Hostname: page-component-669899f699-cf6xr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-28T06:47:47.286Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Judicial Activism in Perilous Times: The Turkish Case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Güneş Murat Tezcür
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Under what circumstances do courts act in ways that challenge the political hegemony of the military in countries with weak democratic institutions? This article addresses this question by focusing on a critical case of judicial activism in Turkey. It argues that lower courts unexpectedly can be centers of judicial activism that contributes to expansion of civil liberties and restrictions on arbitrary state power when the high judiciary supports the political status quo. This is because lower courts provide greater access to legal mobilization pursued by civil society actors. At the same time, judicial activism in lower courts is sustainable only when political power is distributed among elites with conflicting interests, and the civilian government offers support and protection to activist members of the judiciary.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 305 - 336
Copyright
© 2009 Law and Society Association.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

I would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of Claudio Katz, LSR editor Carroll Seron, an anonymous referee, and an Editorial Board member. I am also very grateful to the individuals in Turkey, particularly Cevdet Canan, who provided me with valuable assistance. The field research is supported by grants from the United States Institute of Peace and Loyola University Chicago. This article is dedicated to the memory of Turkish journalist Uğur Mumcu, who was murdered in January 1993.

References

Ackerman, Bruce (2006) Before the Next Attack: Preserving Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Ağaşe, Çetin (2006) Cem Ersever ve JİTEM Gerçeği [Cem Ersever and the Truth about JİTEM]. İstanbul: Bilge Karιnca Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
Belge, Ceren. (2006) “Friends of the Court: The Republican Alliance and Selective Activism of the Constitutional Court of Turkey,” 40 Law & Society Rev. 653–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berberoğlu, Enis (1998) Kod Adι Yüksekova [Code Name is Yüksekova]. İstanbul: Milliyet Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
Bağιmsιz İletişim Ağι [BİA, Independent Communication Network] Haber Merkezi (2006) “Şemdinli Kanser Gibi Tuttuğunu G öt ür üyor,” http://www.bianet.org/arsiv/gecmis?rcat_id=71 (accessed 20 Nov. 2006).Google Scholar
Black, Donald. (1973) “The Mobilization of Law,” 2 The J. of Legal Studies 125–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blumberg, Abraham S. (1967) Criminal Justice. Chicago: Quadrangle Books.Google Scholar
Bozarslan, Hamit (2001) “Human Rights and the Kurdish Issue in Turkey: 1984–1999,” 3 Human Rights Rev. 45–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burstein, Paul (1991) “Legal Mobilization as a Social Movement Tactic: The Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity,” 96 American J. of Sociology 1201–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Call, Charles T. (2002) “War Transitions and the New Civilian Security in Latin America,” 35 Comparative Politics 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Çiçek, Hikmet (2000) Hangi Hizbullah [Which Hezbollah?]? İstanbul: Kaynak Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
Cornell, Angela, & Roberts, Kenneth (1990) “Democracy, Counterinsurgency, and Human Rights: The Case of Peru,” 12 Human Rights Q. 529–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, Robert (1989) Democracy and Its Critics. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
El-Ghobashy, Mona (2008) “Constitutionalist Contention in Contemporary Egypt,” 51 American Behavioral Scientist 1590–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Encarnación, Omar Guillermo (2007) “Democracy and Dirty Wars in Spain,” 29 Human Rights Q. 950–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epp, Charles R. (1996) “Do Bills of Rights Matter? The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” 90 American Political Science Rev. 765–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epp, Charles R. (1998) The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists, and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epstein, Lee, & Knight, Jack (2000) “Towards a Strategic Revolution in Judicial Politics: A Look Back, A Look Ahead,” 53 Political Research Q. 625–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EU Commission Enlargement (2006) Turkey 2006 Progress Report. Brussels: EU Commission Enlargement.Google Scholar
