Constitution and EHRC Application
Introduction
Our office, together with its expert legal staff, provides consultancy services to its clients both in the individual application process to the Constitutional Court and in the application process to the European Court of Human Rights after all appropriate domestic remedies have been exhausted, and represents their clients in these processes as required.
Individual Application to the Constitutional Court
In order to properly implement the European Convention on Human Rights and accordingly to reduce the number of applications made to the European Court of Human Rights against our country, individual application is envisaged as the highest domestic remedy to be exhausted.
Individual application is defined as a remedy that everyone can apply to claim that any of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, within the scope of the European Convention on Human Rights and additional protocols to which Turkey is a party, are violated by the public force.
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After the individual application to the Constitutional Court is examined in terms of admissibility, it is examined in terms of merits and a decision is made by the court after an evaluation on whether there is a violation or not. If the claims that are the subject of the application are seen on the spot by the court and it is determined that a violation of right has occurred, the court decides what needs to be done to eliminate the violation. In this case, in accordance with the nature of the right violation, compensation may be awarded or a retrial may be decided. Except for the decisions regarding the administrative rejection of the individual application, the decisions of the Constitutional Court regarding the admissibility and merits are final.
Individual Application to the European Court of Human Rights
If the individual application to the Constitutional Court does not yield a positive result and the decision rendered is not satisfactory, it is possible to apply to the European Court of Human Rights. In this case, an application can be made to the European Court of Human Rights within 6 months following the final decision regarding the exhaustion of appropriate domestic remedies, providing the necessary application conditions. Decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights are final.
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The European Court of Human Rights will examine the application conditions at the admissibility stage and will decide whether the application will be examined on the merits. Although there is no obligation to be represented by a lawyer during the application process, if the application does not meet the necessary form requirements by making incomplete procedural actions during the admissibility stage, or if the deficiencies determined in the main stage are not completed within the definite deadlines, the application is decided to be rejected. As a matter of fact, due to the international nature of the cases heard by the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights requests that the application be conducted through a lawyer after the admissibility decision is given.