Gündem v Turkey: Selçuk and Asker v Turkey

Gündem v Turkey: Selçuk and Asker v Turkey

Kurdish Human Rights Project

Compte d’auteur

On 25 May 1998, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) delivered its judgment in the case of Gündem v Turkey. In this case, the Court saw no reason to depart from the European Commission of Human Rights’1 findings that it had not been established beyond reasonable doubt that the events as alleged by the applicant had occurred. It considered that it had insufficient factual basis on which to reach a conclusion that there had been a violation of articles 3, 5(1), 8, 18 and 1 of Protocol 1 of the Convention as alleged by the applicant. As regards articles 6(1) and 13, whereas the Commission found a violation of article 6(1), the Court decided that the complaint was best examined under the more general obligation on States under article 13 to provide an effective remedy. However, in the circumstances, the
Court was not satisfied that the applicant had an arguable claim and concluded, by a majority of 13 to 7, that article 13 had therefore not been violated.
On 24 April 1998, the Court delivered its judgment in the case of Selçuk and Asker v Turkey. In this case, the Court shared the Commission's opinion as to the genuineness of the applicants' claim and was also satisfied that there existed special circumstances which dispensed the applicants from the obligation to exhaust domestic remedies. Bearing in mind the manner in which the applicants' homes were destroyed, the Court thought it ...