Pilot Constitutional Court Judgment (Sait Görmüş application)

In its judgment dated December 12, 2024, and published in today's Official Gazette (No. 33046), the Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled that the applicant's right to an effective remedy in connection with his right to property was violated due to the excessive length (2010-2023) of the seizure of his vehicle during the criminal proceedings where he was claimed to be the financially responsible party.

The judgment emphasized that the seizure period was unreasonable; that the long-period limitation of the applicant's right to exercise legal control over his vehicle imposed an excessive burden on him beyond what was unavoidable; that the Supreme Court of Appeals did not consider the recording of an annotation in the registry sufficient to accede to the compensation claims brought in accordance with Article 141 of the Law No. 5271 Law, which is the remedy provided by the legislator against such seizure measures, instead the actual seizure condition was sought, therefore the concerned remedy did not constitute an effective remedy for the applicant. The applicant was awarded non-pecuniary compensation of TL 30,000.

The AYM ruled that the pilot decision procedure should be implemented since the violation was found to stem from a structural issue, the situation should be reported to the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and the review of relevant applications lodged before this date, as well as those to be lodged thereafter, should be postponed for four months, starting today.

The judgment was rendered unanimously.

Contact us at nihancetin.law@gamil.com, info@otaghukuk.com.tr for further information and questions on the judgment.