A ‘Interpretation of the Constitution in the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms’ themed hybrid roundtable was held on 21-22 September 2022 under the EU-CoE Joint Project on ‘Supporting the Effective Implementation of Turkish Constitutional Court Judgments in the Field of Fundamental Rights’. The President, Vice President, and Members of the Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC), representatives from other high courts and members of the various judicial organs were present during the opening ceremony of the event.
In his opening remarks, the President of Turkish Constitutional Court, Mr Zühtü Arslan, emphasised the vital importance of the interpretation of the Constitution. Stating that the interpretation of the Constitution is a continuous task for all decision-makers in the protection of human rights, President Arslan underlined that every political, administrative or judicial decision is directly or indirectly based in some way on the interpretation of the Constitution and laws, and that these interpretations may sometimes concern competing rights, in which case the constitutional courts have the authority to determine the interpretation that ultimately prevails.
The event continued with the presentations of the delegations from the Constitutional Courts of 24 countries, delivered by lawyers of the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as rapporteur-judges from the TCC. Attended by close to 60 participants, composed of senior judges, legal experts, lawyers and constitutional scholars and researchers, roundtable meeting provided an occasion to exchange information on the approaches of various Constitutional Courts and of the ECtHR.
The two-day roundtable meeting witnessed a high level of interaction among participants, whom of which expressed their satisfaction of the event and underlined the valuable information exchanges and awareness raised for the further protection of human and fundamental rights.
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.
