direction was passed in the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
This creates very serious grievances. On the one hand, the Provincial Health Directorate sends us files for evaluation almost every week. There are applications from citizens. On the one hand, doctors waiting to be acquitted are in trouble because things are not working out; On the one hand, citizens think there is a mistake and want it to be exposed. So there is a situation of files piling up. This has come to such a point that we don't know what to do.
The Turkish Medical Association prepared a draft law in consultation with lawyers on this issue. An agreement was reached on this by the relevant department of the Ministry of Health. Turkish Medical Association also met with the Minister of Health regarding this. It is expressed to the relevant MPs. This law was sent to the party group deputy chairmen."
"THERE IS ALSO A FILE ON THE NEWBORN GANG ISSUE; THERE ARE MANY ISSUE LIKE THIS"
"Therefore, we want this prepared bill to be put on the agenda of the Parliament and become law. In fact, it is a very simple task, but we cannot understand why it is delayed. This is really an urgent problem. For example, the 'Newborn Gang' issue was talked about a lot in the public. The file regarding it is also pending. There are many issues like this...
The passage of this law is important not only for us, but for the whole society. Because medical chambers monitor these problems all over the world. All of our honorary boards consist of people elected by physicians. Therefore, it is a truly independent supervisory authority. These decisions are also subject to judicial review. But the process has stopped, so it is not working. This process needs to work. That's why we attach great importance to it."
