The Impact of the European Court of Human Rights Over Local Norms: The Case of Turkey

Abstract

The article aims at exploring the impact of the European Court of Human Rights on the local norms of Turkey, a topic that has been understudied, given its burgeoning significance. The Court is institutionally able to exercise such influence on the state parties, as it is entitled to have final jurisdiction over member states concerning compliance with the Convention and its content. Moreover, the Convention itself also necessitates contracting states to conform to the final judgment of the Court and to take sufficient measures, including changes in the local norms to guarantee that the Convention's rights and freedoms are protected. However, the influence of the Court on domestic norms of a national law needs to be elaborated since it remains silent concerning its impact on local norms. Hence, this article chooses Turkey as a case study to study the impact of the Court over local norms.