(Applications nos. 41340/98, 41342/98, 41343/98 and 41344/98) JUDGMENT STRASBOURG 31 July 2001 THIS CASE WAS REFERRED TO THE GRAND CHAMBER, WHICH DELIVERED JUDGMENT IN THE CASE ON 13/02/2003 This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. REFAH PARTISI AND OTHERS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 1 In the case of Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) and Others v. Turkey, The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of: Mr J.-P. COSTA, President, Mr W. FUHRMANN, Mr L. LOUCAIDES, Mr R. TÜRMEN, Sir Nicolas BRATZA, Mrs H.S. GREVE, Mr K. TRAJA, judges, and Mrs S. DOLLÉ, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 3 October 2000, 16 January 2001 and 10 July 2001, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the last-mentioned date: PROCEDURE 1. The case...
CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE COUNCIL OF EUROPE COUR EUROPÉENNE DES DROITS DE L’HOMME EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS THIRD SECTION CASE OF REFAH PARTISI (THE WELFARE PARTY) AND OTHERS v. TURKEY (Applications nos. 41340/98, 41342/98, 41343/98 and 41344/98) JUDGMENT STRASBOURG 31 July 2001 THIS CASE WAS REFERRED TO THE GRAND CHAMBER, WHICH DELIVERED JUDGMENT IN THE CASE ON 13/02/2003 This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.
REFAH PARTISI AND OTHERS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 1 In the case of Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) and Others v. Turkey, The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of: Mr J.-P. COSTA, President, Mr W. FUHRMANN, Mr L. LOUCAIDES, Mr R. TÜRMEN, Sir Nicolas BRATZA, Mrs H.S. GREVE, Mr K. TRAJA, judges, and Mrs S. DOLLÉ, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 3 October 2000, 16 January 2001 and 10 July 2001, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the last-mentioned date: PROCEDURE 1. The case originated in four applications (nos. 41340/98, 41342/98, 41343/98 and 41344/98) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights (“the Commission”) under former Article 25 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a political party registered under Turkish law, Refah Partisi (the Welfare Party – hereinafter “Refah”), and three Turkish nationals, Necmettin Erbakan, Şevket Kazan and Ahmet Tekdal, (“the applicants”) on 22 May 1998. 2. The applicants were represented by Mr Yasar Gürkan, a lawyer practising in Istanbul, and Mr Laurent Hincker, a lawyer practising in Strasbourg, France. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Co-Agent, Mr Ergun Özbudun, a university lecturer. 3. The applicants alleged in particular that the dissolution of Refah by the Turkish Constitutional Court and the suspension of certain political rights of the other applicants, who were leaders of Refah at the material time, had breached Articles 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 and 18 of the Convention and Articles 1 and 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention. 4. The applications were transmitted to the Court on 1 November 1998, when Protocol No. 11 to the Convention came into force (Article 5 § 2 of Protocol No. 11). 5. The applications were allocated to the Third Section of the Court (Rule 52 § 1 of the Rules of Court). Within that Section, the Chamber that
2 REFAH PARTISI AND OTHERS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT would consider the case (Article 27 § 1 of the Convention) was constituted as provided in Rule 26 § 1 of the Rules of Court. 6. The Chamber decided to join the applications (Rule 43 § 1). 7. By a decision of 3 October 2000, it declared them partly admissible. 8. The Government filed additional written observations on 11 December 2000. 9. A hearing took place in public in the Human Ri...