The European Union-Council of Europe Joint Project on “Supporting the Effective Implementation of Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC) Judgments in the Field of Fundamental Rights” organised a study visit to Strasbourg on 16-17 October 2023, involving a total of 25 participants: 17 TCC rapporteurs and 8 administrative staff members.
The visit kicked off with a welcoming speech by Ms Könül Gasimova, Head of the Türkiye Unit at the Council of Europe, followed by a meeting with Ms Saadet Yüksel, Turkish Judge to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Ms Yüksel acknowledged that the relations between the TCC and the ECtHR are crucial for the effective implementation of the judgments of both courts and emphasised the highly positive impact of the Project in this regard. She also pointed out that the placements of the lawyers of the TCC in the ECtHR under the Project were particularly useful and encouraged the participants to be involved more in this exchange of information, experience and know-how between the two courts.
The programme continued with discussions on the "Execution of the Judgments of the ECtHR" and the "Current Developments in the Case law of the ECtHR”. The day concluded with a presentation of the Jurisconsult Directorate, its role and technics of researches on comparative law.
On the second day, the participants had the opportunity to discuss gender equality dimension in the decisions of the ECtHR. This session was followed by a presentation of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on how CPT standards become an important tool for examination of the cases by the ECtHR. After the presentation on “The Mandate and Impact of the Venice Commission Work Towards the Member States”, with a particular emphasis on the work concerning Türkiye, Ms Gasimova, Head of Türkiye Unit delivered concluding remarks and closed the programme.
The TCC delegation found the visit highly valuable and productive and considered it as an opportunity to identify areas of interest that can be addressed within the scope of the Project.
The Joint Project on “Supporting the Effective Implementation of Turkish Constitutional Court Judgments in the Field of Fundamental Rights” is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Turkish Constitutional Court is the end beneficiary of the Project.
