Since the failed coup in Türkiye in 2016 the four European organizations of judges work together in the Platform for an Independent Judiciary in Türkiye. This platform consists of the Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ), the European Association of Judges (EAJ, a regional branch of the International Association of Judges – IAJ), Judges for Judges, and Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés (MEDEL). Since its creation the Platform has promoted on many different occasions the independence of the Judiciary in Türkiye and the right to freedom and a fair trial to all the judges and prosecutors detained.
The Platform has submitted a Third Party Intervention (TPI) before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Kavala v. Türkiye (no. 2) (application no. 2170/24).
The case concerns Mr Kavala’s detention following the Court’s judgment of 10 December 2019 (Kavala v. Turkey, no. 28749/18) and the criminal proceedings in which he was convicted and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.
The TPI is confined exclusively to structural and systemic factors affecting judicial independence and impartiality in Türkiye, which are directly relevant to the Court’s objective assessment under Article 6 § 1.
The Court has consistently held that the independence of a tribunal must be assessed not only with regard to the personal conduct of individual judges, but also by reference to the institutional framework governing judicial appointments, tenure, discipline, and the broader constitutional environment in which courts operate.
The Kavala v. Türkiye (no. 2) – case arises against a background of profound structural changes to the governance of the judiciary in Türkiye, coupled with the systematic non-execution of binding judgments of this Court, most notably in Kavala’s own case. These developments go to the heart of whether in Türkiye tribunals adjudicating politically sensitive cases can be regarded as independent and impartial in Convention terms.
The judgment of the ECHR is expected after summer.