Turkey to hear cases before court of rights

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The European Court of Human Rights heard 2,500 cases on Turkey by late last year and that this number could reach 3,500 by September this year, according to Ergin.

The European Court of Human Rights is set to agree on a mechanism that will allow Turkey to retry its cases before they go to the Strasbourg-based court, Turkish Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said March 1. 

“We have reached a compromise with the European court. We proposed to them that we create a mechanism to solve these cases within domestic law, and the [court] agreed on this offer,” said Ergin.
Ergin said the European court had heard 2,500 cases on Turkey by late last year and that this number could reach 3,500 by September this year. 

Under the new mechanism, controversial court case decisions will be considered by a “special commission” before they go to the European court. The commission will then retry the case and pass a 
decision; if the commission’s decision is approved by the European court, the case will not be tried in Strasbourg. Ultimately, the plan is seen as a mechanism to decrease the number of cases on Turkey waiting for trial at the European court. 

Pilot case

The European court has proposed a pilot case to test the mechanism, Ergin said, adding that Turkey had approved it. “The European court will announce a calendar for this pilot project within 15 to 20 days.” 

He said Turkish citizens would not be able to apply to the European court before applying to the commission. 

Meanwhile, Turkish citizens will be able to apply to Turkey’s Constitutional Court directly after Sept. 23, said Ergin, suggesting it would also help decrease the number of cases against Turkey in Strasbourg.