The decision of the Constitutional Court (“Court”), dated 25 December 2025 and numbered E.2025/141, K.2025/274, published in the Official Gazette dated 18 March 2026 and numbered 33200 (“Decision”), focuses on whether certain provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271 (“CPC”) concerning the processing and destruction of genetic data provide adequate safeguards in terms of the right to the protection of personal data. Within the scope of the objection application filed by the Istanbul Anatolian 90th Criminal Court of First Instance, the Court particularly examined Article 80(2) and Article 82 of the CPC (insofar as it relates to Article 80(2)).
The core issue of the dispute concerns whether the conditions under which genetic data obtained from suspects, accused persons, or victims during criminal proceedings are stored and destroyed are regulated in a sufficiently clear and foreseeable manner. The Court first assessed the nature of genetic data and emphasized that such data
