Breaking News... Constitutional Court President Kadir Özkaya makes statement on Demirtaş and Atalay

Constitutional Court President Kadir Özkaya met with members of the press at the Vilayetler Evi in Ankara. Responding to journalists' questions during the meeting, Özkaya made assessments regarding Selahattin Demirtaş and Can Atalay.

STATEMENT ON DEMİRTAŞ

When reminded that Selahattin Demirtaş remains in detention despite violation rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Özkaya stated that the merits of the cases are examined in the applications made.

Özkaya noted that they look at the nature of the violation ruling in applications concerning whether ECHR decisions have been fulfilled, stating, "If we determine that the requirements of the violation ruling have not been met, we issue a violation ruling."

Emphasizing that they do not have the authority to ensure the implementation of ECHR rulings, Özkaya said, "We do not have the authority to ensure the implementation of violation rulings issued by the European Court of Human Rights. Therefore, our assessments on this matter can be interpreted differently. I believe it would be more accurate to make assessments through our rulings on such matters."

TOUCHED UPON THE CAN ATALAY RULING

Responding to a question regarding Can Atalay, Özkaya stated that the Constitutional Court has three rulings concerning Atalay.

Özkaya noted that he had signed two of the rulings, which stated that the trial should be suspended as long as the status of being a member of parliament continues, within the framework of the interpretation of Articles 14 and 83 of the Constitution.

Stating that the third ruling was in the direction of "no grounds for a decision," Özkaya explained that in this ruling, he held the view that the Court could not examine the merits of the case due to technical reasons, taking into account the provisions of Articles 84 and 85 of the Constitution, and therefore cast a dissenting vote.

'WE WILL EVALUATE IT ONCE MORE IN THE NEAR FUTURE'

Regarding a question on whether the Constitutional Court will resume using its authority to suspend the execution of laws, which it had used in the past, in the new period, Constitutional Court President Özkaya said:

'The writing of Constitutional Court rulings and their publication in the Official Gazette have shortened significantly, especially in the last 10 years, in line with the changes we have made in the writing processes. As far as I recall, to date, there is no ruling that has exceeded 11 months between the date it was issued and the date it was published in the Official Gazette, except for the very comprehensive ruling regarding Decree-Law No. 703. Let this 11 months not be misunderstood. We do not have many rulings that take this long. The issue of suspending execution is a topic that has long been debated in constitutional jurisdiction.

There is no authority explicitly granted to the Constitutional Court on this matter in the Constitution or relevant laws. Despite this, the Constitutional Court has used the institution of suspending execution through jurisprudence in the past with the understanding that 'the lesser is included in the greater,' and has resorted to this path from time to time.

Since 2014, however, no ruling to suspend execution has been issued. But this does not mean that the institution of suspending execution has been completely abandoned. The Constitutional Court maintains the existence of this institution and preserves it to be used if deemed necessary. The fact that the duration of rulings has shortened significantly is also effective in adopting a cautious approach on this matter. Indeed, some of our rulings can be published in the Official Gazette within 4 months. As for applications coming through the objection path, the 5-month constitutional period is largely complied with. The criticisms voiced on this matter are valuable to us. As the assembly, we have reviewed the institution of suspending execution before, and we will evaluate it once more in the near future.'