Turkish Constitutional Court Considers Definition Of Personal Data

The Constitutional Court recently considered a claim that Article 136(1) of the Turkish Criminal Code ("Criminal Code") is unconstitutional because there is no clear definition or limitation for the phrase "personal data", violating Article 20 (right to privacy) and Article 38 (principle of legality) of the Turkish Constitution (decision number 2015/32, 12 November 2015). The Constitutional Court rejected the claim, ruling that technological developments mean it is impossible for legislators to specify all types of "personal data".

Article 136 of the Criminal Code states that persons that unlawfully give out, release or acquire personal data belonging to other people will be subject to imprisonment for between two to four years. The Criminal Court claimed this is ambiguous because here are no definite definition or limitation for the phrase "personal data".