Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan doubled down on his government’s judicial stance, describing the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings as “unfair” and “political” during the opening ceremony of Turkey’s 2022-2023 Judicial Year on Sunday.
“When the subject is Turkey, the ECHR makes political decisions. But when it comes to France or Germany, unfortunately, the decisions are different,” Erdoğan stated.
The President’s remarks come in the wake of recent rulings of the ECHR that have been critical of Turkey’s judicial system, including the life sentence upheld for Osman Kavala in the Gezi Park case. Erdoğan’s comments are seen as a direct response to these criticisms, reinforcing his stance against the European institutions.
Erdoğan also called for a new Constitution, saying that Turkey has yet to achieve a “civil, democratic, and liberal Constitution that upholds the rule of law”. He said that the political climate would soon be conducive to resuming work towards such a Constitution.
The president concluded by accusing unnamed parties of attempting to turn the law into a tool for their own agendas. “Their aim is not to strengthen the legal quality of our country, but to transform the law into a tool for their own agendas”, he claimed.