From activism to resilience: the Turkish constitutional court in comparative perspective

ABSTRACT This article discusses the behavior of the Constitutional Court in Turkey. As the highest court in the country, it is responsible for many decisions that have shaped the course of Turkish politics over the past six decades. It begins with a brief overview of the institutional features of the Turkish Constitutional Court. It then looks at major arguments on constitutional review, including judicial independence and court-curbing. Finally, it examines change and continuity in the attitudes of the Court based on the speeches of its presidents. One conclusion is that the Constitutional Court has transformed itself from that of the defender of the state principles to that of the defender of human rights while retaining its role with regard to the separation of powers. This transformation has been driven by both internal and external pressures: the domestic transition of tutelary democracy to competitive authoritarianism and the equivocation of domestic laws with international treaties.