Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 76
June 2005
Kavakçı v. Turkey (dec.) - 71907/01
Decision 30.6.2005 [Section III]
Article 3 of Protocol No. 1
Choice of the legislature
Members of Parliament deposed of their parliamentary mandate: admissible
In 1999 the applicant, who belonged to the political party Fazilet Partisi, was returned as member of parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. She took the oath wearing an Islamic headscarf but was obliged to leave the chamber in the face of strong protests from certain parliamentarians. In June 2001 the Constitutional Court considered that, pursuant to Article 69 § 9 of the Constitution, the actions and statements of certain party leaders and members, including those of the applicant, justified the dissolution of the party on the ground that it had become a “centre of activities contrary to the principle of secularism”. As an additional penalty, the Constitutional Court prohibited the applicant from founding, joining or leading another political party for a period of five years. The applicant had previously been stripped of her MP status because she had forfeited her Turkish nationality after obtaining United States nationality without the authorisation of the national authorities.
Admissible under Articles 9 and 14 and Article 3 of Protocol No. 1.
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This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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