19 October 2020
Diminishing Authority
The Turkish Constitutional Court ruled on 17 September 2020 that the right to be elected and right to personal liberty of Enis Berberoğlu, an opposition MP, have been violated. As a remedy to this violation, the TCC ordered the Istanbul 14th Criminal Court of First Instance to start a re-trial in order to eliminate the consequences of these violations. Yet, the Court of First Instance did not implement this decision. The unfolding of these events creates political and legal controversy and harms the – already vulnerable – credibility and legitimacy of the TCC. Continue reading >>
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04 May 2019
Independent Journalism v. Political Courts: The Cumhuriyet Trial in Turkey and Strasbourg
Shortly after Turkey’s ruling AK party lost control of metropolitan cities in the local elections of April 2019, a crucial verdict of the regional appellate court in a major case of journalism was brought forth in the national judicial network system. This case is known as the Cumhuriyet trial. Through silence, delay, or selective responsiveness, not only the Turkish Constitutional Court but also the European Court of Human Rights are playing their part in the ongoing demise of Turkey’s freedom of the press. Continue reading >>02 July 2018
The AG Opinion in the Celmer Case: Why Lack of Judicial Independence Should Have Been Framed as a Rule of Law Issue
On 28 June 2018, Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev delivered his Opinion in the Case C‑216/18 PPU Minister for Justice and Equality v LM on the surrender of a crime suspect to Poland. The issue is whether Mr. Artur Celmer, referred to by the Opinion as LM, should be surrendered from Ireland to Poland when there are serious doubts as to whether he would receive a fair trial, due to the alleged lack of independence of the judiciary resulting from recent changes to the Polish judicial system. Continue reading >>13 September 2016
Straßburg lockert Fair-Trial-Gebot bei Terrorverdächtigen
Die Polizei kann Terrorverdächtige im Einzelfall auch ohne anwaltlichen Beistand verhören, ohne dass die dabei gewonnenen Aussagen im Strafprozess unverwertbar werden. Hauptsache, so der EGMR, dem Gebot des fairen Prozesses sei in einer holistischen Gesamtschau genüge getan. Continue reading >>29 March 2016