TITLE:
The Right to a Remedy in Türkiye: From the Ottoman Era to the Republic of Türkiye
AUTHORS:
Fatih Öztürk
KEYWORDS:
Right to Remedy, Türkiye, Ottoman Turks, Turkish Constitutions, Minorities
JOURNAL NAME:
Beijing Law Review,
Vol.16 No.4,
December
5,
2025
ABSTRACT: The right to an effective remedy is a foundational principle of international human rights law, ensuring that individuals whose rights have been violated can seek redress through accessible and impartial legal mechanisms. This principle is enshrined in Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 2(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which obligates states to provide effective remedies for violations of recognized rights. First, I will begin with the historical background of Turkish law to outline the scope of “rights” under Turkish law. Second, I will evaluate the right to a remedy within international human rights documents, especially in terms of the ICCPR and Türkiye. Third, I will examine the right to a remedy under Turkish law in relation to the European Convention on Human Rights and the cases of its court. Fourth, this study will examine the post-2010 constitutional amendment that introduced the right of individual application to the Turkish Constitutional Court, following the exhaustion of domestic remedies, and which entered into force on 23 September 2012.