Legislation

Internal Regulations of the Court

Based on the Law dated 7 November 1982 and numbered 2709, and the Code dated 30 March 2011 and numbered 6216

Published in the Official Gazette dated 12 July 2012 and numbered 28351

PART ONE

General Provisions

CHAPTER ONE

Purpose, Scope and Definitions

Purpose and scope

ARTICLE 1- This Internal Regulations shall regulate the internal order of the Constitutional Court (“the Court”), its functioning and organisation, the composition of the Sections and Commissions, working and trial procedures and principles of the Court, record-keeping, the flow order and archiving of the documents including electronic media, the library of the Court, its Secretariat General and administrative organisation, the duties and responsibilities of the administrative staff, the keeping of the personal files of the President, Vice-Presidents, justices, rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges, their disciplinary affairs, leaves, the robes they shall wear as well as the times and places where these shall be worn, and the principles of conduct and registry of deliberations and hearings.

Legal grounds

ARTICLE 2- This Internal Regulations has been prepared in accordance with Article 149 of the Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye dated 7 November 1982 and numbered 2709, and Article 5 of the Code on Establishment and Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court dated 30 March 2011 and numbered 6216.

Definitions

ARTICLE 3- In the implementation of this Internal Regulations, the following definitions shall apply:

a) Research and Case-Law Unit (Re-CL): The unit assigned to carry out activities in order to develop and promote the Court’s case-law in pursuance of the decisions/judgments rendered by the Court, to make recommendations to prevent discrepancies in the case-law and prepare statistics and issue research reports to this end;

b) President: The President of the Constitutional Court;

c) Presidency: The Presidency of the Constitutional Court;

ç) Vice-President: The justice elected by the Plenary to serve as the Section head and act as substitute for the President for a four-year term;

d) Chief rapporteur-judge: The rapporteur-judge assigned by the President to ensure the orderly and efficient conduct of the activities of the rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges within the individual application units and the Re-CL and of the working groups established within the Court, to assist the President and the Heads of Sections in matters related to the functioning of the Plenary and the Sections;

e) Applicant: A natural or legal person, as specified in Article 46 of Code no. 6216, who lodges an individual application with the Court, claiming that one of her/his fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the relevant provision of the Constitution has been violated by the public power;

f) Rapporteur-judge dealing with individual applications: The rapporteur-judge assigned in the Sections and Commissions;

g) Head of Section: Each of the Vice-Presidents who chair the Sections;

ğ) (Amended by Article 1 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Section: A board composed of six members under the chairmanship of the Head of Section and is authorised to render judgments on the merits of the applications declared admissible by the Commissions convened with the participation of the Head of Section and four members, and on the admissibility and merits of the applications which have been referred to decide on their admissibility;[1]

h) (Amended by Article 1 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Rapporteur-judge assigned in Sections: Rapporteur-judge who has been assigned to prepare draft decisions on the merits of and on the admissibility, if necessary, of the applications under the supervision of the chief rapporteur-judge and to exchange correspondence and deliver presentations, when necessary;

ı) Working group: A group which has been established to carry out activities and formulate opinions in order to ensure unity in practice and promote labour productivity in terms of the solution of problems arising in legal, administrative or technical matters;

i) Rapporteur-judge assigned in the Plenary: Rapporteur-judge assigned by the President to carry out judicial and administrative activities in matters which fall under the jurisdiction of the Plenary;

j) (Amended by Article 1 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Plenary: A board composed of fifteen members;[2]

k) Secretary General: The Secretary General of the Constitutional Court;

l) Deputy Secretary General: Each of the Deputy Secretaries General of the Constitutional Court;

m) Classification: Collecting individual applications of similar nature under certain headings in order to carry out their examinations on admissibility and merits in a more speedy and consistent manner;

n) Internal Regulations: Internal Regulations of the Constitutional Court;

o) Code: The Code on the Establishment and the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court dated 30 March 2011 and numbered 6216;

ö) Seniority: Period elapsed since being elected as a justice of the Court or being older, in terms of age, than those elected on the same date; seniority in terms of Vice-Presidency shall refer to the period that has elapsed in the capacity of Vice-President or the period that has elapsed since the date of election as a justice if the Vice-Presidents were elected on the same date, and to the total period spent in the capacity of Vice-President in the event of re-election;

p) Commission: A board composed of two members entrusted with examining the admissibility of individual applications;

r) (Amended by Article 1 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Rapporteur-judge assigned in Commissions: A rapporteur-judge who has been assigned to prepare draft decisions on the admissibility of and on the merits, if necessary, of the applications under the supervision of the chief rapporteur-judge and to exchange correspondence and deliver presentations, when necessary;

s) Court: Plenary, Sections and Commissions and the Constitutional Court composed thereof;

ş) Rapporteur-judge: Rapporteur-judge appointed or assigned by the President to assist the judicial and administrative activities of the Court as per Articles 24 and 25 of the Code;

t) Assistant rapporteur-judge: Assistant rapporteur-judge appointed by the President to assist the judicial and administrative activities of the Court as per Article 27 of the Code;

u) Convention: The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, dated 4 November 1950, and the additional protocols thereof to which Türkiye is a party;

ü) National Judiciary Informatics System (UYAP): The informatics system established with the aim of carrying out judicial services on electronic media;

v) Justice: All justices including the President and Vice-Presidents; and

y) Supreme Criminal Tribunal: The Plenary assigned to conduct the trial of individuals specified in Article 3 § 1 (ç) of the Code due to their offences related to their duties.

CHAPTER TWO

Election of Justices to the Court

Notification to those elected as justices

ARTICLE 4- Upon written notification to the Court of the circumstance of being elected as a justice by the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (“GNAT”) for justices elected by the GNAT, and by the Presidency of the Republic for justices appointed by the President of the Republic, the President shall notify the situation in writing to those elected, stating that they must take office within a month starting from the date of notification.

Refusal by those elected to accept the duty

ARTICLE 5- In the event that an elected justice fails to take office within a month without a valid excuse or states in writing that she/he does not accept the duty, this matter shall be notified in writing to the Presidency of the GNAT in the event that the person concerned has been elected by the GNAT; to the Presidency of the Republic in the event that she/he has been appointed by the President of the Republic; and to the relevant institution or board in the event of a nomination.

Oath taking

ARTICLE 6- (1) Justices cannot take part in the activities of the Court unless they take the oath.

(2) (Amended by Article 2 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) The President shall invite to the oath taking ceremony the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the GNAT, the presidents and chief public prosecutors of supreme judicial bodies, the Minister of Justice and other high ranking officials within the State protocol and retired justices and a limited number of individuals to be stated by the justice who will take the oath.

(3) After the speech by the President, the curriculum vitae of the newly elected justice shall be read in the presence of the Board and the guests.

(4) The elected justice shall take the oath as stipulated in Article 9 of the Code in the presence of the guests and in front of the President, Vice-Presidents and justices.

(5) The justices, rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges shall participate in the oath taking ceremony in their robes.

(6) After the oath taking ceremony, the curriculum vitae of the newly elected justice shall be made public via TRT and news agencies.

Disease impeding duty

ARTICLE 7- (1) In the event that it is conclusively understood through a medical board report issued by a general hospital that a justice will not be able to assume office due to health reasons, Article 11 § 3 of the Code shall apply.

(2) These individuals shall be referred to the medical board of a hospital whose qualities are specified in Paragraph one upon their own request or upon the decision to be made by the Plenary. The report to be issued by the medical board shall be relied on for the action to be taken.

(3) However, upon the request of these individuals or in the event that it is deemed necessary by the Plenary, the person concerned shall be re-examined by the medical board of another general hospital. If a discrepancy arises between the reports, it shall be resolved by another general hospital, and the relevant action shall be taken accordingly.

CHAPTER THREE

Election, Duties and Powers of the President and Vice-Presidents and the Liabilities of Justices

Elections and the preparation of ballots

ARTICLE 8- (1) The President and Vice-Presidents of the Court, and the President and Vice-President of the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes shall be elected for a period of four years by the Plenary from amongst the justices by secret ballot and by an absolute majority of the total number of justices. Those whose term of office expires can be re-elected. No candidates shall be nominated in these elections.

(2) The elections shall be included in the agenda by the President within the two months preceding the date on which the relevant term of office will expire. The venue, date and time of the election shall be notified to the justices in writing at least 7 days in advance. The President shall be authorized to carry out the election process.

(3) When there is a vacancy in the offices of the President and Vice-Presidents of the Court and of the President and Vice-President of the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes, new elections shall be held for a period of four years within the framework of the provisions included in this Article.

(4) In the elections to be held, ballots of the same size, which separately contain the names and surnames of the justices, and which are printed in the same manner on the same colour of paper and stamped with the seal of the Court, shall be distributed to the justices in an envelope. The elections shall be held separately and the ballots distributed to the justices shall be used in the voting process.

Counting of the votes

ARTICLE 9- (1) A Counting Board consisting of three justices with the lowest seniority shall be established for counting the votes. This Board shall count and record the votes, and the result shall be indicated in the minutes.

(2) The Counting Board shall first determine whether the number of ballots is equal to the number of justices participating in the voting process. In the event that the number of ballots is higher than the number of voters, the voting shall be renewed. Improper ballots shall be considered invalid.

(3) If the results of the counting demonstrate that the election will not be concluded on that day, the voting can be postponed to another date to be determined by the President. This period cannot be more than 7 days.

(4) The result of the election shall be notified in writing to those elected and be published in the Official Gazette.

Duties and powers of the President

ARTICLE 10- (1) The duties and powers of the President shall be as follows:

a) To represent the Court;

b) To ensure the efficient and orderly functioning of the Court and to take the necessary measures in this regard;

c) To determine the agenda of the Plenary and, when necessary, of the Sections;

ç) To preside over the Plenary and the Supreme Criminal Tribunal; to delegate one of the Vice-Presidents to substitute for her/him, when she/he deems necessary;

d) To assign and dismiss the Secretary General, Deputy Secretaries General and chief rapporteur-judges;

e) To approve the regulations of the Court;

f) To inspect the conformity of expenditures with the Court’s budget;

g) To assign justices from the other Section in cases where one Section cannot convene due to factual or legal impossibilities;

ğ) To take necessary precautions in order to ensure the balanced distribution of the workload among the Sections in line with the Plenary’s decisions;

h) To convene the Plenary to discuss the matters where it is determined that the workload of one of the Sections has increased to such an extent that it cannot to be coped with by normal working speed, thus leading to a workload imbalance between the Sections;

ı) (Amended by Article 1 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) To convene the Plenary to discuss the cases where it is considered that a case-law discrepancy has occurred or will occur between the decisions of the Sections or when the Section deems it necessary to refer the case to the Plenary;

i) To make arrangements regarding the operation and organisation of the individual application mechanism by taking into account the opinions of the Heads of the Sections;

j) To appoint the Court staff;

k) To provide information and statements to the press and the public about the Court when necessary, or to delegate a Vice-President, a justice or a rapporteur-judge for this task;

l) To take or make others take security measures regarding the Court; and

m) To fulfil other duties prescribed in the Code and in the Internal Regulations.

