The European Court of Human Rights condemns Turkey for a Violation of Freedom of Association and Trade Union

22-06-2023 

Sofía Medina Sánchez 

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence 

On the 20th of June 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that Turkey had violated the applicants’ right to freedom of assembly and association, recognised in Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Kaymak and Others v. Türkiye (no.62239/12) judgement. 

The case concerns a disciplinary measure denominated as “non-punitive warning” which was taken against the applicants for establishing a promotional stand for a trade union at Hacettepe University in Ankara, to distribute leaflets. The applicants were lecturers at the mentioned university and members of the Eğitim-Sen association (trade-union for workers in education and the sciences). On 2nd November 2010, 15 people (including the applicants) arrived at the university’s Beytepe campus and informed security about their wish to set up a stand to inform civil servants and recruit new members. On 9th and 11th March 2011, the university’s administration took disciplinary measures against the applicant called “non-punitive warning”. The applicants lodged an action with the Ankara Administrative Court to remove those measures, and to the Supreme Administrative Court on appeal, but the judgements were upheld against the applicants.  

The Court recalled in the judgement that an individual does not enjoy their freedom of association if the remaining options for choice are non-existent or reduced to the point of being of no use. It found that in this case the sanction had the intention of deterring the applicants from freely exercising the trade union activities. The court held that the sanctions violated Article 11 ECHR because they were not necessary in a democratic society, and it had not been demonstrated that there was a reasonable relationship between the restriction and the legitimate aim. To arrive to this conclusion, the court considered the fact that the applicants did not cause any disruption to the work of the university staff nor hindered any activities, that the demonstration took only thirty-five minutes, and that the domestic authorities had not provided sufficient justification for the measures nor weighed the different interests at stake, among others. 

Given the violation of the freedom of assembly and association of the applicants, the court ordered non-pecuniary damages amounting to 1,500 euros to Cihan Turan. For the remaining applicants, the court held that the finding of a violation was sufficient just satisfaction for their non-pecuniary damage suffered. This judgement highlights the importance of respecting civil and political rights by demonstrating that even a minimal “non-punitive” sanction can interfere with them. 

Sources and further readings:

Case of Kaymak and Others v. Türkiye (Application no.62239/12), Judgement, Second Section, 20th June 2023: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng/#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-225315%22] 

Press Release issued by the Registrar to the Court, ECHR 185 (2023) 20 June 2023: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press#{%22sort%22:[%22kpdate%20Descending%22],%22itemid%22:[%22003-7680134-10593732%22]