Faraç, Mehmet (2002) Hizbullah'ιn Kanlι Yolculuğu [Bloody Voyage of the Hezbollah] İstanbul: Günizi Yayιncιlιk.Google Scholar
Feeley, Malcolm M. (1979) The Process Is the Punishment: Handling Cases in a Lower Criminal Court. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Ferraresi, Franco (1996) Threats to Democracy: The Radical Right in Italy after the War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Galanter, Marc (1983) “The Radiating Effects of Courts,” in Boyum, K. O. & Mather, L., eds., Empirical Theories about Courts. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Ganser, Daniele (2005) NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe. London: Frank Cass.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerring, John (2004) “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good For? 98 American Political Science Rev. 341–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L. (2004) “Truth, Reconciliation, and the Creation of a Human Rights Culture in South Africa,” 38 Law & Society Rev. 5–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giles, Michael W., & Lancester, Thomas D. (1989) “Political Transition, Social Development, and Legal Mobilization in Spain,” 83 American Political Science Rev. 817–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ginsburg, Tom (2003) Judicial Review in New Democracies: Constitutional Courts in Asian Cases. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, Jeff (2001) No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945–1991. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hagan, John, et al. (2008) “How Law Rules: Torture, Terror, and the Normative Judgments of Iraqi Judges,” 42 Law & Society Rev. 605–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hajjar, Lisa (2005) Courting Conflict: The Israeli Military Court System in the West Bank and Gaza. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.Google Scholar
Hardin, Russell (2004) “Civil Liberties in the Era of Mass Terrorism,” 8 The J. of Ethics 77–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helmke, Gretchen (2002) “The Logic of Strategic Defection: Court-Executive Relations in Argentina,” 96 American Political Science Rev. 291–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirschl, Ran (2000) “The Political Origins of Judicial Empowerment Through Constitutionalization: Lessons from Four Constitutional Revolutions,” 25 Law & Social Inquiry 91–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirschl, Ran (2004a) Towards Juristocracy: The Origins and Consequences of New Constitutionalism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Hirschl, Ran (2004b) “Constitutional Courts versus Religious Fundamentalism: Three Middle Eastern Tales,” 82 Texas Law Rev. 1819–60.Google Scholar
Herreros, Francisco (2006) “The Full Weight of the State: The Logic of Random State-Sanctioned Violence,” 43 J. of Peace Research 671–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herron, Erik S., & Randazzo, Kirk A. (2003) “The Relationship Between Independence and Judicial Review in Post-Communist Countries,” 65 The J. of Politics 422–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iaryczower, Matías, et al. (2002) “Judicial Independence in Unstable Environments, Argentina 1935–1998,” 46 American J. of Political Science 699–716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
İnsan Haklarι Derneği [İHD, Human Rights Association] (2005a) “Report on Research & Inquiry on 9–10 November 2005 Şemdinli Incidents,” http://www.ihd.org.tr/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=37%20 (accessed 9 June 2006).Google Scholar
İHD (2005b) “15 Kasι m Yü ksekova Olaylarι nι Araşt ιrma- İnceleme Raporu,” http://www.ihd.org.tr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=90 (accessed 9 June 2006).Google Scholar
Kalyvas, Stathis (2004) “The Paradox of Terrorism in Civil War,” 8 The J. of Ethics 97–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kardaş, Ümit (2006) “Military Judiciary,” in Cizre, Ü., ed., Almanac Turkey 2005: Security Sector and Democratic Oversight. İstanbul: TESEV.Google Scholar
Kιlιç, Ecevit (2007) Özel Harp Dairesi: Türkiye'nin Gizli Tarihi [Special War Bureau: Secret History of Turkey]. İstanbul: Güncel Yayιncιlιk.Google Scholar
