I will consider Turkey Human Rights to England Human rights especially concentrating on Freedom of expression.

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Human Rights

The Human Rights in England and Turkey.

For my research I will consider Turkey Human Rights to England Human rights especially concentrating on Freedom of expression.  I will also consider the advantages and disadvantages.  I will endeavour to discover any similarities or differences that may exist between Turkey and England in their policies relating to Human Rights issues.

‘Human rights are rights and freedoms which every one is entitled to enjoy possibly deriving from natural law but more likely to be enforced in international law if founded on’.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” this was set down in 19776 as the essence of Human Rights by the American founding fathers.

One of the major differences between Turkish law and the English law is the fact that Turkey has a written constitution where as England does not have a written constitution. Also the fact that England is a member of the European Union where as Turkey is not.

England became a member to the European Economic Community (hereinafter EEC) in 1973.  Turkey applied for membership on 14 April 1987.  The Commission issued a negative opinion on 17 December1989, recommending more effective application of the existing association agreement signed in 1964.  The main reason for the commission’s negative opinion was Turkey’s poor human rights record.

UK has to comply with community legislation otherwise it can be taken to the European Courts if they do not comply with community legislation.  

Civil liberties in UK is now dominated by the Human Rights Act 1998 which now incorporates the main rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter ECHR) into UK law but without incorporating the convention itself.

 On 2 October 2000 the Human Rights Act come into force in England and Wales.

The ECHR was formed by the Council of Europe which at present has over 40 members, including UK and Turkey.

I will especially be concentrating on Freedom of Expression.  Article 10 of the ECHR, which provides, governs this:

        “1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression.  This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.  This Article shall not prevent states from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

        2) The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society…”

This article is binding on UK as it has been incorporated into the Human Rights Act 1998.

US jurisprudence is one of the most developed in human rights issue, but they don’t necessarily provide all the answers to all the questions concerning media law, freedom of expression and privacy.

English courts have been willing to draw on US case law in the area of freedom of expression; Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspaper Ltd

In the UK because of the Human Rights Act 1998, there is a safeguard.  People trust the judiciary (law) and know that if there was a breach of Human Rights, they can bring proceedings and have a fair trial in public without the interference of the public authority (separation of powers).  

Where as in Turkey people (the public) have not got any faith in the law. From past examples.  Bribery, racism, sexism, lies and interference seem to exist a lot in Turkey, especially in the judiciary system.

Recent information from international organisations confirms that even if torture, disappearance and extra - judicial exactions are not systematic, they still exist.

There has been considerable liberalisation in the area of language during the past decade..  

In 1991 a law that prohibited speech and printing in languages not officially recognised was abolished, and there are now several newspapers and magazines published in minority languages (though those produced in Kurdish are frequently the object of confiscation or police raids for suspected separatism.)  In March 1999 the supreme court ruled, in a test case concerning a child that had been given a Kurdish name, that children could legally be given names of non-Turkish origin.

Broadcasting and education, however remain contentious.

But, now it is not only possible, but also necessary for parliament, public authorities and the courts to take a stronger stance in favor of freedom of expression, since the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1988) has created a duty to have regard to the guarantee of freedom of expression under Article 10 of the convention.  Legislation must be read by the courts in a manner which gives effect, so far as possible, to convention rights (s 3 of the HRA 1998) and, if this is not likely, a declaration incompatibility may be issued; under s 4.

The Human Rights Act 1998 gives particular regard to the importance of freedom of expression (s 12) and forbids restraint of publication before a full trial, unless the court is satisfied that the applicant will win at trial.

In 1979 the Williams Committee recommended that the printed word should not be subject to any restraint and that other material should be restrained on two specific tests: first, material which might shock should be available only through restricted outlets, and secondly material should not be prohibited unless it could be shown to cause a specific harm.

Turkeys current constitution had been adopted in 1982 when the country was under military rule.  It contains numerous restrictions on fundamental rights and freedoms.  Ever since then , there have been amendments, but no comprehensive reform.  

Join now!

In the procedure of getting ready for the accession of Turkey to the European Union (EU) the European Commission suggested Accession Partnership priorities for Turkey to the European Council in Nice in December 2001.  

The Accession Partnership can play a crucial guiding role for the improvement of human rights because it breaks down, the Copenhagen political criteria - the precondition for accession negotiations to start - into a set of short and medium term priorities..  So therefore Turkey is expected to complete the short term priorities  or take them forward, within one year.

The Turkish Parliament amended ...

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