Call for opinion on the Venice Commission regarding the situation of dismissed public servants in Turkey

Written declaration No. 709 | Doc. 15065 | 31 January 2020

Signatories:

Mr Roberto RAMPI, Italy, SOC ; Ms Boriana ÅBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Thorhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, Iceland, SOC ; Mr Pedro BACELAR DE VASCONCELOS, Portugal, SOC ; Mr Vlad BATRINCEA, Republic of Moldova, SOC ; Mr Maurizio BUCCARELLA, Italy, NR ; Sir Roger GALE, United Kingdom, EC/DA ; Ms Tatevik HAYRAPETYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Finland, SOC ; Sir Edward LEIGH, United Kingdom, EC/DA ; Mr George LOUCAIDES, Cyprus, UEL ; Mr Dmytro LUBINETS, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Alvise MANIERO, Italy, NR ; Mr Matern von MARSCHALL, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Mariia MEZENTSEVA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Barbara NOWACKA, Poland, NR ; Mr Aleksander POCIEJ, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Martin POLIAČIK, Slovak Republic, ALDE ; Mr Mihail POPSOI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Ruben RUBINYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Lord Simon RUSSELL, United Kingdom, EC/DA ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Mr Tommy SHEPPARD, United Kingdom, NR ; Mr Vladimir VARDANYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Liviu VOVC, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

We are concerned by the fact that the situation of dismissed public servants in Turkey has worsened since the European Court on Human Rights ruled that there are domestic remedies available for them to pursue their rights. The Venice Commission, in its report, supported the creation of a special ad hoc body which would be tasked with the examination of appeals of the dismissed public employees.

The number of dismissed public servants amounts to 150 000 as of today. The said commission has only reinstated some 9 600 people out of this number so far. The commission’s term of office has been extended by one more year, as a considerable number of appeals are awaiting a decision. Other legal avenues, such as the Appeal Courts and the Constitutional Court, also seem to have failed to adequately address the issue so far.

We fully support the call of the Parliamentary Assembly on the Venice Commission to review the effectiveness of the local remedies in Turkey including the State of Emergency Inquiry Commission.