The Constitutional Court of Türkiye hosted a symposium on "The Impact of the Ne Bis in Idem Principle in Different Jurisdictions" at its premises in Ankara on the occasion of its 64th anniversary. The event, hosted by the President of the Constitutional Court, was attended by the President of the Court of Cassation, the Chairman of the Constitutional Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, the judge of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Türkiye and the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Council of State.
The symposium started with opening remarks delivered by the Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, the Turkish judge to the European Court of Human Rights, and the President of the Constitutional Court. The President stated that the Constitutional Court, with sixty-four years of experience, has established a robust judicial dialogue between domestic and international human rights law, adding that its ongoing interaction with the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights elevates constitutional adjudication to a universal and comparative perspective. The symposium featured a thematic session focusing on "The Impact of the Ne Bis in Idem Principle in Different Jurisdictions". The session included presentations by senior members of the Court of Cassation and the Council of State, the Chief Rapporteur of the Constitutional Court, and a distinguished professor of law, followed by an interactive question and answer session open to all participants. The programme concluded with closing remarks delivered by the Vice President of the Constitutional Court.
The presentations and succeeding discussions examined the ne bis in idem principle from a comparative and multi-jurisdictional perspective, exploring its scope and application across criminal, administrative, and constitutional proceedings. Speakers addressed the interpretation of the principle under the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, its reflection in Turkish constitutional and statutory law, and the practical challenges arising from its implementation in different judicial forums. The session generated rich exchanges on the scope and limits of the ne bis in idem guarantee, the relation between national and international standards, and the role of the Constitutional Court in shaping the implementation.
The symposium reached a large audience of representatives of high courts, academia and practitioners and fostered dialogue among them. Such fora also reinforce the Constitutional Court’s enduring commitment to the protection of fundamental rights and its active engagement with European human rights standards.
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.
