Turkey’s two high courts are still sulking, as Can Atalay remains in prison…

The latest situation between Turkey’s Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation is marked by a significant conflict. The Court of Cassation has accused the Constitutional Court of exceeding its authority and has refused to comply with its rulings, leading to a judicial crisis and allegations of a “judicial coup” by opposition parties, experts, and bar associations[1][2]. The Court of Cassation’s 37-page decision stated that the Constitutional Court “violated” the Constitution[3]. This defiance of the Constitutional Court by the Court of Cassation is seen as a phase in Turkey’s de-constitutionalization, raising concerns about the rule of law and judicial independence in the country[4]. The conflict arose from a disagreement over the case of imprisoned parliamentarian Can Atalay, with the Court of Cassation filing a criminal complaint against the judges of the Constitutional Court, further escalating the crisis[5].

Citations:
[1] https://balkaninsight.com/2023/11/09/turkeys-supreme-court-of-cassation-accused-of-staging-judicial-coup/
[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-spat-among-two-top-courts-constitutional-court-makes-mistake-2023-11-10/
[3] https://www.mlsaturkey.com/en/court-of-cassation-says-no-legal-value-and-rejects-constitutional-courts-second-atalay-ruling
[4] https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/2023-posts/2023/12/14/defiance-of-the-turkish-constitutional-court-by-the-court-of-cassation-yet-another-phase-in-turkeys-de-constitutionalization
[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-top-appeals-court-files-complaint-against-constitutional-court-judges-2023-11-08/

Court of Cassation: ‘Constitutional Court’s violation decision for Atalay has no legal value’

Paul Benjamin Osterlund (@Paul_Osterlund)::
Turkey’s Court of Cassation for the second time refuses to enforce a decision made by the Constitutional Court to release jailed parliamentarian Can Atalay. The Constitutional Court is supposed to be the highest in the country but evidently that is no longer the case.
(https://x.com/Paul_Osterlund/status/1742568832529555480?t=pG9Fzuc8F5wLwgj3TJJmmg&s=03)