(2) The duties and powers entrusted to the President shall be exercised by the senior Vice-President in the event that the Presidency is vacant, and by the Vice-President to be determined by the President in the event that the latter is on excused absence or leave. If both of the Vice-Presidents are not present, the most senior justice shall preside over the Court.

Duties and powers of the Vice-Presidents

ARTICLE 11- (1) The duties and powers of the Vice-Presidents shall be as follows:

a) To preside over the Plenary or the Supreme Criminal Tribunal when deemed necessary by the President;

b) To preside over the sessions of the Section of which she/he is a member and to manage the affairs of the Section;

c) To determine the agenda of the Section which she/he presides over in such a way as not to disrupt the working of the Plenary;

ç) To preside over the hearings of the Section;

d) To determine the Commissions in which the members of the Section will serve;

e) To ensure the rotational service of the members of the Section in Commissions, and to prepare lists to this end;

f) To ensure the efficient and orderly functioning of the Commissions and to take the relevant appropriate measures;

g) In cases where it is considered that a case-law discrepancy has occurred or will occur between the decisions of the Commissions, to convene the Section to discuss this matter;

ğ) To take necessary precautions for the balanced distribution of workload among the Commissions; and

h) To fulfil the duties assigned in accordance with the Code and the Internal Regulations and to perform other tasks delegated by the President.

(2) In cases where the Vice-Presidency is vacant or the Vice-President is on excused absence or leave, the duties and powers entrusted to the Vice-President shall be exercised by the most senior justice.

Liabilities of justices

ARTICLE 12- (1) The justices

a) Shall conduct themselves with honour and dignity befitting the judicial profession; they shall refrain from any activities that conflict with their duties;

b) Shall attend the sessions, unless they have a valid excuse;

c) Cannot disclose their thoughts and opinions on current matters addressed by the Court or likely to be submitted to the Court;

ç) Shall maintain the secrecy of the sessions and the voting process;

d) Shall not abstain from voting during the voting process; and

e) (Amended by Article 2 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) Shall not assume any official or private duty apart from their duties; and can attend national or international congresses, conferences and similar scientific meetings or join international organisations carrying out activities in the fields relating to the jurisdiction of the Court with the permission of the President.

(2) They can become a member of associations engaged in sports, social and cultural activities on the condition that they do not assume duties in the executive and supervisory boards thereof.

CHAPTER FOUR

Provisions Relating to Crimes and Punishments and Disciplinary Actions

Judicial investigation and protection measures

ARTICLE 13- (1) Any investigation into crimes allegedly committed by justices in connection with or during the performance of their official duties as well as their individual crimes shall be launched upon the decision of the Plenary. However, in cases of discovery in flagrante delicto, falling within the jurisdiction of assize court, investigation shall be conducted in accordance with general provisions.

(2) Protection measures may be applied regarding justices due to the crimes they have allegedly committed in connection with or during the performance of their official duties or due to their individual crimes only as per Article 17 of the Code. In cases of discovery in flagrante delicto, falling within the jurisdiction of assize court, protection measures shall be applied in accordance with general provisions.

(3) If the Investigation Board request, during investigation, that the protection measures laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure dated 4 December 2004 and numbered 5271 and other laws be taken regarding crimes allegedly committed in connection with or during the performance of official duties and individual crimes apart from the cases of discovery in flagrante delicto, falling within the jurisdiction of assize court, the Plenary shall render a decision on this matter.

Judicial investigation procedure

ARTICLE 14- (1) If a notification or complaint is brought forward due to crimes allegedly committed by justices in connection with or during the performance of their official duties as well as their individual crimes apart from the cases of discovery in flagrante delicto, falling within the jurisdiction of assize court, or if such a situation is learned about, an action shall be taken according to the following provisions:

a) The President shall not process complaints and notifications that are anonymous, unsigned, lack a specific address, do not pertain to a particular incident or cause, or lack substantiated evidence or grounds. Nevertheless, if such complaints and notifications are substantiated by material evidence, the necessary examinations and investigations shall be conducted;

b) When deemed necessary, the President may assign a justice to conduct a preliminary examination before referring the matter to the Plenary. The assigned justice must be more senior than the Vice-President or the justice in respect of whom the examination is carried out. In case of an examination carried out against the most senior justice, this duty shall be assigned to one of the Vice-Presidents;

c) The assigned justice can request all kinds of information and documents regarding the examination from the person concerned through the Presidency as per Article 62 of the Code;

ç) After completing her/his examination, the assigned justice shall prepare a preliminary examination report containing the facts, claims and evidence; and submit it to the President without declaring her/his own opinion;

d) The President shall incorporate the preliminary examination report into the agenda and it shall be deliberated by the Plenary. The justice against whom an action has been taken cannot participate in these deliberations;

e) If the Plenary concludes that there are no grounds for initiating an investigation, the reasoned decision shall be communicated to the justice concerned and to those who have brought forward the notification and the complaint;

f) If it is decided that an investigation be launched, the Plenary shall elect three justices by secret ballot to establish the Investigation Board;

g) At the end of the voting at the Plenary, the votes received by each of the justices shall be written next to their names, and three candidates with the highest number of votes shall be elected as the Board members. In the event of equality of votes, the most senior justice shall be elected. The senior justice shall chair the Investigation Board; and

ğ) The Investigation Board shall be vested with the authority granted to the public prosecutor under the Code of Criminal Procedure o. 5271. Any action requested by the Board to be taken in relation to the investigation shall be immediately fulfilled by the competent local judicial authorities.

(2) In cases where it has been observed or learned that the President has displayed the aforementioned behaviour and conduct, the actions incumbent on the President shall be carried out by the most senior Vice-President.

Decisions of the Investigation Board

ARTICLE 15- (1) If the Investigation Board does not find it necessary to file a criminal case after completing the investigation, it shall issue a decision of non-prosecution.

(2) If the Investigation Board finds it necessary to file a criminal case, it shall submit the indictment and the file it will prepare to the Court to conduct a trial in its capacity as the Supreme Criminal Tribunal in terms of crimes related to their duties, and to the Presidency for referral to the General Assembly of Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation in terms of the other crimes.

(3) The actions and decisions to be taken by the Investigation Board shall be final; the decisions shall be communicated to the suspect and to the complainant, if any.

(4) The justices within the Investigation Board cannot serve in the proceedings to be carried out by the Court in its capacity as the Supreme Criminal Tribunal.

(5) The relevant provisions of the Code and of the other laws shall be applied in the proceedings to be carried out by the Court in its capacity as the Supreme Criminal Tribunal.

Decision to initiate a disciplinary investigation

ARTICLE 16- Initiation of an investigation against the justices on grounds of their disciplinary actions shall be conditional upon the decision of the Plenary.

Disciplinary investigation procedure

ARTICLE 17- (1) If a notification or complaint is brought forward due to the acts of the justices which constitute a disciplinary offence, or if such a situation is learned about, an action shall be taken according to the following provisions:

c) The assigned justice can request all kinds of information and documents regarding the examination from the person concerned through the Presidency as per Article 62 of the Code;

f) If it is decided that an investigation be launched, the Plenary shall elect three justices by secret ballot to establish the Investigation Board;

ğ) The Investigation Board shall collect the relevant information and evidence, and hear under oath the individuals required to be heard;

h) Pursuant to Article 18 § 4 of the Code, the Investigation Board can make requests relating to the investigation from public administrations, public officials, and other natural and legal persons;

ı) The Investigation Board, having notified the person concerned of the imputed act or action, shall invite the her/him to submit her/his defence within the allowed period that will not be shorter than 15 days. The person concerned can examine the investigation documents since the time when her/his defence has been requested;

i) At the end of the examination, the Investigation Board shall prepare a report containing the collected information and evidence, as well as its opinion as to whether there are grounds for imposing a disciplinary punishment, and submit the report and its annexes to the Presidency for its communication to the Plenary;

j) The President shall notify in writing the outcome of the investigation to the person concerned and invite her/him to submit her/his oral or written defence before the Plenary within the period the former will determine, which will not be shorter than 5 days; and

k) The Plenary, according to the outcome of the disciplinary investigation, may order the extension of the investigation, if necessary; order the closure of the file, if it does not find the imputed act or action proven; and otherwise, decide on the applicable disciplinary punishment.

Concurrent conduct of criminal and disciplinary investigations

ARTICLE 18- Criminal investigations and prosecutions shall not impede the separate conduct of disciplinary actions.

Statute of limitations in disciplinary investigations

ARTICLE 19- (1) If one year has elapsed since the date on which the acts subject to a disciplinary investigation were aware of, a disciplinary investigation cannot be initiated. No disciplinary punishment shall be imposed in cases where five years have elapsed since the imputed act was committed.

(2) If the act subject to a disciplinary punishment also constitutes a crime, if a longer period of statute of limitations is prescribed in the law regarding this crime, and if a criminal investigation or prosecution has been initiated, the statute of limitations pertaining to the case shall be applied instead of the period stipulated in Paragraph (1).

(3) For those regarding whom the Plenary has decided that the outcome of the criminal prosecution shall be awaited, the authority to impose a punishment shall become subject to the statute of limitations if one year elapsed since the finalisation of the trial court’s decision.

Acts subject to a disciplinary punishment and the disciplinary punishments

ARTICLE 20- (1) If the President, Vice-Presidents and justices assume any official or private task beyond their primary duties, or if they engage in conducts contrary to the oath they have taken or to the honour and dignity befitting the judicial profession, thereby causing a disruption of services, they may be subject to disciplinary punishments such as a warning, reprimand or a motion to withdraw from the office of justice, depending on the severity of the act.

(2) The disciplinary punishments of warning and reprimand shall be imposed by an absolute majority of the Plenary.

Motion to withdraw from the office of justice

ARTICLE 21- (1) The imposition of the punishment of an invitation to withdraw from office the office of justice requires a two-thirds majority vote of the Plenary.

(2) The justice who has been invited to withdraw from the office of justice shall be deemed to have resigned, if she/he does not abide by the decision within one month from the date of notification, and she/he shall be considered as on leave during this period.

Objection to disciplinary punishments

ARTICLE 22- (1) The person concerned may file an application to the Plenary for a review of the decision within 10 days from the date of communication of the decision to her/him.

The decision resulting from the Plenary’s subsequent review shall be final. The President shall notify the individual concerned and ensure the enforcement of the Plenary’s decision.

(2) The decision to be issued after the review by the Plenary shall be final. The decision of the Plenary shall be notified to the person concerned and executed by the President.

PART TWO

Organisational Structure

CHAPTER ONE

Plenary, Sections and Commissions, and Their Functioning

Organisation

ARTICLE 23- The organisation of the Court shall consist of the Presidency, the Plenary, Sections, Commissions, the Secretariat General and the administrative service units.

