The questions below offer a general framework on the conditions for an individual application, the application period and the right to a fair trial. In a specific case, time limits, documents and the regulations in force are assessed separately.
Showing 1–6 of 6 questions
Must all legal remedies be exhausted before an individual application to the Constitutional Court?
As a rule, ordinary effective remedies must be exhausted; exceptions are examined on the basis of the specific right and act.
Whether the alleged violation was raised in substance before the lower courts, the date on which the final decision was learned and the Constitutional Court’s admissibility criteria are important. An individual application is not a repetition of the ordinary appeal process.
How many days is the individual application period to the Constitutional Court (AYM)?
As a rule, it is thirty days from learning of the final decision.
The exhaustion of remedies, the date of notification or of learning, and the conditions of a claim of valid excuse are examined separately. In special situations such as the execution of a sentence and notifications served in prisons, actual knowledge may become important.
Does the Constitutional Court (AYM) overturn every court decision that is contrary to law?
No; the subject of an individual application is a violation of a fundamental constitutional right.
Not ordinary differences in the assessment of evidence but constitutional criteria such as the right to a reasoned decision, equality of arms, access to court or arbitrariness are assessed. A retrial or a decision on compensation may be ordered to redress the violation and its consequences.
Does a conviction without taking the defendant’s statement affect the right to a fair trial?
Depending on whether the opportunity for defense was actually provided, a serious problem of rights violation may arise.
The manner in which the defendant was summoned, the conditions for trial in absentia, the assistance of defense counsel and the court’s efforts to hear the defense are examined. What must be made concrete is not every procedural deficiency but the real effect on the proceedings as a whole.
How long is the time limit for an individual application to the ECtHR?
As a rule, four months from the final decision in the domestic remedies.
Under Article 35 of the European Convention on Human Rights, an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) must be made within a four-month period following the final decision in the effective domestic remedies that must be exhausted. The start of the period is assessed according to the nature of the decision, the applicant's or their representative's learning of the decision/notification, and the specific remedy concerned. The formal requirements of the application and the Rules of Court must also be fully complied with.
Must domestic remedies be exhausted before applying to the ECtHR?
As a rule, yes; the applicant must exhaust the effective and accessible domestic remedies and raise the alleged Convention violation in substance before the national authorities.
The ECtHR is a subsidiary supervisory mechanism. For this reason, the exhaustion of effective domestic remedies is among the basic admissibility conditions. With respect to Türkiye, depending on the specific rights violation, an individual application to the Constitutional Court may also be a remedy that must be exhausted. The exceptions concerning ineffective or inaccessible remedies are assessed on a case-by-case basis according to the case-law of the ECtHR.