Events
The applicant, who served as the assistant director of the Office of the Treasurer, filed a full judicial action stating that the statements contained in the opinion section of the registration note issued against him were detrimental to his personal rights. The court partially accepted the case and decided to pay moral compensation to the applicant. Upon the appeal request of the defendant administration, the Council of State ruled that the decision be overturned. The court, which reviewed the file again after the disruption, decided to dismiss the case; the Council of State Office, which conducted the appeal review, also decided to confirm the decision. The applicant’s request for correction of the decision was also rejected by the Council of State.
The Allegations
The applicant claimed that the right to protect and develop a person’s material and spiritual existence was violated due to statements that damaged his honor and reputation written in the opinion section of the registration report prepared about him; and the right to trial in a reasonable time was violated due to the long duration of the full judicial case filed in this regard.
The Court’s Assessment
It is clear that the situation that the applicant claims to have occurred in the concrete incident is of a nature that may damage the honor and reputation of the person. Therefore, in the event, the obligation of the state to establish an effective judicial system, to provide deterrence in this way and to respond appropriately to the applicant’s moral damages arose.
The registration report is an official document aimed at determining the professional competence and professional development of a public official. The evaluation to be included in a document of this nature should first of all be related to the professional competence and development of the person, if possible, it should be based on concrete data, as well as in such a way as not to damage the personal rights. On the contrary, an application may have negative effects on a person’s professional life, material and spiritual existence. In this context, the proper use of the registration report for its purpose, the protection of the public official from the negative effects of this situation and the elimination of the damages caused are the requirements of the positive obligation of the state in the context of the protection of the material and spiritual existence of the person. The fulfillment of this obligation will ensure the effective conduct of public service and will also serve to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of public servants.
However, in the concrete case, it was seen that the court did not make an assessment of whether the statements contained in the registration report had anything to do with the applicant’s professional development and driver’s license, and what purpose they were written to achieve. In addition, it was concluded that the registration report had its consequences up to the period of cancellation, therefore, there was no obstacle to conducting an investigation into whether the statements contained in it had damaged the honor and reputation of the applicant.
As a result, although the applicant claimed that the statements written in the registration report were of an honor-damaging nature, insulting and defamatory, the court of instance did not take steps to investigate these statements and did not include any grounds for these claims in the decision. In this case, it has been concluded that positive obligations have been violated in terms of the right to protect and develop a person’s material and spiritual existence due to the failure of these evaluations by the judicial authorities.
The Constitutional Court has decided that the right to protect and develop a person’s material and spiritual existence has been violated on the grounds described.
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