Events
The applicant, who worked as an assistant director of the treasury, filed a full remedy action, stating that the statements in the opinion section of the registration grade organised for him damaged his personal rights. The court partially accepted the case and ordered the applicant to pay non-pecuniary damages. Upon the appeal of the respondent administration, the Council of State reversed the decision. The court, which reconsidered the case after the reversal, dismissed the case and the Chamber of the Council of State, which examined the appeal, upheld the decision. The applicant’s request for revision of the decision was also rejected by the Council of State.
Allegations
The applicant claimed that the right to protection and improvement of the material and moral existence of the person was violated due to the statements written in the opinion section of the registration report against him, which damaged his honour and reputation, and that the right to be tried within a reasonable time was violated due to the long duration of the full trial.
The Court’s Assessment
In the concrete case, it is clear that the situation that the applicant claims to have occurred is of a nature that may damage the honour and reputation of the person. Therefore, the State has an obligation to establish an effective judicial system and to provide an appropriate judicial response to ensure deterrence and to compensate the moral damages of the applicant.
The registration report is an official document for the determination of the professional competence and professional development of the public official. The evaluation to be included in a document of this nature should primarily be related to the professional capacity and development of the person, should be based on concrete data if possible, and should be in a way that does not harm personal rights. An application to the contrary may have negative effects on the professional life, material and moral existence of the person. In this context, it is a requirement of the positive obligation of the state in the context of the protection of the material and moral existence of the person to use the registry report in accordance with its purpose, to protect the public official from the negative effects of this situation and to compensate the damages incurred. The fulfilment of this obligation will ensure the effective execution of the public service and will also serve to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the public servant.
However, in the concrete case, it was observed that the court did not make an assessment as to whether the statements in the registration report were related to the applicant’s professional development and competence, and what purpose they were written to achieve. In addition, it is concluded that the registration report had its consequences until the period when it was cancelled, and therefore, there is no obstacle to an investigation as to whether the statements in its content damaged the applicant’s honour and reputation.
In conclusion, although the applicant claimed that the statements written in the applicant’s registration report were damaging to his honour and reputation and were of the nature of insult and slander, the court of first instance did not take steps to investigate the statements in question and did not include any justification for these allegations in its decision. In this case, it has been concluded that the positive obligations in terms of the right to protect and improve one’s material and moral existence have been violated due to the lack of these evaluations by the judicial authorities.
For the reasons explained above, the Constitutional Court concluded that the right to the protection and improvement of one’s material and moral existence was violated.
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