Demir and Baykara v. Turkey (dec.)

Information Note on the Court’s case-law 67

August-September 2004

Demir and Baykara v. Turkey (dec.) - 34503/97

Decision 23.9.2004 [Section III]

Article 11

Article 11-1

Freedom of association

Refusal to recognise trade union formed by local authority employees on account of their status as civil servants: admissible

The applicants are a member and chairperson, respectively, of the trade union Tüm Bel-Sen, set up in 1990 by municipal employees. The trade union had concluded a collective agreement on working conditions with a municipality. As the municipality had not met its obligations under the agreement, the first applicant, acting as the trade union’s representative, brought proceedings in 1993. The decision of the first-instance court having been favourable to the trade union, the municipality appealed to the Court of Cassation. The latter overturned the judgment, and the case was sent back to the first-instance court, which again ruled in favour of the trade union. The Court of Cassation quashed the judgment. It held that the trade union to which the applicants belonged did not have legal personality and that it was accordingly not empowered to conclude a collective agreement, since the law did not expressly authorise State employees to establish trade unions. These events occurred in the period 1972-1997, during which time the legislation was silent on whether state employees could establish trade unions. Before the date of the impugned acts, the law provided that state employees were authorised to set up trade unions. A text had repealed this provision in 1972. Authorisation was renewed in 1997.

Admissible under Article 14, taken together with Article 11.

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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.

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