Turkish Constitutional Court: Right to Fair Trial Violated by Failure to Consider Request to Use Oath Evidence

Turkey's Constitutional Court recently considered whether a first instance court had breached the principle of equality of arms by failing to consider a party's request to use an oath as evidence. The court held the party's right to a fair trial had been violated, sending the matter back to the lower court for a re-trial.

During the first instance court's trial (about unjust enrichment), the applicant sought to use oath evidence to refute a legislative presumption which weighed against her (as the defendant). However, the court decided the case without considering her right to use the oath as evidence.

At the Constitutional Court, the applicant claimed her right to a fair trial had been violated, seeking a re-trial and compensation. She argued that the firstinstance court had misjudged the evidence by failing to recognize her jurisdiction plea and consider her right to use an oath as evidence. As a result, she argued the lower court's decision had been contrary to