Constitutional Court: Access to Justice Violated in Execution Cases Dismissed by Law Change

The Constitutional Court (AYM), in its reasoned decision published yesterday, determined that the right of access to courts was violated in lawsuits filed by officials who worked at the closed Ankara Çalış Municipal Presidency.

The officials had initiated execution proceedings without a judgment to recover unpaid salaries from previous years. While the execution process was ongoing, a law amendment was enacted that introduced a rule prohibiting execution proceedings without a judgment in matters under the administrative judiciary's jurisdiction; the ongoing proceedings were dismissed by execution offices. The regulation provided that appeals could be filed to administrative courts within thirty days following the finalization of the dismissal decision.

Lawsuits filed by officials who appealed to administrative courts within the statutory period were partially or wholly rejected on grounds of statute of limitations, on the basis that a lawsuit should be filed in the period when each salary was received.

The AYM emphasized that administrative courts interpreted the commencement of the lawsuit filing period in an unpredictable manner and that the barrier imposed on officials using the special thirty-day application period was "rigid and disproportionate." The high court ruled that the right of access to courts, guaranteed under Article 36 of the Constitution within the scope of the right to fair trial, was violated.

The reasoned decision was sent to the relevant Ankara administrative courts for retrial. While compensation claims were rejected, the court unanimously decided that trial costs totaling 41,950 Turkish lira would be paid to the applicants jointly.