Constitutional Court: Dismissed public officials can work as an attorney

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The Constitutional Court has ruled that preventing those who were dismissed from public service from bar registration violated the principle of legality.

With the decision published in the Official Gazette yesterday (September 9), lawyers or law professors who were dismissed upon statutory decrees will be able to work as an attorney

The application to the top court was made by former Çanakkale Public Prosecutor M.B., and a former communications expert at the state-run Information Technologies and Communications Agency (BTK), who were both dismissed from their posts upon statutory decrees during the state of emergency period following the July 2016 coup attempts.

Having a bachelor's degree in law, both people applied to the Union of Bar Association of Turkey (TBB) to register as an attorney while their applications were accepted by the TBB, the Ministry of Justice applied to administrative courts, requesting the cancellation of their registrations.

After the local court canceled their registrations at bar associations, M.B. and Taner Mahmutoğlu applied to the Constitutional Court.

The top court ruled that making attorneys subject to the same rules as public employees would not be in line with nature and facts about the profession and that the applicants' right to privacy and right to a fair trial were violated.

Cenk Yiğiter, a law professor who was dismissed by a statutory decree, applied to the Ankara Bar to complete his internship.

Another law professor, Ertuğrul Uzun, said that "My main job is the academic profession. Statutory decrees are unlawful and should be canceled. I want my job back." (SO/VK)