Knight, Jack, & Epstein, Lee (1996) “On the Struggle for Judicial Supremacy,” 30 Law & Society Rev. 87–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kogacioglu, Dicle (2004) “Progress, Unity, and Democracy: Dissolving Political Parties in Turkey,” 38 Law & Society Rev. 433–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mahoney, James (2007) “Qualitative Methodology and Comparative Politics,” 40 Comparative Political Studies 122–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcus, Aliza (2007) Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence. New York: New York Univ. Press.Google Scholar
McCann, Michael W. (1994) Rights at Work: Pay Equity Reform and the Politics of Legal Mobilization. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
McSherry, J. Patrice (1992) “Military Power, Impunity and State-Society Change in Latin America,” 25 Canadian J. of Political Science 463–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McSherry, J. Patrice, & Mejia, Raul Molina (1999) “Introduction to ‘Shadows of State Terrorism: Impunity in Latin America’,” 26 Social Justice 1–12.Google Scholar
Mejia, Raul Molina (1999) “The Struggle against Impunity in Guatemala,” 26 Social Justice 55–75.Google Scholar
Moustafa, Tamir (2007) The Struggle for Constitutional Power: Law, Politics, and Economic Development in Egypt. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuti, Leopoldo (2007) “The Italian ‘Stay-Behind’ Network—The Origins of Operation ‘Glaido’ 30 The J. of Strategic Studies 955–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pereira, Anthony W. (2005) Political Injustice: Authoritarianism and the Rule of Law in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Pereira, Anthony W., & Zaverucha, Jorge (2005) “The Neglected Stepchild: Military Justice and Democratic Transition in Chile,” 32 Social Justice 115–31.Google Scholar
Pion-Berlin, David (1992) “Military Autonomy and Emerging Democracies in South America,” 25 Comparative Politics 83–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pion-Berlin, David (1993) “To Prosecute or to Pardon? Human Rights Decisions in the Latin American Southern Cone,” 15 Human Rights Q 105–30.Google Scholar
Popkin, Margaret, & Roht-Arriaza, Naomi (1995) “Truth as Justice: Investigatory Commissions in Latin America,” 20 Law & Social Inquiry 79–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Posner, Eric A., & Vermeule, Adrian (2007) Terror in the Balance: Security, Liberty, and the Courts. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Ramseyer, Mark, & Rasmusen, Eric B. (2001) “Why Are Japanese Judges So Conservative in Politically Charged Cases? 95 American Political Science Rev. 331–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roesler, Shannon (2007) “Permutations of Judicial Power: The New Constitutionalism and the Expansion of Judicial Authority,” 32 Law & Social Inquiry 545–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romano, David (2006) The Kurdish Nationalist Movement. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sağlar, Fikri, & Özgönül, Emin (2007) Kod Adι: Susurluk, Derin İlişkiler [Code Name: Susurluk, Deep Networks]. Ankara: Arkadaş.Google Scholar
Şahin, Timur, & Balιk, Uğur (2004) İtirafçι: Bir Jitem'ci Anlattι [Confessor: A JİTEM Member Spoke]. İstanbul: Aram Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
Sancar, Mithat (2007) Yargιda Algι ve Zihniyet Kalιplarι [Perceptions and Predispositions in the Judiciary]. İstanbul: TESEV.Google Scholar
Sarιibrahimoğlu, Lale (2006) “Gendarmerie,” in Cizre, Ü., ed., Almanac Turkey 2005: Security Sector and Democratic Oversight. İstanbul: TESEV.Google Scholar
Savaş, Kutlu (1997) Susurluk Raporu [The Susurluk Report]. Ankara: Başbakanlιk.Google Scholar
Selçuk, İlhan (1987) Ziverbey Köşkü [Ziverbey Pavillion]. İstanbul: Çağdaş Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
Shambayati, Hootan (2004) “A Tale of Two Mayors: Courts and Politics in Iran and Turkey,” 36 International J. of Middle East Studies 253–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapiro, Ian (2003) The State of Democratic Theory. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Smithey, Shannon Ishiyama, & Ishiyama, John (2002) “Judicial Activism in Post-Communist Politics,” 36 Law & Society Rev. 719–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solomon, Peter H. Jr. (2007) “Courts and Judges in Authoritarian Regimes,” 60 World Politics 122–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stepan, Alfred (1988) Rethinking Military Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone Sweet, Alec (2000) Governing with Judges: Constitutional Politics in Europe. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayyar, Şamil (2008) Operasyon Ergenekon: Gizli Belgelerde Karanlιk İlişkiler [Operation Ergenekon: Clandestine Relationships by Secret Documents]. İstanbul: Timaş Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
