Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi held a meeting with Chief Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey Şeref Malkoç
Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi held a meeting with Chief Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey Şeref Malkoç at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Kasminin, Ombudsmen of the Republic of Turkey Yahya Akman and Arif Dülger, Personal Assistant to the Chief Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey Veysel Şirin, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey to Ukraine Buket Kabakci, acting Head of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Larysa Biriuk, representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Viktor Barvytskyi took part in the event.
Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi welcomed the guests and emphasised the long-standing friendly relations with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey. He also told about the activity of the body of constitutional jurisdiction of Ukraine, its powers and composition.
After introducing amendments to the Constitution, underlined Oleksandr Tupytskyi, the Constitutional Court of Ukr
aine was separated from the general judicial system, and a new mechanism for the protection of human rights - the institute of constitutional complaint - was introduced. Thus, now an individual is able to directly appeal to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in order to protect his/her constitutional rights violated by law, he stressed.
Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi outlined in details the interaction between the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. "The Ombudsman Institute in Ukraine is a constitutional body that has direct interaction with the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on certain issues", since, if the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights considers that the law does not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine, he/she may appeal to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine with appropriate application.
According to the history of the activities of the only body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine (since 1996), the 
Constitutional Court of Ukraine has received 51 applications from the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, on which the Court had adopted 15 decisions. According to him, 12 out of 15 decisions concerned the constitutionality of the law. "These decisions were decisive in the field of human rights protection", stressed Oleksandr Tupytskyi.
Chief Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey Şeref Malkoç noted that in each country the constitutional court holds a special place. He said that by 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey had exclusively examined the constitutionality of the laws adopted by the Parliament. Thanks to the constitutional reform, the speaker continued, its powers were changed significantly.
Şeref Malkoç stressed that some institutions have been introduced to expand human rights and freedoms, in particular, the institution of the ombudsman and the constitutional complaint institute. "Due to these changes, the number of complaints from the Republic of Turkey to the European Court of Human Rights has decreased by 90%", he added. As a result of the constitutional reform, the Republic of Turkey was able to protect its citizens on the territory of the country, although the burden on the constitutional control body increased, stressed Şeref Malkoç.
Chief Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey noted that the Ombudsman of the Republic 
of Turkey has no legal interaction with the Constitutional Court. "However, we regularly exchange opinions and information on the protection of human rights at the national level", he added. In addition, according to the speaker, the Institute of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey helps the citizens of the country to apply to the Constitutional Court, in particular, by providing legal support in preparing the relevant applications.
Şeref Malkoç told that in 2017, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Turkey received over 17 thousand applications, most of which on education. The speaker also stressed that a large number of applications came from displaced persons from Syrian Arab Republic and added that the services upon these applications are provided free of charge.
In addition, Şeref Malkoç noted that 20% of these applications were resolved through talks with the executive authorities in favour of citizens, that is, by means of a "friendly solution of issues". "The greatest happiness is to help the citizens of my country", he concluded.
During the meeting the interlocutors also discussed other topical issues. The parties agreed that the peoples of Ukraine and Republic of Turkey have been living in an atmosphere of solidarity for many years and expressed hopes for further fruitful cooperation.