Plenary

ARTICLE 24- (Amended by Article 3 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) The Plenary shall convene under the chairmanship of the President or a Vice-President designated by the President, with a quorum of at least ten justices, except for the President.[3]

Duties and powers of the Plenary

ARTICLE 25- The duties and powers of the Plenary shall be as follows:

a) To deal with the actions for abstract and concrete reviews, as well as to conduct trials in the capacity of the Supreme Criminal Tribunal;

b) To adjudicate the cases and applications regarding political parties, and to carry out financial audit;

c) To adopt or amend the Internal Regulations;

ç) To elect the President and Vice-Presidents of the Court, and the President and Vice-President of the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes;

d) (Amended by Article 3 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) To eliminate the case-law discrepancies between the decisions of the Sections regarding individual applications; to decide on the matters referred to the Plenary by the Sections;

e) To delegate tasks between the Sections;

f) To definitively settle the disputes regarding the delegation of tasks between the Sections upon the call of the President;

g) To assign the other Section in the event that the workload of one of the Sections has increased to such an extent that it cannot to be coped with by normal working speed, thus leading to a workload imbalance between the Sections, or that a Section fails to fulfil its duties due to factual or legal impossibilities;

ğ) To decide whether to initiate disciplinary or criminal investigations against the justices, to take investigation and prosecution measures, and to impose disciplinary punishment or terminate a justice’s office, when necessary;

h) To examine objections; and

ı) To fulfil the duties delegated to the Plenary by the Code and the Internal Regulations.

Research and Case-law Unit (Re-CL)

ARTICLE 26- (1) The Research and Case-law Unit shall be composed of a sufficient number of rapporteur-judges, assistant rapporteur-judges and staff under the supervision of a chief rapporteur-judge.

(2) The duties of the Research and Case-law Unit shall be as follows:

a) To examine reports and draft decisions, before they are discussed by the Plenary or the Sections, to ensure the case-law coherence and development, as well as the proper use of legal jargon and the compliance with the drafting rules and, when necessary, to prepare an opinion within one week after they have been communicated to the Unit for submission to the Plenary or the Section along with the report or draft decision;

b) To notify, through a report, the Head of the Section concerned or the President of any case-law discrepancy between the decisions of the Commissions or Sections;

c) To prepare research and examination reports regarding the process whereby the reports and decisions/judgments shall be issued, upon the request of the President or the Vice-Presidents, and to make the relevant reports available to all justices, rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges;

ç) To follow the decisions/judgments issued by the Plenary, the Sections and the Commissions, which are pivotal for developing the case-law, and to prepare documents and carry out the necessary works in order to inform those holding office at the various units of the Court regarding this matter;

d) To follow the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights as well as other international judicial bodies and the other supreme courts, and to prepare factsheets on matters which are of significance for the case-law of the Court; and

e) To determine the principal and important decisions issued by the Plenary, the Sections and the Commissions to facilitate their annual publication.

Composition of the Sections

ARTICLE 27- (1) (Amended by Article 4 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) The Court shall have two Sections, each are composed of the justices, except for the President, which examine individual applications. Each Section shall be composed of a Vice-President and six justices. The Sections shall be entitled the First Section and the Second Section.[4]

(2) The justices, other than the Vice-Presidents, who will serve in the Sections, shall be delegated by the President considering their professional background and the principle of balanced distribution between the Sections.

(3) Upon the request of the relevant member or upon the proposal of one of the Vice-Presidents, the President may change the Section of the justices.

Duties and powers of the Sections

ARTICLE 28- (1) The duties of the Sections shall be as follows:

a) To examine the merits of the applications declared admissible by the Commissions; and

b) (Amended by Article 4 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) To examine the applications, the admissibility of which could not be decided by the Commissions, as to their admissibility and on their merits together, if deemed necessary by the Head of the Section.

(2) The Sections may decide on the inadmissibility of an application at any stage of the examination if they determine an obstacle in terms of admissibility or such a situation arises later.

(3) (Amended by Article 4 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) If the decision to be made by one of the Sections regarding a pending application would conflict with a previous decision of the Sections or if the application necessitates a review of the Plenary by its very nature, the relevant Section may relinquish the case. The Head of the Section shall present the file to the attention of the President for referral to the Plenary.

Convening and agenda of the Sections

ARTICLE 29- (1) The Sections shall convene under the chairmanship of the Vice-President and with the participation of four justices. In the absence of the Vice-President, the most senior justice shall preside over the Section.

(2) The members of the Sections, except for the Vice-President, shall be listed in order of seniority to create the committees within the Sections. The first month’s meetings shall be held by the committee consisting of the first four members on the list, and the Vice-President. In the following months, each justice shall rotate in order of seniority, starting with the most senior member who has not attended the meetings. The Head of the Section shall prepare the list indicating the schedule for this rotation at the beginning of each year. In the event that a new member joins the Section, the Head of the Section shall make the necessary arrangements accordingly. These lists shall be announced to the justices.

(3) (Amended by Article 5 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) If the quorum for the meeting of the Section is not met, the Head of the Section shall assign justices, within the Section, from among those who have not attended the meetings, and if this is not possible, upon the recommendation of the Head of the Section, the President shall assign justices from the other Section, who have not attended the meetings, to attend the meetings by rotation.

(4) The meetings of the Section shall be scheduled and announced by the Head of the relevant Section by conferring with the President, in such a way as not to disrupt the work of the Plenary.

(5) The Head of the Section shall set the meeting agenda of the Section. When necessary, the Section may also incorporate certain items into the agenda. Draft decisions shall be put on the agenda after 15 days from the date on which they are submitted to the Section.

Working procedure of the Sections

ARTICLE 30- (1) During the Section meetings, the case file shall be explained in detail by the relevant rapporteur-judge assigned in the Section, according to the agenda list.

(2) The Head of the Section shall give the floor to the members who want to express their opinions on the matter, in order of request. After the deliberations are completed, the decision shall be made by voting starting with the member with the least seniority. It shall be recorded by the Head of the Section in a minute.

(3) According to the result of the voting, the draft decision shall be examined. The Head of the Section shall ask the members to submit their recommendations for any change by stating page and paragraph number, if any. These recommendations shall be voted by the committee. The text adopted in line with the committee’s decision shall be sent to the chief rapporteur-judge for necessary arrangements. After the required corrections have been made, the final decision shall be submitted to the committee for signature.

Unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Sections

ARTICLE 31- (1) The unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Sections, consisting of a sufficient number of rapporteur-judges, assistant rapporteur-judges and staff, shall be established under the supervision of the chief rapporteur-judge, in order to ensure the conclusion of individual applications in a more expedient manner.

(2) The rapporteur-judges assigned in the Sections may be divided into working groups according to their areas of expertise under the coordination of a rapporteur-judge.

(3) The duties of the unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Sections shall be as follows:

a) To examine the applications declared admissible by the Commissions in groups or individually, to prepare draft decisions on the merits, and to submit them to the Sections; and

b) To prepare and submit to the Sections the draft decisions on admissibility, if considered appropriate by the chief-rapporteur judge assigned in the Commissions.

(4) In cases where the admissibility can only be decided depending on an examination on the merits, or where it is required by the nature of the application, the draft decisions on admissibility and merits may be prepared together. The draft decisions prepared in this manner by the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Sections shall be submitted to the Sections for deliberation.

(5) The chief rapporteur-judge shall be responsible for distributing the applications pending before the Sections among the rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges. In the assignment of the rapporteur-judge, the subject-matter as well as the rapporteur judge’s experience and expertise shall be taken into consideration. In the distribution of tasks, attention shall be paid to the order and the balanced performance of tasks among the rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges.

Composition of Commissions

ARTICLE 32- (1) Three Commissions shall be established under each Section to examine the individual applications as to their admissibility. The Commissions shall be numbered under the Section to which they are attached. The Head of the Section shall not assume duties in the Commissions. The most senior member shall preside over the Commission.

(2) The members of the Sections, except for the Vice-President, shall be listed in order of seniority to constitute the Commissions. The least senior member on the list cannot attend the first month’s meetings. In the following months, each justice shall rotate in order of seniority, starting with the most senior member who has not attended the meetings. The Head of the Section shall prepare the list indicating the schedule for this rotation at the beginning of each year. In the event that a new member joins the Section, the Head of the Section shall make the necessary arrangements accordingly. These lists shall be announced to the justices.

(3) In case of a vacancy in the membership of the Commissions, the member who has not attended the meeting shall replace the missing member in the relevant Commission under the Section.

(4) The Plenary may decide to change the number of Commissions under the Sections as well as the number of members of the Commissions. In this case, the Commissions shall be reconstituted in accordance with the procedure specified in the paragraphs above.

Duties and working procedure of the Commissions

ARTICLE 33- (1) The draft decisions on admissibility and the draft decisions on inadmissibility or the lists thereof prepared by the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions shall be decided by the Commissions.

(2) (Amended by Article 5 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) The Commissions shall decide unanimously. If unanimity cannot be achieved, the matter shall be referred to the Section by stating that unanimity could not be achieved. In cases where there is no unanimity, the justice asking for the referral of the application to the Section shall state the reasons for this.

(3) The Commissions shall refer an application to the relevant Section without deciding on its admissibility, after they determine whether the pending application in question bears significance in terms of implementing and interpreting the Constitution or determining the scope and limits of the fundamental rights or whether the applicant has suffered a significant damage, and in cases where a principal decision is to be necessarily issued in a given application or the decision to be issued may conflict with another decision/judgment of the Court.

(4) (Amended by Article 6 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Commissions shall not decide on the requests for confidentiality for the applications declared inadmissible.

Unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions

ARTICLE 34- (1) The unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions, consisting of a sufficient number of rapporteur-judges, assistant rapporteur-judges and staff, shall be established under the supervision of the chief rapporteur-judge, in order to ensure the conclusion of individual applications in a more expedient manner.

(2) The duties of the unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions shall be as follows:

a) To determine the applications that require more detailed examination by the Commissions; to examine the applications in groups or individually; to determine inadmissible applications; and

b) To prepare and submit to the Commissions the draft decisions on admissibility regarding the applications meeting the admissibility criteria, and the draft decisions on inadmissibility or the lists thereof regarding the applications not meeting the admissibility criteria.

(3) The draft decisions on the admissibility of applications whose admissibility could not be decided by the Commissions and of the classified applications shall be prepared by the unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions, upon the approval of the chief-rapporteur judge assigned in the Commissions.

(4) If workload permits or work efficiency requires it, the unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions may prepare all kinds of draft decisions to submit them to the Sections, if deemed appropriate by the chief-rapporteur judge assigned in the Commissions.

(5) The chief rapporteur-judge shall be responsible for distributing the applications pending before the Commissions among the rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges. In the assignment of the rapporteur-judge, the nature of the subject-matter as well as the rapporteur judge’s experience and expertise shall be taken into consideration. In the distribution of tasks, attention shall be paid to the order and the balanced performance of tasks among the rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges.

