AK Party Ankara MP Tuğrul Türkeş reacted to statements by Chief Presidential Adviser Mehmet Uçum regarding the possibility of withdrawing from the ECHR. Türkeş stated that Türkiye has been a member of the Council of Europe and a party to the ECHR for more than 70 years, and that it has recognized the ECtHR’s compulsory jurisdiction since 1990.
Describing the debate over withdrawal from the ECHR as “a lapse of reason” and “Kafkaesque absurdity,” Türkeş emphasized that relations with Europe hold an important place in Türkiye’s multidimensional policy. He said that the Osman Kavala and similar cases could be resolved through the equal, fair and transparent application of the Constitution and laws to everyone.
Why it matters
The debate is once again bringing the place of ECHR and ECtHR obligations within Türkiye’s membership in the Council of Europe and its relations with Europe to the fore. Different statements from within the same political power show that the issue is not merely one of foreign policy, but also a legal debate connected to the implementation of the Constitution and laws. With regard to the Osman Kavala and similar cases, the fundamental distinction concerns whether the issue will be addressed by withdrawing from the international treaty or through the equal, fair and transparent application of the existing legal order to everyone. Therefore, the open question is whether the possibility of withdrawing from the ECHR will turn into an official policy proposal and how it will be received in relations with the Council of Europe.