Constitutional Court Issues Decisions On Freedom Of Speech

RRecent Development

The Constitutional Court issued two new decisions, nos. 2018/24311 ("First Application") and 2018/15033 ("Second Application"), regarding the sanctions and measures taken against two applicants' freedom of speech. The decisions were published in the Official Gazette on 12 August 2021.

Background

In the First Application, the applicant, who is the lawyer of the defendant in a custody case, was fined by the Bar Association due to the statements used against the counter-party in their lawsuit petition, which are based on the information provided by their defendant. The judgment of the Bar Association was finalized after the objections of the First Applicant were rejected by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, administrative courts and the appellate court, respectively. The First Applicant argued that the punishments violated their freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution of Turkey.