What Is An Individual Application To The Constitutional Court?

An individual application to the Constitutional Court is a judicial proceeding which is applied in case of violation of any of the fundamental rights and freedoms defined in the Constitution and also contained in the additional protocols with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

In order to make an individual application to the Constitutional Court, the rights and freedoms alleged to have been violated must be protected both in the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey and in the European Convention on Human Rights and additional protocols. For example, the Prohibition of ill-treatment and torture is protected both in the Constitution and in the ECHR, and in case of violation of this right, individual recourse can be used. However, although the right to Social Security is protected under the Constitution, it is not a right that is protected under the ECHR, so individual applications cannot be made to the Constitutional Court in case of violation of the right.

Arrest is the measure that is the subject of the most individual application for violation of the right to freedom and security of the person. Individual application, Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Civil Law, etc. it is a judicial way that can be applied for any victimization resulting from the violation of a right that is experienced and protected in numerous areas of law.

Individual Application Legislation To The Constitutional Court

The right of individual application to the Constitutional Court was entered into the legal system by the Law No. 5982 dated 12/09/2010, with amendments to articles 148 and 149 of the 1982 constitution.

The right of individual application is the 45th anniversary of the Law No. 6216 on the Judicial Procedures of the Constitutional Court. Article 51. the clauses are arranged between. 76 of the same law. it is stated in the article that the regulation concerning the right of individual application will come into force on 23/09/2012.

Provisions relating to the procedure of individual application to the Constitutional Court, Constitutional Court internal statutes 59 to 84. among the items are arranged in detail.

Who can apply to the Constitutional Court?

Anyone whose rights have been violated under the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the additional protocols to which Turkey is a party may make an individual application to the Constitutional Court.

Private law legal entities (associations, foundations, companies, etc.) only the legal entity can apply for the claim that the rights are violated.

Public legal entities cannot make individual applications to the Constitutional Court (AYM).

The requirement that the individual application to the Constitutional Court and the usual judicial routes be exhausted

Individuals whose rights have been violated may apply individually to the Constitutional Court after they have exhausted all administrative and judicial avenues. No individual application shall be made against legislative proceedings, regulatory administrative proceedings, decisions of the Constitutional Court and transactions which the Constitution excludes from judicial control.

The requirement that judicial avenues be exhausted means that ordinary avenues of law be exhausted. The ordinary course of law shall be deemed to have been exhausted from the date of the notification or tefhimi of the decisions of the Local Court. The Constitutional Court wants the most effective way of law to be exhausted from the usual way of law if there are more than one judicial way because of the same incident.

What Is The Individual Application Period To The Constitutional Court?

The individual application period to the Constitutional Court is 30 days from the expiration of the last ordinary course of law. The individual application form and attached documents must be sent to the Constitutional Court within 30 days after all the usual judicial avenues have been exhausted. In order not to miss the application period, it is sufficient for the application form to be submitted to the court or to the foreign representative office within 30 days to be sent to the Constitutional Court. The application period to the Constitutional Court is calculated by taking into account the day on which the application form and its annexes are submitted.

The beginning of the individual application period of 30 days is the date on which the judicial procedures have been exhausted or the decision has been communicated to the applicant. In cases such as force majeure or severe illness, the applicant must make the application within 15 days from the date of removal of the excuse. In criminal cases, individual application time is often missed because the decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals for approval are not communicated to the interested parties. In a decision of the Constitutional Court (decision of Yavuz ÖZGENÇ dated 29/9/2016 and application number 2014/5006); The Court of Cassation has decided that for those whose decisions have not been communicated to them, the court of Cassation must learn within three months at the latest from the date of receipt of the notice to the court, and that a period of 30 days shall begin for individual applications to the Constitutional Court at the end of three months.

How To Make An Individual Application To The Constitutional Court

In order to make an individual application to the Constitutional Court (AYM), the individual application form of the Constitutional Court must be duly filled out. This form should be filled out as follows::

First of all, personal information should be written correctly and clearly in the relevant places.
Then the event subject to the individual application and the history of the entire judicial process should be summarized in accordance with the order.
The documents and decisions to be added to the application form must be added by giving a number.
A copy of the applicant’s identity card must be included in the application. Applications for which no copy of the birth certificate has been sent are rejected for this reason (photocopied documents and decisions must be approved for authenticity).
The application form should state what rights have been violated in the Constitution and in the European Convention on Human Rights because of the incident and judicial process referred to in the individual application.
The Constitutional Court (AYM) finds that, in case of good disclosure of the incident and the victimization that has been violated, the applicant is not bound by the article of the Constitution and the article of the contract stated, which article of the Constitution or the article of the contract has been violated in relation to the incident.

In the conclusion section of the individual application form, a retrial or compensation for material and moral damages must be requested in order to determine the alleged violations and to remedy the damage caused by the violation, and the amount of compensation must be stated. In the case of individual applications to the Constitutional Court, contrary to the applications made to the ECHR, the amount of compensation must be determined and requested in the application form in the first place. Otherwise, the court will not rule on compensation even if it decides to infringe.
The individual application form and the accompanying documents can be submitted to the Constitutional Court directly and physically, sent through the Sentry courts in any court or made through their foreign representative offices. The same ways should be used for correspondence after submitting the application form and attached documents. If the application is sent by mail or other means, it is not accepted.

Those who are in prison can apply through the prison administration after filling out the forms they want from the prison administration. In a decision of the Constitutional Court (Ramadan VURAL application dated 7/7/2015 and numbered 2013/1148), the individual application made in prisons accepted the requests for Legal Aid, assuming that the applicant’s financial status was not sufficient due to his or her being in prison.

How Much Is The Cost Of An Individual Application To The Constitutional Court?

The individual application to the Constitutional Court is subject to fees. The amount of fees varies with the law of fees each year. The Individual Application Fee for 2016 is 239.50 –TL. If the Application Fee is paid and the application is made through a lawyer, a copy of the power of attorney (power of attorney fee and bar stamp must be affixed) should be sent.