CHAPTER TWO

Secretariat General, Rapporteur-Judges and Assistant Rapporteur-Judges

Secretariat General, its establishment and duties

ARTICLE 35- (1) The duty of the Secretary General shall be fulfilled by a rapporteur-judge appointed by the President. If the Secretary General is absent from duty, the Deputy Secretary General designated by the former shall substitute her/him.

(2) The Secretary General may resign from office of her/his own accord, and she/he may also be replaced by the President, when deemed necessary, without any reason.

(3) Under the supervision of the President, the duties and powers of the Secretary General shall be as follows:

a) To register and refer applications;

b) To conduct administrative affairs regarding the meetings of the Plenary and the Sections;

c) To ensure the automation and archiving of decisions/judgments and reports;

ç) To handle the correspondence of the Court;

d) To monitor the implementation of the decisions/judgments of the Court and to inform the Plenary in this respect;

e) To spend the budget and to provide information to the President in this respect;

f) To conduct the institutional, scientific, administrative, financial and technical affairs of the Court;

g) To organise protocol affairs;

ğ) To supervise and manage the staff; and

h) To perform other duties assigned by the President within the framework of the provisions of the Code, the Internal Regulations and regulations.

(4) The Secretariat General shall be composed of the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretaries General and a sufficient number of staffs to be assigned by the Presidency. The duties of the officials and servants working within the Secretariat General and other service units, and how these duties shall be carried out shall be regulated by a regulation issued by the Presidency.

(5) The Secretary General shall prepare draft directives to ensure the execution of the duties assigned to her/him by the Code and the Internal Regulations. These drafts shall enter into force with the approval of the President.

(6) The Secretary General shall represent the Constitutional Court at the committees and the General Assembly of the GNAT.

Deputy Secretaries General

ARTICLE 36- (1) The Deputy Secretaries General shall be appointed by the President from amongst the rapporteur-judges.

(2) The Deputy Secretaries General may resign from office of their own accord, and they may also be replaced by the President, when deemed necessary, without any reason.

(3) The Deputy Secretaries General shall perform other duties assigned by the President and the Secretary General within the framework of the provisions of the Code, the Internal Regulations and regulations. They shall be accountable to the President and the Secretary General for the orderly execution of these duties.

(4) The division of duties between the Deputy Secretaries General shall be determined with the proposal of the Secretary General and the approval of the President.

(5) Each of the Deputy Secretaries General shall be responsible for the following fields of activity:

a) To conduct in an orderly and harmonious manner the tasks relating to the functioning of the Plenary and of the individual application mechanism, and to monitor the works of the rapporteur-judges;

b) To conduct international relations; and

c) To carry out administrative, financial and other affairs.

Chief rapporteur-judges and their duties

ARTICLE 37- (1) The chief rapporteur-judges shall be appointed by the President from amongst the rapporteur-judges. The chief rapporteur-judges may resign from office of their own accord, and they may also be replaced by the President, when deemed necessary, without any reason.

(2) There shall be four chief rapporteur-judges at the Court to serve respectively at the Plenary, the Sections, the Commissions and the Re-CL. The chief rapporteur-judges shall be responsible for ensuring the orderly and efficient performance of the activities of the rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges in their respective units and of the working groups established within the Court.

(3) In the absence of the chief rapporteur-judge, the most senior rapporteur-judge holding office in the relevant unit shall perform the former’s duties.

(4) The chief rapporteur-judge assigned in the Sections shall notify the Ministry of Justice on behalf of the Head of Section to receive its opinion regarding the applications declared admissible.

Rapporteur-judges and their duties

ARTICLE 38- (1) The rapporteur-judges shall perform the duties assigned by the President within the framework of the Code and the Internal Regulations.

(2) The President shall decide which of the Plenary, the Sections, the Commissions or other units the rapporteur-judges shall serve, considering their seniority and experience. The rapporteur-judges shall rotate among the units periodically in order to enhance the experience of the rapporteur-judges and to ensure efficiency in their works.

(3) The rapporteur-judges assigned in the Plenary shall be entrusted with the tasks which fall under the authority of the Plenary. They shall prepare reports pertaining to preliminary examination as well as examination on the merits, draft decisions and other procedures regarding the case-files assigned to them by the President, and they shall attend the meetings.

(4) The rapporteur-judges dealing with individual applications shall be divided into two as the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions and the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Sections, and they shall perform the duties related to the individual application mechanism specified in the Code and in the Internal Regulations. A sufficient number of rapporteur-judges dealing with individual applications shall be assigned to serve at the Sections and the Commissions.

(5) The rapporteur-judges dealing with individual applications shall prepare draft decisions on the admissibility or merits of individual applications, and they shall attend the meetings.

(6) The rapporteur-judges dealing with individual applications shall serve under the supervision of the chief rapporteur-judges. In order to ensure efficiency in the preparation of draft decisions, the President shall decide, upon the recommendation of the chief rapporteur-judge, and also conferring with the Vice-Presidents, that the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Sections be divided into specialisation groups or that working groups of rapporteur-judges be formed.

(7) The rapporteur-judges dealing with individual applications shall ensure that the correspondence is conducted to request the necessary information and documents to be included in the application files. They shall ensure and monitor the service of the necessary notifications.

(8) Head of each Section shall assign rapporteur-judges dealing with individual applications to hear witnesses or experts and to perform similar other duties, if necessary, with the approval of the President, by indicating the scope and nature of the relevant duty.

Assistant rapporteur-judges

ARTICLE 39- (1) A sufficient number of assistant rapporteur-judges shall hold office at the Court to assist the judicial and administrative works.

(2) Assistant rapporteur-judges shall be assigned by the President to relevant units to fulfil the duties regarding individual applications stipulated in the Code and the Internal Regulations, and to assist the rapporteur-judges.

(3) Assistant rapporteur-judges shall perform their duties under the supervision of the rapporteur-judge to whom they report, if designated, and under the supervision of the chief rapporteur-judge in other cases.

Promotion and advancement of appointed rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges

ARTICLE 40- (1) Decisions regarding the promotion in rank and degree as well as entitlement to and advancement to the first category with respect to the rapporteur-judges appointed pursuant to Articles 24 § 2 (c) and 25 § 8 of the Code shall be taken by the President in accordance with the principles set forth in the Law no. 2802 on Judges and Prosecutors dated 24 February 1983, taking into consideration their experience and other information and documents regarding their professional and academic activities.

(2) For the rapporteur-judges appointed pursuant to Articles 24 § 2 (c) and 25 § 8 of the Code, the issues not laid down in Law no. 2802 shall be settled by a regulation.

(3) The promotion and advancement of assistant rapporteur-judges shall be regulated by Article 27 of the Code.

Supreme Disciplinary Board

ARTICLE 41- (1) With the exception of justices and the rapporteur-judges assigned as per Article 24 § 2 (a) and (b) of the Code, the disciplinary matters regarding the Court staff shall be settled by the Supreme Disciplinary Board. However, the actions with respect to the rapporteur-judges assigned as per Article 24 § 2 (a) and (b) of the Code due to their disciplinary acts shall be taken, upon notification by the President, by the institutions to which they are affiliated and in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation.

(2) The Supreme Disciplinary Board shall be composed of three persons, one of the Deputy Secretaries General and two rapporteur-judges selected from amongst those who have served at least three years at the Court, upon the proposal of the Secretary General and approval of the President. The Board shall be chaired by the deputy Secretary General. The Board members shall be appointed for a term of two years.

(3) At the end of the examination and investigation conducted by the Supreme Disciplinary Board, it shall be decided whether the imposition of a disciplinary punishment is necessary, and if so, the disciplinary punishment shall be determined in accordance with the nature and gravity of the act.

(4) The provisions of the Law no. 657 on Civil Servants, dated 14 July 1965, which are not contrary to the Code, shall apply to the cases subject to a disciplinary punishment and the punishments to be imposed.

(5) The working procedures and principles of the Board and other matters shall be laid down by a regulation.

Judicial investigation and prosecution of rapporteur-judges

ARTICLE 42- (1) Actions against the rapporteur-judges, assigned pursuant to Article 24 § 2 (a) and (b) of the Code, due to the crimes they have allegedly committed in connection with or during the performance of their official duties or due to their individual crimes shall be taken, upon notification by the President, by the institutions to which they are affiliated and in accordance with the relevant legislation.

(2) The examination and investigation of the appointed rapporteur-judges due to the crimes they have allegedly committed in connection with or during the performance of their official duties shall be subject to the President’s approval. The President may delegate the Secretary General or a rapporteur-judge, who is more senior than the one to be examined and investigated, to conduct the examination and investigation. Upon the report prepared by the Secretary General or the rapporteur-judge conducting the examination and investigation, the President shall decide whether prosecution is needed, and then, the relevant documents shall be submitted to the relevant authorities or revoked. If a prosecution is required, the relevant documents shall be sent to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for further action in accordance with Article 89 of Law no. 2802.

(3) The investigation into the individual crimes of the appointed rapporteur-judges shall be conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

(4) In cases of discovery in flagrante delicto, falling within the jurisdiction of assize court, an investigation shall be conducted in accordance with general provisions. The investigation shall be conducted by the authorised public prosecutors in person.

Judicial investigation and prosecution of assistant rapporteur-judges and civil servants

ARTICLE 43- (1) The criminal prosecution of the assistant rapporteur-judges and civil servants holding office at the Court due to the crimes they have allegedly committed in connection with their official duties shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Law no. 4483 on the Trial of Civil Servants and other Public Officials, dated 2 December 1999.

(2) Pursuant to Law no. 4483, the President shall be vested with the authority to grant permission for investigation. When deemed necessary, the President may assign one or more rapporteur-judges to conduct a preliminary examination in respect of the person concerned.

(3) Depending on the preliminary examination report, the President shall decide whether to grant permission for investigation.

PART THREE

Examination and Trial Procedures

CHAPTER ONE

Procedural Provisions on Abstract and Concrete Reviews

Receiving applications

ARTICLE 44- (1) The requests for abstract review shall be conducted upon the submission of the petition to the Secretariat General in person by at least one of the Members of Parliament who have been authorised to file such request. In requests for abstract review to be filed by the President of the Republic, the petition shall be submitted by the individual authorised to do so by the President of the Republic. A notice of receipt shall be provided to the individual who has submitted the petition.

(2) The actions for concrete review shall be made by the relevant court either by post or via UYAP.

(3) The action shall be deemed to have been filed on the date when the petitions for abstract and concrete reviews are referred by the Secretariat General to the Registrar's Office.

Petition for abstract review and annexes thereof

ARTICLE 45- (1) The petition for abstract review shall contain the following matters:

a) The provisions sought to be annulled, and the relevant constitutional provisions to which the contested provisions are allegedly contrary;

b) A comprehensive and clear explanation as to the Articles in the Constitution to which the allegedly unconstitutional provisions are contrary and the reasons thereof;

c) If there is a request for the stay of execution, an explanation as to the irrevocable damages that will occur in the event that the execution is not stayed;

ç) A copy of the petition on electronic media; and

d) A list of contents where the documents submitted in the file are listed chronologically under headings.