TBMM (1995) Faili Meçhul Siyasi Cinayetleri Araştιrma Komisyonu Raporu [The Report of the Turkish Grand Parliament Commission Investigating the Murders with Unknown Perpetuators]. Ankara: TBMM.Google Scholar
TBMM (1997) Susurluk Komisyonu Raporu [The Report of the Turkish Grand Parliament Commission Investigating the Susurluk Incident]. Ankara: TBMM.Google Scholar
TBMM (2005) İnsan Haklarι Komisyonu Hakkari Şemdinli İnceleme Raporu [The Fact-Finding Report of the Turkish Grand Parliament Human Rights Commission on Hakkari-Şemdinli]. Ankara: TBMM.Google Scholar
TBMM (2006) Hakkari Merkez, Yüksekova ve Şemdinli İlçelerinde Meydana Gelen Olayarιn Araştιrιlmasι Amacιyla Kurulan Meclis Araştιrmasι Komisyonu Raporu [The Report of the Turkish Grand Parliament Commission Investigating the Incidents in Hakkari, Yüksekova, and Şemdinli]. Ankara: TBMM.Google Scholar
Tezcür, Güneş M. (2007) “Constitutionalism, Judiciary, and Democracy in Islamic Societies,” 39 Polity 479–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilly, Charles (2001) “Mechanisms in Political Processes,” 4 Annual Rev. of Political Science 21–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilly, Charles (2007) Democracy. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Van 3. Ağιr Ceza Mahkemesi [TCV3ACM] (2006) Karar No. 2006/116 [The Republic of Turkey Van 3rd Penal Court; Verdict # 2006/116]. Van: TCV3ACM.Google Scholar
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Van 3. Ağιr Ceza Mahkemesi [TCV3ACM] (2007) Karar No. 2007/189 [The Republic of Turkey Van 3rd Penal Court; Verdict # 2007/189]. Van: TCV3ACM.Google Scholar
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Van Cumhuriyet Başsavcιlιğι [TCVCB] (2006) İddianame No. 2005/750 [The Republic of Turkey Republican Prosecutorship of Van; Indictment # 2005/750]. Van: TCVCB.Google Scholar
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Yargιtay 9. Ceza Dairesi [TCY9CD] (2007a) Yargι tayİ lanι No: 2007/3924 [The Republic of Turkey Supreme Court of Appeals 9th Penal Department; Announcement # 2007/3924]. Ankara: TCY9CD.Google Scholar
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Yargιtay 9. Ceza Dairesi [TCY9CD] (2007b) Yargι tayİ lanι No: 2007/3925 [The Republic of Turkey Supreme Court of Appeals 9th Penal Department; Announcement # 2007/3925.]. Ankara: TCY9CD.Google Scholar
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Yargιtay Ceza Genel Kurulu [TCYCGK] (2007) Karar No: 2007/44 20.02.2007 [The Republic of Turkey Supreme Court of Appeals; General Board Decision # 2007/44 02.20.2007]. Ankara: TCYCGK.Google Scholar
Turhan, Talat (1994) Kontrgerilla Cumhuriyeti [The Republic of Counter-Guerilla]. İstanbul: Tümzamanlar Yayιncιlιk.Google Scholar
Türkmen, Füsun (2008) “The European Union and Democratization in Turkey: The Role of the Elites,” 30 Human Rights Q. 146–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watts, F. Nicole (1999) “Allies and Enemies: Pro-Kurdish Parties in Turkish Politics 1990–94,” 31 International J. of Middle East Studies 631–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wickham-Crowley, Timothy P. (1990) “Terror and Guerilla Warfare in Latin America, 1956–1970,” 31 Comparative Studies in Society and History 201–37.Google Scholar
Van Bruinessen, Martin (1984) “The Kurds in Turkey,” 121 Merip Reports 6–12, 14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Bruinessen, Martin (1996) “Turkey's Death Squads,” 199 Middle East Report 20–3.Google Scholar
Vondoepp, Peter (2006) “Politics and Judicial Assertiveness in Emerging Democracies: High Court Behavior in Malawi and Zambia,” 59 Political Research Q. 389–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yalçιn, Soner, & Yurdakul, Doğan (2005) Reis: Gladio'nun Türk Tetikçisi [The Chief: The Turkish Triggerman of the Gladio]. İstanbul: Doğan Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
Yalçιn-Heckmann, Lale (2002) Kürtlerde Aşiret ve Akrabalιk İlişkileri [Tribe and Kinship Among the Kurds]. İstanbul: İletişim Yayιnlarι.Google Scholar
Zemans, Frances Kahn (1983) “Legal Mobilization: The Neglected Role of the Law in the Political System,” 77 American Political Science Rev. 690–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar