Constitutional Court of Turkey

The Constitutional Court of Turkey (, sometimes abbreviated as AYM) is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the force of law, and the Rules of Procedure of the Turkish Grand National Assembly" (Article 148/1 of the Turkish Constitution). If necessary, it also functions as the Supreme Criminal Court (Yüce Divan) to hear any cases raised about the President, Vice President, members of the Cabinet, or judges of the high courts. In addition to those functions, it examines individual applications on the grounds that one of the fundamental rights and freedoms within the scope of the European Convention on Human Rights which are guaranteed by the Constitution has been violated by public authorities (Article 148/3 of the Turkish Constitution). The Court is the seat of the Center for Training and Human Resources Development of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions Part Four, Section Two of the Constitution establishes the Constitutional Court that rules on the constitutionality of statutes and Presidential executive orders. The Court rules on issues referred to it by the President, the members of Parliament, or any judge before whom an exception of unconstitutionality has been raised by a defendant or a plaintiff. The Constitutional Court has the right to both a priori and a posteriori review (respectively, before and after enactment), and it can invalidate whole laws or governmental decrees and prevent their application in future cases. Challenges to a law must be made within the first two months of its promulgation. The court decides over the parliamentary immunity of the members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and has the authority to ban political parties. According to Article 146 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court is composed of fifteen members.