(2) If the action is filed by at least one-fifth of the total number of the members of Parliament, the following documents shall be appended to the petition:

a) The provisions sought to be annulled, and the relevant constitutional provisions to which the contested provisions are allegedly contrary;

b) A certificate of proof signed and sealed by the Speaker of the GNAT or an official to be assigned by her/him so as to attest that the signatures on the petition belong to the individuals concerned;

c) A list containing the names and surnames, as well as the constituencies and signatures of the individuals who file the action; and

ç) A document indicating the name(s) of the member(s) of Parliament to whom notifications regarding the action will be made.

(3) If the action is filed by political party groups, the following documents shall be appended to the petition:

a) Certified copies of the decision of the National Assembly groups of the political parties; and

b) A certified copy attesting that the individuals signing the petition are group chairpersons or deputy chairpersons.

Decision on actions for concrete review and annexes thereof

ARTICLE 46- (1) The actions for concrete review shall be filed by the courts with a reasoned decision. The reasoned decision shall necessarily contain:

a) A comprehensive and clear explanation as to the Articles in the Constitution to which the allegedly unconstitutional provisions are contrary and the reasons thereof; and

b) If there is a request for the stay of execution, an explanation as to the irrevocable damages that will occur in the event that the execution is not stayed.

(2) In the actions for concrete review, the original copy of the reasoned decision shall be submitted to the Court along with the following documents:

a) A certified copy of the minutes regarding the decision for filing an action for concrete review;

b) Certified copies of the petition, the indictment or the documents filing the action and the relevant parts of the file; and

c) A list of contents where the documents submitted in the file are listed chronologically under headings.

Assigning of rapporteur-judges to the case-files

ARTICLE 47- (1) The case-files shall be distributed to rapporteur-judges by the President, in consideration of their field of expertise, the workload undertaken by them and the nature of the case-file.

(2) If deemed necessary, several rapporteur-judges can be assigned for a single case-file. In this case, the reports to be issued shall be signed jointly by the relevant rapporteur-judges.

Issuance of preliminary examination reports

ARTICLE 48- (1) The rapporteur-judge to be assigned by the President shall issue the preliminary examination report within 5 days.

(2) In the report, it shall be indicated whether the petition or the request for concrete review satisfy the conditions stipulated in the Law, and the type of decision recommended to be taken and its justifications shall be explained.

(3) The report shall point to the necessary step to be taken: whether to proceed with the merits, to dismiss the request, to grant an extension of time for the elimination of deficiencies, to deem the action not to have been filed, or to decide not to issue a decision.

(4) When deemed necessary, an additional period of time may be granted by the President for the issuance of the report.

Deficiencies in the requests for abstract or concrete reviews

ARTICLE 49- (1) If it is determined in the preliminary examination conducted by the Court that the request contains deficiencies:

a) A period of a minimum of 15 days shall be granted to those concerned for the elimination of the deficiency in the action for abstract review. The Plenary shall deem the action not to have been filed if the deficiency has not been eliminated despite the notification that the action would be deemed not to have been filed if the deficiencies are not eliminated within the prescribed period; and

b) In actions for concrete review, it shall be decided that the request be rejected without proceeding to the examination on the merits.

(2) The decision issued as per subparagraph (b) above shall not prevent the court from filing a request anew after having remedied the deficiencies.

Preparation of examination reports on the merits

ARTICLE 50- (1) The requests regarding which the preliminary examination has been completed and the Plenary decides to proceed on the merits shall be submitted to the respective rapporteur-judges for the issuance of the report on the merits of the file. The rapporteur-judges shall notify the outcomes of their examination on the merits to the Presidency, along with a report involving their considerations.

(2) The President shall determine the period in which the report on the merits will be issued as from the date when an examination on the merits is decided, by also taking into account the opinion of the rapporteur-judge. The rapporteur-judge who fails to draft the report on the merits within the prescribed period shall notify in writing to the Presidency the reasons for the delay and the period in which the examination can be completed. If necessary, this period can be extended by the President to a sufficient degree.

(3) The following matters must be included in the examination report on the merits:

a) The process pertaining to the preliminary examination;

b) The meaning and scope of the provision; and

c) Assessment as to the alleged unconstitutionality.

(4) The rapporteur-judge shall abide by the rules of scientific reference in her/his report.

(5) The rapporteur-judge shall also formulate the draft decision along with the report if it is practicable given the nature of the task.

(6) The rapporteur-judge shall be present during the discussion on the merits of the file she/he has examined and make the necessary explanations.

(7) (Amended by Article 6 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) In case of a request for the annulment of a provision for any reasons stated in Article 43 § 4 of the Code, this provision cannot be subject to an examination on the merits.

CHAPTER TWO

Financial Audit of Political Parties

Preliminary examination in financial audit

ARTICLE 51- (1) As per Article 74 of the Law on Political Parties, dated 22/4/1983 and numbered 2820, political parties shall submit to the Court until the end of June the document signed by their chairpersons and the following documents in its annex:

a) A certified copy of the decision made by the central decision-making and administrative boards (competent bodies which are authorised in the party by-law to approve final accounts) attesting to the fact that the final accounts of the party headquarters and provincial organisations have been audited, approved and consolidated;

b) A certified copy of the annual final account which has been agreed upon and consolidated;

c) A certified copy of the final account of the party headquarters;

ç) Certified copies of the final accounts of provincial organisations, which also cover the respective sub-provinces and have been signed by provincial officers, and the compendium list of the final accounts of provincial organisations to be prepared by the headquarters;

d) Lists demonstrating the values, dates and manner of acquisition of the immovable properties, movable properties with a value exceeding one hundred liras, real estate and all sorts of rights acquired by the party headquarters and provincial organisations within the same accounting period; and

e) The inventory record on cash balance on hand demonstrating the end-of-year existing cash balance which bears the signatures of the secretary general and the general accountant of the party and the reconciliation documents regarding the bank accounts approved by bank officials.

(2) The above-mentioned documents shall be sent by the Court to the Presidency of the Court of Accounts in order to be audited.

(3) The auditors to be assigned by the Presidency of the Court of Accounts shall audit the final accounts referred to them with a view to ascertaining whether they have been prepared as per Articles 73 and 74 of the Political Parties Law no. 2820, whether the carry-over amounts are accurate and whether the final accounts schedules contain a substantial material mistake or inconsistency. When necessary, they can request information from the officials at all levels of the relevant political parties regarding these issues. It shall be compulsory to provide, without delay, the requested information as well as the documents and instruments forming the basis of such information.

(4) The assigned auditors shall refer to the political party registration files held by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Cassation in order to determine whether the political parties have submitted the final accounts pertaining to all provinces where they are organized.

(5) The auditors shall submit to the Presidency the reports they will prepare within a maximum period of 2 months starting from the date when the final accounts have been referred to them. In case of any deficiencies, mistakes or inconsistencies, the auditors shall indicate how they can be eliminated.

(6) The rapporteur-judges to be assigned by the Presidency shall be present at the meetings for the preliminary examination of the reports and provide the necessary explanations.

(7) An appropriate period up to a maximum of 1 month shall be granted by the Court to the political party for the completion of deficiencies and the elimination of mistakes and inconsistencies.

(8) If it is revealed that there are no deficiencies, mistakes or inconsistencies in the final accounts or that they have been duly eliminated, then an examination on the merits shall be proceeded. In this decision, an appropriate period up to a maximum of 1 month shall be granted to the concerned party for the submission of the revenue and expenditure documents of the party headquarters and provincial organisations and the respective books where these documents are registered. This decision shall be notified to the concerned party.

Examination on merits in financial audit

ARTICLE 52- (1) The revenue and expenditure documents and book entries shall be submitted by the party to the Court of Accounts for an examination on the merits. The revenue and expenditure documents and respective books of the headquarters and provincial organisations of the parties shall be examined. The principles and procedures of the audit to be carried out and the provincial organisations which will be subject to an audit shall be determined by the Court of Accounts unless otherwise decided by the Court.

(2) The examination on the merits shall be conducted so as to ascertain whether the revenues and expenditures of political parties are accurate and lawful. The examination of accuracy shall comprise the examination as to the books and documents which form the basis for the final accounts. The examination of lawfulness shall aim at determining whether the revenues and expenditures have been made in compliance with the Political Parties Law.

(3) The assigned auditors shall audit the party books, revenue and expenditure records and respective documents pertaining to the headquarters of parties and the provincial organisations intended to be audited and compare them with the final accounts. When necessary, the officials of all levels of the relevant political parties may be asked to provide information on these matters. It shall be compulsory to provide, without delay, the requested information and the underlying documents and instruments.

(4) The auditors shall send the audit reports containing the matters and findings revealed during the audits to the concerned political parties, and the parties shall be requested to submit, within 2 months at the latest, their opinions regarding these matters in consideration of the scope of the report.

(5) The auditors shall submit their reports on the merits which involve the opinions of the concerned political parties and their own considerations to the Court. A copy of the documents related to the matters included in the report, the audit report sent to the political party and the response of the political party shall be appended to the report. The provincial organisations of which the revenue and expense documents and books have been audited shall be indicated in the report.

(6) The rapporteur-judges to be assigned by the Presidency shall be present during the discussion of the reports issued by the auditors of the Court of Accounts and provide the necessary explanations.

(7) A copy of the Court’s decisions regarding the financial audit shall be circulated to the headquarters of the concerned political party, the Court of Accounts, as well as to the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Cassation for being included in the registration file of the respective party.

(8) The revenue and expenditure documents and books pertaining to the party regarding which a decision has been issued shall be returned to the concerned party by the Court of Accounts.

(9) The decisions on the financial audit shall be published in the Official Gazette.

CHAPTER THREE

Provisions on the Functioning of the Plenary

Agenda of the Plenary

ARTICLE 53- (1) It shall be incumbent on the Presidency to set the date of Plenary meetings and to arrange the agenda. When necessary, the Plenary may also decide to put certain issues on the agenda as well.

(2) A copy of the reports and draft decisions issued by rapporteur-judges and submitted to the Presidency and the agenda set by the Presidency shall be circulated to the justices at least a week prior to the date of the meeting.

(3) The President may set the date and agenda of the meeting without being bound by the procedure and period stipulated in this Article in circumstances which are of urgent nature and in respect of which any delay is deemed prejudicial. The Plenary shall separately set the day of meeting if it does not agree with this opinion and does not accept the procedures carried out by the Presidency.

(4) The agenda shall be circulated to the justices and rapporteur-judges in hard copy or on electronic format and also published on the website of the Court.

(5) The justices shall be entitled to examine the case files at any time they wish.

Meetings and deliberations

ARTICLE 54- (1) The justices shall be present at deliberations, hearings, and sessions where oral explanations are made, on the basis of their seniority.

