Neighborhood guards can carry weapons, perform ID checks, rules top court

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The Constitutional Court has decided to annul seven articles and paragraphs of the Neighborhood Guards Law, concluded that the guards can carry weapons and perform ID checks on people.

Members of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had applied to the Constitutional Court in June 2020 demanding the annulment and suspension of the implementation of eight separate regulations in the Neighborhood Guards Law.

The decision of the Constitutional Court was published in today's Official Gazette.

"Restriction on the right to protest is not legal"

According to the verdict published in the Official Gazette, the regulation that empowers guards under Article 6/Ç of the law to "take preventive measures until the general law enforcement forces arrive to prevent demonstrations, marches, and disturbances that would disrupt public order" was considered to impose a restriction on the right to organize meetings and protests.

The top court ruled that the nature, extent, and limits of actions and situations that would disturb public order were not determined in the law, and it was decided that the duties and powers granted to guards were not specified: "It is understood that the rule does not establish a legal framework and principles, and thus, the limitation imposed on the right to organize meetings and protests does not fulfill the requirement of legality."

"Unclear scope of prevention"

The provision in article 7, paragraph 6 of the law that grants guards the power of "external pat-down search" was also found to be unconstitutional.

According to a report on the T24 news portal, the Constitutional Court also annulled the rule concerning the authority of guards to prevent those who disturb the peace and disturb others.

The reasoning for the annulment stated that it was not clear whether the actions specified in the rule would be considered within the scope of offenses, and there was no determination regarding the scope, powers, and limits of prevention.

Among the annulled articles by the Constitutional Court was the authority given to guards to ensure "the completion of measures that are not taken by the owners for the protection of properties such as residences, workplaces, and vehicles within their duty areas."

Objection to identity checks rejected

The request for the annulment of the regulation that authorizes guards to stop individuals and carry out identity checks for the purpose of preventing crimes and identifying perpetrators or wanted persons, as well as preventing existing and potential dangers, was rejected by the Constitutional Court.

The court also rejected the request for the annulment of the regulation that grants guards the authority to use weapons. The reasoning for the rejection stated that when granting this authority to guards, reference was made to the Police Duties and Powers Law:

"It is observed that it is stipulated that weapons can be used to render attacks ineffective and to apprehend persons for whom arrest, detention, forced appearance, or capture orders have been issued or suspects caught in the act, thereby providing guarantees to prevent the use of authority in a manner contrary to the purpose of granting the authority and in a disproportionate manner." (AS/VK)