Constitutional Court annuls 'owner's responsibility' provision in Zoning Law

The Sixth Chamber of the Council of State requested the annulment of the third sentence of the tenth paragraph of temporary Article 16, which was added to the Zoning Law No. 3194 dated May 3, 1985, by Article 16 of Law No. 7143 dated November 11, 2018, arguing that it violated Articles 5, 17, 56, and 57 of the Constitution.

Temporary Article 16 of Law No. 3194, which contained the provision in question, regulated the procedures and principles for registering unlicensed structures or structures built contrary to their licenses and annexes, and for ensuring zoning amnesty. In this context, it was stipulated that a building registration certificate could be issued by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change for structures built before December 31, 2017, that were unlicensed or built contrary to their licenses and annexes, provided that the necessary conditions were met and an application was made by October 31, 2018.

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS WILL ALSO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE

In the examination conducted by the Constitutional Court, it was decided that the provision "The earthquake resistance of the structure is the responsibility of the owner" was unconstitutional and it was annulled. The relevant decision was published in today's issue of the Official Gazette.

The decision emphasized that it is unconstitutional to prevent the filing of compensation lawsuits against the administration in matters where the administration's responsibility for inspection and supervision continues.

Following the annulment decision, public institutions will also be held responsible for incidents that may occur due to factors such as earthquakes in buildings that have obtained a building registration certificate and achieved legal status. Citizens will be able to file compensation lawsuits against the relevant public institutions.

News Source: 12punto