(2) If one of the justices asserts, before a deliberation starts, that she/he has not been able to examine, to a sufficient degree, the issue in question, the deliberation shall be postponed to another day. A justice who has joined the Plenary subsequently can also request the postponement of the deliberation for the same reason. This postponement may be made only once.

(3) The deliberation shall be initiated and managed by the President. Those requesting the floor shall be given the floor in the order of their request. Those who wish to express her/his opinion regarding the procedure shall be given the floor with priority. The justice taking the floor shall not be interrupted. However, off-topic speeches may be interrupted by the President.

(4) Voting process shall take place upon the completion of the deliberations.

(5) The deliberations of the Court shall be confidential and recorded by technical means deemed appropriate by the President. The principles as to the storage and use of these records shall be laid down by a regulation.

(6) The Court may defer to another day or postpone, in order to be discussed on a subsequent date to be determined by the Presidency, the deliberation of an issue which is on the agenda, the conclusion of an already initiated deliberation, or an issue the deliberation of which has not been initiated yet.

(7) A justice who has been present during the initiation of the deliberations cannot leave the Plenary until the issue in question has been concluded, save for a very important excuse. The justice who has not been able to participate in the deliberations due to her/his excuse can no longer attend the deliberation of the same issue by stating that her/his excuse has ended, unless it is necessary for maintaining the required quorum. A justice who has recently assumed office by taking the oath cannot participate in already initiated deliberations, save for the processes in the Supreme Criminal Tribunal, unless it is necessary for maintaining the required quorum.

(8) Justices who have not yet taken the oath can pursue the meetings and deliberations on the condition that they do not express any opinion and participate in the voting process.

Failure to attend the meetings

ARTICLE 55- (1) Justices who will not be able to attend the meetings due to their excuses shall notify the Presidency thereof as soon as possible. Diseases, being on leave or on duty, as well as other sudden and important circumstances that are compelling and cannot be prevented shall be considered as excuses.

(2) It is the President who shall appraise the validity of an excuse.

Voting Process

ARTICLE 56- (1) It shall be possible to carry out electronic voting when the President deems appropriate and having regard to the very nature of the affair. In circumstances where an open voting is carried out, the voting process shall start from the justice with the least seniority. Those present shall not be entitled to cast any abstention vote.

(2) Those who remain in minority regarding matters of duty and procedure shall be obliged to participate in the deliberation and voting process as to the merits.

Decisions/Judgments

ARTICLE 57- (1) In circumstances where there are no separate provisions in the Constitution and the Code, the decisions/judgments shall be taken by a simple majority of the votes cast. In case of equality of votes, the decision/judgment shall be taken in accordance with the vote cast by the President.

(2) Those who agree with the decision/judgment, those who do not concur with the majority and the summary of the decision/judgment shall be recorded in a minute, which shall be signed by the President before the meeting is adjourned.

(3) If a draft decision/judgment is submitted by the rapporteur-judge after a decision/judgment is reached on the merits, this report shall also be deliberated. When necessary, the President may assign one of the justices concurring with the majority to take part in the drafting process of the decision/judgment with the rapporteur-judge.

(4) Names and surnames of the rapporteur-judges shall be indicated in the decision/judgment.

(5) In case of any dispute in the text of the decision/judgment, the President shall determine the final version of the decision/judgment.

(6) On the condition that the justices who have taken part in the decision-making process submit jointly or individually the text of their dissenting opinions or concurring opinions, if any, to the Presidency within 10 days after the Plenary has formulated the final version of the decision/judgment, these texts shall be appended to the decision/judgment. In the event that dissenting or concurring opinions are not submitted to the Presidency within the prescribed period, the decision/judgment shall be published in the absence of these opinions.

Printing and publishing of decisions/judgments

ARTICLE 58- (1) The decisions/judgments shall be printed on one side of papers bearing the emblem of the Court, and each page shall be stamped with the seal of the Court.

(2) The reasoned decisions on the merits issued in actions for abstract and concrete review shall be published in the Official Gazette. The Presidency shall determine the other decisions/judgments which will be published in the Official Gazette. The copies of the decisions/judgments to be published in the Official Gazette shall be signed by the President and the Deputy Secretary General responsible for judicial affairs.

(3) (Amended by Article 7 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) The duly prepared copies of decisions/ judgments shall be submitted to the relevant unit of the Presidency of the Republic against signature and published in full in the first issue of the Official Gazette to be printed.

(4) Upon a letter submitted by the Presidency, errors in printing and material mistakes shall be corrected in the first issue of the Official Gazette to be published.

CHAPTER FOUR

Individual Application

Individual application form and its annexes

ARTICLE 59- (1) (Amended by Article 8 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Individual applications shall be made in the official language through an application form, which is available on the website of the Court and the copy of which is submitted enclosed (Annex-1).

(2) The application form shall contain the following information:

a) The applicant’s Turkish Republic identification number, name, surname, name of the mother, name of the father, date of birth, gender, nationality, occupation and address, as well as telephone numbers and electronic mail address, if any;

b) If the applicant is a legal person, its registration number on the Central Registration System (MERSIS), title, address, as well as the name, surname, Turkish Republic identification number, taxpayer identification number of the individual who is authorized to represent the legal person, and in case the legal person doesn’t have any MERSIS number, its tax identification number and name and number of its registration , and its telephone numbers and registered electronic mail address, if any;

c) 1) If the applicant is represented by an attorney, the full name, the relevant bar association and register no, address, phone number and e-mail, if any, of the attorney;

2) If the application is lodged by a legal representative other than attorney, personal identification number, full name, father’s and mother’s names, date of birth, nationality, address, and phone number and e-mail, if any, of the legal representative;

ç) A chronological summary of the incidents pertaining to the act, action or omission of the public authority allegedly giving rise to a violation;

d) A succinct explanation as to which applicable personal rights falling under the protection realm of the individual application mechanism have been violated and the underlying reasons thereof, as well as the relevant grounds and evidence to substantiate the alleged violation(s);

e) A separate but overlapping information and explanation about the fundamental rights alleged to have been violated and the underlying reasons for the alleged violation(s);

f) The presentation, in chronological order, of the stages pertaining to the exhaustion of legal remedies;

g) The date on which legal remedies were exhausted, or in case of existence of no legal remedy, the date on which the violation became known;

ğ) In case of any failure to lodge the application within the prescribed period due to a valid excuse, the explanation in respect thereof;

h) The applicant’s claims;

ı) If the applicant has another application pending before the Court, application number of that case-file;

i) The request for confidentiality of identity in the documents accessible to the public, and the grounds thereof;

j) Whether the applicant wishes to be notified via text message (SMS) or electronic mail;

k) The signatures of the applicant herself/himself, her/his attorney or legal representative; and

l) If any, request for an interim measure for the protection of the physical and moral integrity under Article 73 of the Internal Regulations, and the grounds thereof.

(3) The following documents or their certified copies shall be appended to the application form:

a) As regards the applications pursued by legal representative or an attorney, the document issued in compliance with the legislation, which attests to the power to represent the applicant;

b) The document attesting to the payment of the prescribed fee;

c) If the application is submitted by the applicant herself/himself, the certified copy of the official document enabling the determination of the applicant’s identification;

ç) If the application is lodged by a legal representative on behalf of a legal person, the certified copy of the official document attesting that the representative is authorised to represent by the date of the application;

d) The final decision or a document showing the date when a final decision or process became known;

e) The certified copies of the documents to substantiate alleged violations raised in the application;

f) In case of any claim for compensation, the incurred damage and related documents;

g) The certified copies of petitions for having recourse to ordinary and extraordinary legal remedies;

ğ) In case of any failure to lodge the application within the prescribed period, the documents that substantiate the excuse, if any; and

h) In case of a request for legal aid, documents attesting that the applicant cannot afford litigation costs and expenses, as well as other documents prescribed in the legislation for receiving legal aid.

(4) In the event that the applicant fails to submit the documents listed above in paragraph three, she/he shall indicate the reasons thereof and enclose the relevant information and documents, if any, with the application. The Court shall collect ex officio such information and documents if it accepts the given excuse and deems necessary to do so.

(5) It shall be compulsory for the applicants to notify the Court if there has been a change in the information present on the application form or conditions pertaining thereto.[5]

Principles regarding the preparation of the form and its annexes

ARTICLE 60- (1) (Amended by Article 9 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) The application form shall be prepared as per Article 59 of the Internal Regulations, and the documents stipulated in the same Article or their certified copies, issued by the authorities entitled to duplicate according to the relevant legislation, shall be appended to the application form.

(2) The application form shall be legible and contain succinct information as to the merits of the application. In cases where an application exceeds ten pages (excluding annexes), the applicant must also provide a short summary.

(3) The documents submitted by the applicant in the annex should be listed in order by date, numbered consecutively and given a concise description.

Representation of the applicant

ARTICLE 61- (1) An individual application can be made by the applicant in person, her/his legal representative or attorney. In applications lodged through an attorney or legal representative, the certificate of authority for the representation must be submitted.

(2) If the applicant has an attorney or a legal representative, the correspondence or the notifications made by, or addressed to, them shall be considered to have been made to the applicant herself/himself.

Application fee and legal aid

ARTICLE 62- (1) The application fee stipulated in the first sentence of the heading entitled A) ''Court Fees'' under the list no. (I) related to the Law on Fees dated 2 July 1964 and numbered 492 shall be deposited to the cashier's offices of the Ministry of Finance.

(2) The requests for legal aid shall be concluded by the Sections or the Commissions that will rule on the admissibility of the applications as per the general provisions.

Where to apply

ARTICLE 63- (1) (Amended by Article 10 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Individual applications may be lodged in person to the Court, through the application form submitted in the annex of this Internal Regulations and available on the website of the Court, as per the conditions stipulated herein as well as in the Code, or via other courts or representations abroad.[6]

(2) When a duly-filled application form is submitted to the places noted above along with the document confirming payment of the application fee, the applicant or to her/his representative shall be provided with a certificate of receipt. This date shall be accepted as the date on which the application is lodged.

(3) The application form and its annexes submitted to courts or representations abroad shall be sent to the Court in hard copy and electronically after the required registration procedure being completed. In cases where the proceedings and other trial procedures are conducted electronically, data shall be saved and stored via UYAP.

(4) The Plenary may decide to receive individual applications electronically by secured electronic signature.

Prescribed time-limit for lodging applications and excuse

ARTICLE 64- (1) (Amended by Article 7 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) Individual applications must be lodged within 30 days starting from the exhaustion of legal remedies or, if no remedies are envisaged, from the date when the violation became known.

(2) In the event that the applicant cannot lodge her/his application within the prescribed time-limit due to a valid excuse such as force majeure or severe disease, she/he can apply to the Court with the evidence substantiating her/his excuse within 15 days as of the date when her/his excuse is no longer valid. A draft decision as to whether the excuse should be accepted or not shall be prepared by the unit of the rapporteur-judges assigned in the Commissions. The Commission shall accept or reject the excuse by first examining whether the excuse put forward by the applicant has been considered valid.

