12^th Summer School officially commenced.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye this year hosted the 12^th Summer School event, under the auspices of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC). A total of 53 representatives from 27 different courts and institutions participated in the programme, which started with the opening ceremony organised on 30 September 2024 at the Constitutional Court premises.

The opening remarks were delivered by Vice-President of the Constitutional Court Mr. Basri Bağcı. Stressing that artificial intelligence and digital applications had a transformative impact on every aspect of our lives, including the legal realm, Mr. Bağcı noted that the necessity of leveraging these technologies to enhance the efficiency of judicial systems in securing the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.

Pointing to the significance of the international cooperation for the protection of human rights, improvement of judicial system, and ensuring the good administration of justice, Mr. Bağcı expressed that the Turkish Constitutional Court has always maintained good strong relations and fostered cooperation with the equivalent institutions in other countries.

He further expressed his sincere belief that the programme would provide significant contributions to the respective courts in gaining a better insight into technology and innovations that may offer solutions to the challenges of the future. Expressing his gratitude to the participants for their presentations, and to everyone taking a role in the programme, Mr. Bağcı wished for a successful and fruitful event.

The opening remarks by Vice-President Mr. Bağcı was followed by the sessions, which were inaugurated by Secretary General of the Turkish Constitutional Court Mr. Murat Azaklı. During his speech, Mr. Azaklı emphasised the urgent need for the judicial institutions to utilise all technological opportunities during a century with rapidly advancing technology. Elaborating on artificial intelligence and technological developments in terms of judicial institutions, Mr. Azaklı noted that, albeit its ability of being the smartest, most intelligent, fastest, most practical assistant for judicial institutions, artificial intelligence would never approach the level of intelligence of a human being. He indicated that human beings would always continue to have superior intelligence and skills, stating “That is because human beings are endowed with emotions, feelings, conscience, culture and traditions, along with wisdom and intelligence”.

The sessions were moderated by Rapporteur-Judge of the Turkish Constitutional Court, Ms. Gizem Ceren Demir Koşar. The first session featured the presentations by the delegations from Türkiye, Korea, Indonesia, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan and Kosovo, as well as by the representative of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Summer School Programme was proceeded with the sessions held on 1 October.

President of the Turkish Constitutional Court Mr. Kadir Özkaya delivered a welcome speech on the second day of the event. He noted that the Summer School events were crucial for providing young jurists with the chance to interact, and foster relationships, with colleagues from equivalent institutions across the world. Pointing out the significance of the cooperation and good relations among the constitutional courts and equivalent institutions in different continents and countries, President Özkaya further stated:

“As supreme courts, we address a broad spectrum of legal issues and render decisions that have a bearing on the country as a whole. Therefore, being aware of each other's experiences and the exchange of ideas and information will be beneficial for all of us. In this regard, the summer school organization serves as an excellent model. We have so far received very positive feedbacks about the summer school events. I would like to repeat once again that we, as the Turkish Constitutional Court, will always do our best for fostering cooperation and good relations”.

Recalling the themes of the previously organised summer school events, which mainly focused on material rights such as the freedom of expression, the presumption of innocence and the right to respect for private life, President Özkaya said with respect to artificial intelligence and information technologies, theme of this year’s summer school: “Nowadays, artificial intelligence is increasingly at the forefront of discussion, and as judicial institutions, we must explore how to utilise advancing technologies and how to integrate them into our system”.

He further indicated that the higher judicial authorities, which were under a heavy workload, had to utilise advancing technologies so as to handle their overwhelming workload. In this sense, President Özkaya stressed the Turkish Constitutional Court’s commitment towards making more use of advancing technologies by means of ensuring integration of artificial intelligence into the current system.

Expressing his sincere belief that the exchange of information and experience in the Summer School event would broaden the participants’ horizons, President Özkaya thanked everyone who contributed to the programme and wished for a beneficial and successful event.

Following President Özkaya’s speech, the programme was proceeded with the second session during which the delegations from Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, TRNC and Ukraine made their presentations. The third session covering the presentations by the delegations of Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe was followed by the Question and Answer sessions.

The closing remarks were delivered by Justice of the Turkish Constitutional Court Mr. Recai Akyel. He stated that future developments in the field of artificial intelligence would have a greater impact on the functioning of the judiciary, and that information technologies became an essential and indispensable part of the judicial processes. Mr. Akyel also noted “The use of information technology in the judiciary not only enhances overall performance, but also improves access to justice and is a step towards the more citizen-centred judicial services”. Ending his remarks, Mr. Akyel expressed his gratitude to everyone who contributed to the programme, and stated that events such as summer school organisation, which facilitate the exchange of professional knowledge and experience, supported the growth of social, cultural, psychological, and humanitarian sentiments.

Following his closing remarks, Mr. Akyel presented certificates to the participants.

The 12^th Summer School event ended with a trip to Cappadocia as part of the social programme.

Click for the full text of the speech delivered by President Kadir Özkaya.