What is an Individual Application to the Constitutional Court?
An individual application to the Constitutional Court is a judicial October that is applied in case of violation of any of the fundamental rights and freedoms defined in the constitution and also contained in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and additional protocols.
In order to October an individual application to the Constitutional Court (AYM), the rights and freedoms that are allegedly 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 an individual remedy may be used in case of violation of this right. However, although the right to social security is protected in the Constitution, it is not a right that is protected under the ECHR, so an individual application to the Constitutional Court cannot be made in case of a violation of the right.
Arrest is the measure that is most often the subject of an 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 every victimization that results from a violation of a protected right experienced in numerous legal fields such as.
Legislation on Individual Application to the Constitutional Court
The right of individual application to the Constitutional Court entered the legal system with the amendments made to Articles 148 and 149 of the 1982 Constitution by law No. 5982 of 12/09/2010.
The right of individual application is established by Article 45 of the Law No. 6216 on the Judicial Procedures of the Constitutional Court. 3 to 51. it is Deciphered among its substances. 76 of the same law. in its article; it is stated that the regulation on the right of individual application will enter into force on 23/09/2012.
Provisions on the procedure for individual application to the Constitutional Court, Internal Regulation of the Constitutional Court 59 to 84. it is Deciphered in detail among its clauses.
Who Can Apply to the Constitutional Court (AYM)?
Anyone whose rights are violated, which are guaranteed in the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the October protocols to which Turkey is a party, can apply to the Constitutional Court (AYM) individually.
Private legal entities (associations, foundations, companies, etc.) however, he/she may file an application with the claim that the rights of a legal entity have been violated.
Public legal entities cannot make individual applications to the Constitutional Court (AYM).
The Requirement to Exhaust the Individual Application Path to the Constitutional Court and the Usual Judicial Paths
Persons whose rights have been violated can make an individual application to the Constitutional Court after they have exhausted all their administrative and judicial means. Individual applications cannot be made against legislative transactions, regulatory administrative transactions, decisions of the Constitutional Court and transactions that the Constitution excludes from judicial control.
The requirement to consume judicial means implies the consumption of ordinary legal means. From the date of interpretation or notification of strictly issued local court decisions, the usual legal remedies are considered to have been exhausted. If more than one judicial path is available due to the same incident, the constitutional court requests that the most effective legal path be exhausted from the usual legal paths.
What is the Period of Individual Application to the Constitutional Court?
The period of individual application to the Constitutional Court is 30 days from the date of exhaustion of the last ordinary course of law. An individual application form and attached documents must be sent to the Constitutional Court within 30 days after all the usual judicial means have been exhausted. In order not to miss the application deadline, it is sufficient to submit the application form to the court item or foreign representative offices within 30 days for submission to the Constitutional Court. The October of application to the Constitutional Court is calculated taking into account the day of submission of the application form and its annexes.
the beginning of the 30-day individual application period is the date on which it is learned that the judicial means have been exhausted or the decision has been notified to the applicant. In cases such as force majeure or severe illness, the applicant must submit the application within 15 days from the date of receipt of the excuse. In criminal cases, the individual application period is often missed because the decisions of the Supreme Court of Approval have not been communicated to the relevant parties. In a decision of the Constitutional Court (Decision of Yavuz ÖZGENÇ dated 29/9/2016 and application number 2014/5006); The Supreme Court has decided that for persons whose decisions have not been communicated to them, the Supreme Court should find out no later than three months from the date of receipt of the decision of the court, and at the end of three months, a 30-day period will begin for making an individual application to the Constitutional Court.
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 that is the subject of an individual application and the entire judicial process should be summarized in a way that corresponds to the historical order.
Documents and decisions to be added to the application form must be added by providing a number.
A photocopy of the applicant’s identity card must be attached to the application. Applications for which a photocopy of the identity card has not been sent are rejected for this reason only (the authenticity of the photocopied documents and decisions must be confirmed).
In the application form, it should be indicated which rights regulated in the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights have been violated due to the incident and the judicial process that was the subject of an individual application.
The Constitutional Court (AYM) officially determines which article of the Constitution or which article of the convention has been violated in relation to the incident, if the incident stated to have been violated and the victimization experienced are well explained, that they are not related to the article of the constitution and the article of the convention specified by the applicant.
In the conclusion section of the individual application form; In order to identify the alleged violations and to remedy the damage caused by the violation, a retrial or compensation for the material and moral damage suffered should be requested, and the amount of compensation should be specified. In Individual Applications to the Constitutional Court, the amount of compensation must be requested by determining the amount of compensation in the application form at the very beginning, in contrast to the applications made to the ECHR. Otherwise, the Court will not award compensation even if it decides to violate it.
The individual application form and October accompanying documents can be submitted to the Constitutional Court directly and the file can be delivered physically, sent via the courts on duty at any Courthouse, or made through their foreign representation. The same methods should be used for correspondence that will be made after sending the application form and attached documents. It is not accepted if the application is sent by a way other than these or by mail.
Those who are in prison can apply through the prison administration after filling out the forms they will request from the prison administration. In a decision of the Constitutional Court (Ramazan VURAL Application dated 7/7/2015 and numbered 2013/1148); in an individual application filed in prisons, the applicant accepted requests for legal assistance, assuming that his financial situation was not sufficient due to the fact that he was in prison.
How Much Does it Cost to Apply to the Constitutional Court Individually?
Individual application to the Constitutional Court is subject to payment. The amount of fees varies with the fees law every year. the individual application fee for 2016 is 239.50 –TL. A sample power of attorney (power of attorney fee and bar stamp should be affixed) should be sent if the document and application stating that the Application Fee has been deposited are made through a lawyer.