(3) If applicable to the given case, a single draft shall be issued to decide concurrently on the applicant’s excuse and admissibility of the case.

Individual application registration procedures

ARTICLE 65- (Amended by Article 11 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) Individual applications received by the Court shall be assigned a number by the relevant unit and registered accordingly under the supervision of the chief rapporteur-judge assigned in the Commissions. The relevant unit shall be responsible for duly scanning and saving the application documents on UYAP, forming a hard-copy file, saving the correspondences related to the application and circulating them to the concerned units, as well as conducting other related procedures.

Preliminary examination of the form and its annexes and the deficiencies

ARTICLE 66- (1) (Amended by Article 8 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) The Individual Application Office shall examine the incoming applications in order to determine whether they contain any formal deficiencies. In case of any deficiency found in the application form or its annexes, a definite period up to a maximum of 15 days shall be granted to the applicant, to her/his attorney or legal representative, if any, in order for these deficiencies to be remedied.

(2) (Amended by Article 8 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) In the letter as to the completion of the deficiencies, it shall be notified to the applicant that her/his application will be dismissed in the event that she/he does not remedy the deficiencies within the prescribed time-limit without a valid excuse.

(3) In cases where the application has been lodged out of time, or it does not satisfy the formal conditions set forth in Articles 59 and 60, or the indicated deficiencies have not been remedied within the prescribed time-limits which are definite, it shall be dismissed by the chief rapporteur-judge assigned in the Commissions, and the applicant shall be notified thereof. An objection against this decision may be filed to the Commission within 7 days as of the date of notification. The decisions made by the Commissions in this respect shall be final.

Assignment of individual applications to Sections and Commissions

ARTICLE 67- (1) The applications which have been registered and enumerated by the Individual Application Office shall be assigned automatically between the Sections and the Commissions.

(2) The case-files which need to be examined after having been joined by their very nature shall be joined under the application which is registered initially.

Order of examination of applications

ARTICLE 68- Individual applications shall be examined and concluded in the order in which they are received. However, the Court may employ a separate order of examination within the framework of the criteria it determines, in consideration of the significance and urgency of the applications given their subject-matters.

Correspondence

ARTICLE 69- (1) Applicants shall be obliged to exchange correspondence with the Court by following the procedure for individual applications laid down herein.

(2) The time-limits of a minimum of 15 days, which are provided in consideration of the maturity of the individual applications by the Secretariat General, the Commissions or the Sections, shall be definite. Other information and documents which are not duly submitted within the prescribed time-limit shall not be taken into consideration in the examination of a given application and not be included in the case-file.

(3) The information, documents and all kinds of other requests in relation to applications must be made in writing. Save for the requests made during hearings, examination of witnesses or on-site reconnaissance, those made without this procedure being fulfilled shall not be taken into consideration.

Request for information and documents, and notification process

ARTICLE 70- (1) During the fulfilment of the duties assigned to itself, the Court shall correspond directly with the legislative, executive and judicial organs, public authorities, public officials, banks and other real and legal persons, request information and documents and examine all kinds of documents, entries and actions it deems necessary. It may summon public officials of all grades and classes in order to obtain information, as well as ask for representatives from the administration and other legal persons.

(2) (Amended by Article 9 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) If deemed necessary, the information and documents received by the Court as per the paragraph above shall be notified to the applicant, the Ministry of Justice and other parties concerned, if any, so as to enable them to submit their opinions within the fifteen-day period.

(3) If the Court considers that the applicant or the public authority refrains from submitting any requested information or document or conceals evidence or fails to actively intervene in the proceedings for any reason whatsoever despite having been summoned, it shall make a decision, reaching the relevant conclusions from this situation.

Notification to the Ministry of Justice

ARTICLE 71- (1) In the event that an individual application is found admissible, a copy of the admissibility decision shall be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for information. In circumstances where it deems necessary, the Ministry of Justice shall notify its observations to the Court in writing.

(2) (Amended by Article 10 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 5 March 2014 and numbered 28932) The Ministry of Justice shall submit its observations pertaining to the application within a period of 30 days. Upon request, this period can be extended up to 30 days by the Head of the Section. If a reply is not given within the prescribed periods starting from the notification of the application to the Ministry of Justice, the Court shall render its decision on the basis of the information and documents within the case-file. In case of urgency or if the matter is well-established in its case-law, the Court can issue a decision on the admissibility of the application or on the merits without waiting for the reply by the Ministry of Justice.

(3) The reply of the Ministry of Justice shall be notified to the applicant. The applicant shall be required to submit her/his counter statements, if any, to the Court within 15 days.

Voting and decision-making processes in the Sections and Commissions

ARTICLE 72- (1) The Sections shall make their decisions by a simple majority.

(2) The decisions on admissibility or inadmissibility of an application shall be made unanimously by the Commissions. In cases where there is no unanimity, the application shall be referred to the Section for a decision to be issued.

(3) As regards the matters deemed appropriate by the Head of Section, the Commissions can also make decisions without holding a meeting on the basis of the draft decisions issued by the rapporteur-judges, which are to be signed by the justices starting from the one who has the least seniority. In the event that one of the Commission members requests the matter to be discussed at a meeting, the mentioned procedure shall not be applied.

(4) It shall be possible to resort to electronic voting if deemed appropriate by the Sections or Commissions and applicable by the nature of the process in question. In case of an open voting, the voting shall start with the justice with the least seniority.

Interim measure

ARTICLE 73- (1) Upon learning that there is a serious threat to the life or physical or to the psychological integrity of the applicant, the Sections may, ex officio or upon the applicant’s request, order the taking of the necessary measures during the examination on the merits of the case.

(2) As regards the applications which have been examined; upon learning that there is a serious threat to the life or to the physical or psychological integrity of the applicant in cases where any interim measure has not been indicated ex officio or upon the applicant’s request before a decision is issued on the merits of the case, the Commissions shall immediately conduct an admissibility examination and refer the case to the relevant Section for a decision on the interim measure as well.

(3) In the event that the Section indicates an interim measure, it shall notify the relevant individuals and institutions thereof for the necessary actions to be taken.

(4) The merits of the case regarding which an interim measure has been indicated must be decided on within a maximum period of 6 months. In cases where an extension of the interim measure is not granted, or where no violation has been found in a given application or where the application has been struck out, the interim measure shall be automatically lifted.

Hearing

ARTICLE 74 - (1) The Sections shall examine the applications over the case-file. However, the Sections may, ex officio or upon the request of the applicant or the Ministry of Justice, decide to conduct a hearing.

(2) If a hearing is to be held, the place, date and time of the hearing shall be notified to those concerned.

(3) Hearing minutes shall be drafted during the hearing. Copies of the minutes shall be provided to the applicant, the Ministry of Justice and any other parties concerned, if any, if they so request.

Pilot-judgment procedure

ARTICLE 75 - (1) In cases where the Sections determine that an application stems from a structural problem, which has also given rise to other applications, or where they envisage that this situation will give rise to new applications, they may adopt the pilot-judgment procedure. In this procedure, a pilot judgment shall be given by the Section in relation to the matter. It is intended that applications of similar nature should be resolved by administrative authorities within the framework of these principles. In case of any failure to do so, these applications shall be examined and adjudicated by the Court on a collective basis.

(2) The Section can initiate the pilot-judgment procedure ex officio or upon the request of the Ministry of Justice or the applicant.

(3) The application, which will be subject to the pilot-judgment procedure, shall be considered as among the prioritised affairs on the agenda.

(4) In its pilot judgment, the Section shall indicate the structural problem it has identified and the measures required to be taken for its resolution.

(5) With the pilot judgment, the Section can postpone the examination of similar applications that are related to the structural problem indicated in the judgment. The concerned shall be informed of such postponement. When the Section finds it necessary, it can put on the agenda and adjudicate the applications it has already postponed.

Formulation of draft decisions/judgments

ARTICLE 76 - (1) Draft decisions/judgments that are in compliance with the drafting procedure indicated herein and also contain the summary opinion of the rapporteur-judge shall be formulated by rapporteur-judges or assistant rapporteur-judges dealing with individual applications in order to be submitted to the Commissions or the Sections.

(2) The duly formulated draft decisions/judgments shall be submitted to the relevant Commission or Section upon being signed by the chief rapporteur-judge of the relevant unit. The draft decisions/judgments which have been formulated in order to be submitted to the Section shall also be submitted to Re-CL.

Format of the Commission decisions/judgments

ARTICLE 77 - (1) The decisions/judgments issued by the Commissions shall contain the following matters:

a) As the header information of the page:

1) The emblem of the Court;

2) The phrase ''the Constitutional Court''; and

3) The relevant Commission of the Section which has issued the decision.

b) In the text of the decision/judgment:

1) Application number;

2) Date of the decision/judgment;

3) Names of the Head, members and the rapporteur-judge comprising the Commission;

4) Names of the parties and their representatives, if any;

5) Explanation as to the procedure followed before the Court;

6) The facts of the case;

7) Summary of the allegations and defence submissions by the parties;

8) Reasoning of the decision/judgment;

9) Operative part of the decision/judgment; and

10) Litigation costs awarded by the Court.

(2) Page and paragraph numbers shall be added to the decisions/judgments.

(3) (Added by Article 12 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) The decisions rendered through listing procedure may not contain the issues stated in subparagraphs (5), (6), (7) of paragraph 1 (b).

Format of the Section decisions/judgments

ARTICLE 78- (1) The decisions/judgments issued by the Sections shall contain the following matters:

a) On the first page of the decision/judgment:

1)The emblem of the Court;

2) The phrase ''the Constitutional Court'';

3) The Section issuing the decision/judgments;

4) Application number; and

5) Date of the decision/judgment.

b) On the other pages, on the condition that the paragraphs are enumerated:

1) Names of the Head, members and the rapporteur-judge of the Section;

2) Names of the parties and their representatives, if any;

3) Explanation as to the procedure followed before the Court;

4) The facts of the case;

5) The summary of the allegations and defence submissions by the parties;

6) Reasoning of the decision/judgment;

7) Operative part of the decision/judgment; and

8) Litigation costs awarded by the Court.

(2) The justices comprising the committee shall be entitled to append jointly or individually their dissenting opinions or concurring opinions to the decision/judgment.

Judgments finding a violation and redress of violations

ARTICLE 79- (1) If the Section determines that a given violation has stemmed from a court decision;

a) It shall remit the case-file to the relevant court for a retrial so as to eliminate the violation and its consequences. The relevant court shall carry out a retrial in such a way as to eliminate the violation and consequences thereof as explained by the Section in the violation judgment and, if possible, make a decision, without any delay, over the case-file.

b) If at the end of the examination carried out by the Sections, it is concluded that the applicant’s given right has been violated but there is no legal interest in conducting a retrial, an appropriate compensation may be awarded in favour of the applicant.

c) In cases where the determination of the compensation amount necessitates a more detailed examination, the Section may, without adjudicating the matter in question, decide that the applicant should bring an action before general courts.

