We had the honor to jointly organize a side event at Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 26 June 2024. The event titled “Potental Role of PACE in Upholdng the Rule of Law and Democracy through Enhancng the Effectve Implementaton of ECHR Judgments was hosted by Petra Bayr.

With MEDEL which represents 24 associations of judges and prosecutors from 17 European countries, we reiterated the fact that Turkey’s failure to implement ECtHR decisions caused the greatest damage to the legitimacy of the Council of Europe and the ECtHR.

Austrian MP Petra Bayr, MEDEL President Mariarosaria Guglielmi, European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) President Vincent Asselineau, Vice President of Justice for the Rule of Law Luca Perilli and former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Prof Johan Vande Lanotte took part in the panel.

The panel was attended by many MPs, lawyers and NGO representatives from different countries. Among the participants was former President of the Constitutional Court of Moldova, Dumitru Pulbere.

MP Petra Bayr said in her opening speech, “If the ECtHR decisions are not implemented, we (PACE), the Court and the Council of Europe will lose our legitimacy. That is why we are organizing this panel.”

MEDEL’s president Mariarosaria Guglielmi said that the non-implementation of ECHR decisions poses a threat to democracy and the rule of law in Europe as a whole. Noting that “attacks on the independent judiciary are always part of a broader project targeting rights and freedoms,” Guglielmi said, “The non-implementation of ECHR decisions is a product of this process.”

Ms Guglielmi also stressed that the Turkish authorities’ persistent refusal to implement the Strasbourg Court’s rulings, despite Article 46 of the Convention, is the biggest black hole that puts the Council of Europe’s mission at risk.

Vincent Asselineau, President of the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA), discussed the role of lawyers in the protection of the rule of law and fundamental rights.

Johan Vande Lanotte, one of the lawyers of the historic Yalçınkaya decision given by the ECHR Grand Chamber, participated in the panel via video. Vande Lanotte, who explained the details of the Yalçınkaya decision to the participants, said that the Turkish government and the President of the Constitutional Court said from the first day that they would not implement the decision.

Prof Vande Lanotte argued that action should be taken against this attitude of Turkey. He said, “It is not Turkey that is being put to the test here, but the Council of Europe, the ECHR and the PACE. If these institutions cannot enforce the decisions, they will lose their reason for existence,” and emphasized that the failure to enforce the Yalçınkaya decision concerns these institutions more than Turkey.

Luca Perilli, based on his longstanding experience as a former rapporteur for the EU Commission on Turkiye and one of the rapporteurs of the Turkey Tribunal, explained in his speech what is expected from the PACE and the Council of Europe regarding the re-establishment of the rule of law. Underlining that the Council of Europe has two fundamental values, namely the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights, Perilli pointed out that in the last seven years, the PACE has taken at least three decisions stating that Turkey has seriously violated these values ​​and human rights. “Despite knowing the decisions of the PACE and the ECHR, Turkey has increased the violations even more. This situation affects the credibility of the Council of Europe regarding its capacity to protect its values,” Perilli said.

Complementary Joint Procedure

During the panel, launching of the Complementary Joint Procedure to be conducted by  the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly was also discussed. This procedure determines the path to be followed in the event of a serious breach of legal obligations by a Member State, as in the case of Turkiye.

MP Petra Bayr said in her closing speech that decisions were made by the PACE and visits were made, but despite this, they could not see steps in the right direction. Bayr said, “We do not want a member state to be expelled. We want member states to comply with the human rights convention and human rights,” and added that the aim is not to punish but to ensure respect for the principles of the rule of law.