Erdoğan attends ceremony to mark top court's 63rd anniversary

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended a ceremony on April 25 to mark the 63rd anniversary of Türkiye's top court.

The event, held in Istanbul, featured a keynote speech by Constitutional Court head Kadir Özkaya.

“Our court has undertaken important responsibilities in the context of monitoring the rule of law and the constitutionality of norms,” Özkaya said.

“With its decisions, our court carries the freedom concept of Turkish law to universal standards, ensures the practical implementation of theoretical constitutional guarantees, and contributes to the faster implementation of universal human rights standards at the national level."

Özkaya stressed that sustainable development and social cohesion hinge on the delivery of justice.

“The existence of an independent and impartial judiciary is only possible with the existence of independent and impartial judges,” he said, adding that judges and prosecutors bear the greatest responsibility in safeguarding rights and ensuring justice.

Özkaya called for greater international cooperation to address rising global insecurity, polarization, and the erosion of civil liberties.

“The value of peace and justice is becoming more and more felt every passing day. As of today, fundamental rights and freedoms are at great risk worldwide. Freedoms are eroding, civil space is shrinking, polarization is intensifying and insecurity is increasing," he said.

"Unfortunately, the international community often approaches these problems with temporary solutions and even closes its eyes and conscience most of the time."

He urged the global community to act decisively in crises without discrimination, and to adopt a justice-oriented international relations approach grounded in cooperation and the “win-win” principle.

“All societies must strive to strengthen cooperation, establish trust and build a more inclusive and just world to ensure security for current and future generations,” he said.

"Humanity must want to live in peace with the other and build a world order to enable this."

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also marked the occasion in a message posted on X, highlighting the Constitutional Court’s role in protecting democracy and freedoms since its founding.

“The survival of the principle of the rule of law is of vital importance in terms of securing fundamental rights and freedoms and the functioning of our democratic system,” he said.

“The Constitutional Court has been at the center of constitutional review as the bearer of this responsibility since the day it was founded.”

Kurtulmuş pledged to uphold judicial independence and keep the paths for seeking justice open.

Founded in 1962, the Constitutional Court is Türkiye's highest legal authority on constitutional matters, tasked with reviewing legislation and ensuring its compliance with the constitution.