(2) If appropriate, the Section shall indicate, in its decision, the actions to be taken so as to eliminate and redress the violation and its consequences in line with Article 50 § 1 of the Code.

Striking-out decision

ARTICLE 80- (1) A striking-out decision can be issued by the Sections or the Commissions at any stage of the proceedings in the following circumstances:

a) The explicit withdrawal of the applicant from the case;

b) The conclusion that the applicant no longer wishes to pursue his application;

c) The elimination of the violation and its consequences; and

ç) Finding of no justified reason to continue the examination of the application due to another justification identified by the Sections or the Commissions.

(2) The Sections or the Commissions can still continue to examine an application which indeed falls within the scope of the paragraph above in cases required by the implementation and interpretation of the Constitution or the determination of the scope and limitations of fundamental rights or the respect for human rights.

Signing, notification and publication of the decisions/judgments

ARTICLE 81- (1) The decisions/judgments issued by the Sections and Commissions shall be signed by the Head and all of the members comprising the committee in order of seniority and bear the seal of the Court.

(2) Dissenting opinions or concurring opinions shall be submitted to the Head of the Section within 15 days starting from the date of the decisions/judgments. The dissenting opinions or concurring opinions, which are not submitted within this period, shall not be taken into consideration.

(3) The decisions/judgments issued by the Sections and Commissions shall be final. The original copies of the decisions/judgments, duly signed, shall be placed in the archives of the Court. A copy of the decision/judgment shall be served on the applicant, the Ministry of Justice and the other parties concerned.

(4) All decisions/judgments of the Sections, as well as those of the Commissions which are of principal importance for the admissibility process of individual application, shall be published in the official website of the Court.

(5) The decisions/judgments that are determined by the Head of Section, that are pilot-judgments issued by the Section or that are of special importance for setting the jurisprudence of the Section shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Clarification and correction of material mistakes

ARTICLE 82- (Amended by Article 13 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587), The parties concerned may request the clarification of the judgment or the correction of material mistakes as per the relevant provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure dated 12 January 2011 and numbered 6100.

Abuse of the right to application

ARTICLE 83- (Amended by Article 14 of the Internal Regulations published in the Official Gazette dated 6 November 2018 and numbered 30587) In cases where the applicant is found to have clearly abused the right to individual application through her/his behaviour which is abusive, misleading or of a similar nature, the application shall be dismissed at any stage of the examination, and the person concerned may be sentenced to a disciplinary fine up to a maximum of two thousand Turkish liras, plus the litigation costs.

Application of general provisions

ARTICLE 84- In the absence of any provision in the Code and this Internal Regulations as regards the examination of individual applications or the execution of the decisions/judgments, the provisions of relevant procedural laws, which are applicable given the nature of the individual application, shall apply.

PART FOUR

Final Provisions

CHAPTER ONE

Miscellaneous Provisions

Books and registries to be kept and archive

ARTICLE 85- (1) The books and registries required to be kept according to the requirements of the units at the Court shall be laid down in a regulation.

(2) The personal files of the President and justices, as well as the assigned rapporteur-judges and other staff shall be kept by the Directorate of Personal Affairs.

(3) The archive services shall be conducted as per the general provisions.

Working hours

ARTICLE 86- The daily working hours of the Court shall be 8.30 a.m. - 12 a.m. / 1 p.m. - 5.30 p.m.. These hours can be changed by the Presidency if required by the very nature of the service. Such change shall be announced on the website of the Court.

Annual and compassionate leaves of justices and rapporteur-judges

ARTICLE 87- (1) The annual and compassionate leaves of the justices shall be granted by the President. Their sick leaves and compassionate leaves shall be subject to the general provisions.

(2) The President, Vice-Presidents and the justices shall be entitled to forty-day annual leave. In utilizing the leaves, attention shall be paid to causing no delay in the affairs, in respect of which the Court acts in its capacity as the Supreme Criminal Tribunal or which are subject to time-limits, as well as to enabling the justices to rest. Insofar as possible, the justices shall be ensured to go on leave on dates of their own choosing.

(3) The assigned and appointed rapporteur-judges at the Court shall be allowed to go on leave by the President in consideration of their requests and on the condition of causing no delay in the performance of their tasks and duties.

Security measures to be taken at the Court premises

ARTICLE 88- The requests of the Presidency for maintaining the security of the Court shall be immediately fulfilled by administrative authorities and security services. Unless requested by the Presidency, no authority or office can take security measures at the Court premises.

Library and publication affairs

ARTICLE 89- (1) The printed and electronic books and publications to be made available at the Library of the Court, the databases that the Court will have a subscription to and the publications to be made by the Court shall be determined by the Library and Publication Commission consisting of a justice, a deputy secretary general and a rapporteur-judge to be assigned by the President.

(2) Other affairs of the library and other matters pertaining to publications shall be performed by the Directorate of Publication and Public Relations in line with a regulation to be issued.

(3) The decisions and judgments deemed appropriate by the Library and Publication Commission shall be published in the Journal of the Constitutional Court Decisions.

Assignments abroad

ARTICLE 90- (1) It shall be decided by the Presidency to send the President, Vice Presidents, justices, rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges to foreign countries in order to conduct professional examinations, exchange knowledge and experience, attend congresses, conferences, seminars and other scientific meetings by providing them with their salaries and allowances, real travel expenses and per diem payments, provided that there is no delay in the performance of the tasks and duties.

(2) Rapporteur-judges and assistant rapporteur-judges can be assigned abroad for up to two years by the Presidency to work or to train at courts of foreign countries, universities or international organisations for the purposes of postgraduate education, scientific research or mutual cooperation. If deemed necessary by the Presidency, the assignment period can be extended up to two-folds. The provisions regarding civil servants shall be applied regarding the financial rights and liabilities, compulsory service, payment of expenses and the transfer of the salaries and allowances of those who are assigned abroad within this framework.

(3) The advancement in degree and grade, retirement, salary, allowance and all other personal rights and liabilities of those who have been sent to foreign countries as per paragraph two shall continue.

(4) The principles and procedures as well as the criteria applicable in assignment abroad shall be laid down in a regulation.

Garments

ARTICLE 91- (1) The robes to be worn by the President, Vice-Presidents and justices during the foundation anniversaries, proceedings with a hearing, oath-taking ceremonies and hearings for the dissolution of a political party shall be black women's suit, white blouse and black shoes for female justices, and black suit, white shirt, tie and black shoes for male justices. The robe shall be made out of black fabric and the collars shall be ornamented in Maraş style (Annex-2).

(2) The robe to be worn by rapporteur-judges at foundation anniversaries and hearings at the Supreme Criminal Tribunal and during the hearings for the dissolution of a political party shall be made out of black fabric with the sleeves and collars made out of violet satin and ornamented in Maraş style (Annex-3).

(3) The robes to be worn by assistant rapporteur-judges at foundation anniversaries, proceedings with a hearing, oath-taking ceremonies and during the hearings for the dissolution of a political party shall be black women's suit, white blouse and black shoes for women, and black suit, white shirt, tie and black shoes for men.

(4) The Court shall decide on the necessity to wear robes in other ceremonies.

(5) The robes shall be tailored out of the allowance included in the budget and provided to the President, justices and rapporteur-judges as inventory stock. They shall be renewed at suitable intervals.

Emblem and badge of the Court

ARTICLE 92- (1) The emblem which is determined by the Court and can only be changed in this manner shall be used in the publications of the Court, in its printed papers and in the identity cards and badges of its active and retired staff (Annex-4). The badge shall not have a frame.

(2) The badge can be used by the President, Vice-Presidents, justices and the retirees.

Certificate of honour

ARTICLE 93- (1) The ''Certificate of Honour'', text of which is demonstrated in (Annex-5) shall be given to Presidents, Vice-Presidents and justices who retire.

(2) The retired presidents and justices of the Court and the individuals deemed to be appropriate shall be invited to the ceremony during which the certificates of honour and the gifts symbolizing the honour of past services will be awarded.

(3) The certificates of honour of Presidents and justices who pass away prior to retiring shall be awarded to their spouses, or to their children if she/he has no spouse, or to other legal heirs in the absence of any spouse or children.

Funeral ceremonies

ARTICLE 94- The funeral ceremonies of the President and justices and retired presidents and justices shall be commenced at the Court if requested by their families. The passing away shall be announced via newspapers, TRT and news agencies.

CHAPTER TWO

Amendment to, Entry into Force and Enforcement of the Internal Regulations

Amendment to the Internal Regulations

ARTICLE 95- (1) Any amendment to the Internal Regulations can be requested by the President or at least three justices. It shall be compulsory to submit the requests in writing and to indicate the justifications.

(2) The request for amendment shall be put on the agenda by the Presidency within 15 days. If the Plenary finds it necessary to make an amendment, a commission consisting of three members to be selected from among the justices shall be established in order to carry out an examination in this respect and issue a report containing the draft amendment text.

(3) The report of the commission shall be put on the agenda and concluded within 30 days.

Abolished legislation

ARTICLE 96- The Internal Regulations of the Constitutional Court published in the Official Gazette dated 3 December 1986 and numbered 19300 was abolished.

Entry into force

ARTICLE 97- This Internal Regulations shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Enforcement

ARTICLE 98- The President shall enforce the provisions embodied herein.

[1] Amendment to sub-paragraph (ğ) shall enter into force on the date when the term of office of the justice appointed from the Supreme Military Administrative Court expires.

[2] Amendment to sub-paragraph (j) shall enter into force on the date when the term of office of the justice appointed from the Supreme Military Administrative Court expires.

[3] Amendment to Article 24 § 1 shall enter into force on the date when the term of office of the elected justice from the Supreme Military Administrative Court expires.

[4] Amendment to Article 27 § 1 shall enter into force on the date when the term of office of the elected justice from the Supreme Military Administrative Court expires.

[5] Amendments to Article 59 shall come into force on 1 January 2019.

[6] Amendment to Article 63 § 1 above shall come into force on 1 January 2019.

ANNEX-1

ANNEX-2

Justices' Robe

ANNEX-3

Rapporteur-Judges' Robe

ANNEX-4

ANNEX-5

THE TEXT OF THE CERTIFICATE OF HONOR

CERTIFICATE OF HONOR OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

The Constitutional Court;

Presents, with feelings of gratitude and respect, this Certificate of Honor representing the efforts and contributions, which will always be appreciated, of Mr./Ms.…………………… who has retired after having honorably completed his/her services in justice with complete faith in the rule of law and the Constitution.

25 April ….

LIST INDICATING THE DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE LEGISLATION PROVISIONS INTRODUCING ADDITIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REGULATIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Number of the Amending Internal Regulations	Amended or Abolished Articles of the Internal Regulations of the Constitutional Court	Date of Entry into Force
Internal Regulations of the Constitutional Court published in the Official Gazette dated 5/3/2014 and numbered 28932	10, 12, 25, 28, 33, 50, 64, 66, 70, 71