Social Rights and the Turkish Constitutional Court
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31078/consrev721Keywords:
Individual Application, Justiciability, Labor Rights, Social Rights, Turkish Constitutional CourtAbstract
Through a brief examination of the Turkish experience, this article endeavors to illuminate the debate on the role of constitutional courts in interpreting social rights. The Turkish Constitutional Court has in many cases rejected applications for the annulment of legislation related to social rights, on the grounds that it is within the legislature’s discretion to determine public policy priorities based on economic resources and economic stability. This article suggests the Turkish Constitutional Court has narrowly interpreted constitutionally recognized social rights within the boundaries of the Turkish Constitution, with the notable exception of labor rights in individual applications.References
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Bignami, Francesca and Carla Spivack. “Social and Economic Rights as Fundamental Rights.” The American Journal of Comparative Law 62, no. 2 (2014). http://dx.doi.org/10.5131/AJCL.2013.0036.
Bilchitz, David. Poverty and Fundamental Rights: The Justification and Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Bjørnskov, Christian and Jacob Mchangama. “Do Social Rights Affect Social Outcomes?” American Journal of Political Science 63, no. 2 (April 2019), https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12421.
Chenwi, Lilian. “Democratizing the Socio-Economic Rights Enforcement Process.” In Social and Economic Rights in Theory and Practice: Critical Inquiries, edited by H.A. Garcia, K. Klare and L.A. Williams. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015.
Contiades, Xenophon and Alkmene Fotiadou. “Social Rights in the Age of Proportionality: Global Economic Crisis and Constitutional Litigation.” International Journal of Constitutional Law 10, no. 3 (2012). https://doi. org/10.1093/icon/mor080.
Davis, Dennis M. “Socio-Economic Rights: Has the Promise of Eradicating the Divide between First and Second Generation Rights been Fulfilled?” In Comparative Constitutional Law, edited by Tom Ginsburg and Rosalind Dixon. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011.
Fabre, Cécile. “Constitutionalizing Social Rights.” The Journal of Political Philosophy 6, no. 3 (2002).
Garcia, Helena A. “Distribution of Resources by Courts.” In Social and Economic Rights in Theory and Practice: Critical Inquiries, edited by H.A. Garcia, K. Klare and L.A. Williams. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015.
Khaitan, Tarunabh. “Constitutional Directives: Morally-Committed Political Constitutionalism.” The Modern Law Review 82, no. 4 (2019). https://doi. org/10.1111/1468-2230.12423.
King, Jeff. Judging Social Rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Langford, Malcolm. “The Justiciability of Social Rights: From Practice to Theory.” In
Social Rights Jurisprudence: Emerging Trends in International and Comparative Law, edited by M. Langford. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Michelman, Frank I. “The Constitution, Social Rights, and Liberal Political Justification.” International Journal of Constitutional Law 1, no. 1 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/1.1.13.
Minkler, Lanse. “Introduction: Why Economic and Social Human Rights.” In The State of Economic and Social Human Rights: A Global Overview, edited by L. Minkler. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Nickel, James W. “Rethinking Indivisibility: Towards a Theory of Supporting Relations between Human Rights.” Human Rights Quarterly 30, no. 4 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.0.0046.
O’Connell, Paul. Vindicating Socio-economic Rights: International Standards and Comparative Experiences. Abingdon: Routledge. 2012.
Ragnarsson, Kári H. “The Counter-Majoritarian Difficulty in a Neoliberal World: Socio-Economic Rights and Deference in Post-2008 Austerity Cases.” Global Constitutionalism 8, no. 3 (November 2019). https://doi.org/10.1017/ S2045381719000212.
Shulztiner, Doron and Guy E. Carmi. “Human Dignity in National Constitutions: Functions, Promises and Dangers.” The American Journal of Comparative Law 62, no. 2 (2014). http://dx.doi.org/10.5131/AJCL.2014.0003.
Woods, Jeanne M. “Justiciable Social Rights as a Critique of the Liberal Paradigm.” Texas International Law Journal 38 (2003).
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Published
2021-12-31
How to Cite
Yıldırım, E. (2021). Social Rights and the Turkish Constitutional Court. Constitutional Review, 7(2), 188–202. https://doi.org/10.31078/consrev721
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