Top court decision for annulment of security measures in law takes effect
ANKARA
A Constitutional Court decision to annul the law on security investigation and archive research upon an appeal of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was published in the Official Gazette on April 28 and entered into force.
The Constitutional Court annulled a provision of the law which provides the authority for the units responsible for conducting security investigations and archive research to obtain information and documents from the archives of the ministries, public institutions and organizations to access some records, inquiries and court decisions, on the grounds that it violates the confidentiality of private life.
The government will make arrangements for security investigations and archive research in light of the criteria specified in the annulment ruling. The court demanded that in the new regulation “the basic principles should be determined clearly” and “take measures against arbitrary application” along with “ensuring legal security.”
Deputies from the CHP had applied to the court, which made its decision on Feb. 19.
The decision said that according to Article 20 of the Constitution, personal data can only be processed in cases stipulated in the law or on the expressed consent of the person, and under the Article 13 of the Constitution, fundamental rights and freedoms can be limited only by law.
In the justification, by reminding the established decisions of the Supreme Court, not only information such as “name, surname, date of birth and place of birth” that reveals the identity of individuals but also all the data that makes the person directly or indirectly identifiable, such as “phone number, vehicle license plate, social security number, passport number, resume, picture, image, sound recordings, fingerprints, IP addresses, e-mail addresses, hobbies, preferences, interacting people, group memberships, family information and health information are also considered as personal data.”
