The TCC’s Approach to Secularism in Freedom of Religion Cases

The Turkish Constitutional Court has been frequently referred to as a “guardian of secularism” since its establishment in 1962 until the 2010 constitutional amendments which recomposed it. This chapter is organized as follows: Sect. 4.1 examines the TCC’s approach to secularism in cases prior to the 2010 constitutional amendments. Section 4.2 assesses the 2010 constitutional amendments restructuring the TCC. The final section studies the new jurisprudence developed by the TCC after the amendments and analyses its new stance. Section A elucidates the interpretation of the principle of secularism by the TCC and the supreme value given to the principle in relation to other norms in the context of the headscarf prohibition. By representing the Court’s legal arguments in the headscarf cases, it will shed light on a historical and teleological approach adopted by the Court. It will further demonstrate the Court’s judicial activism stemming from the principle’s irrevocability. Section 4.2 will examine the formation of the Constitutional Court suggesting that it affects the Court’s approach in freedom of religion cases. It will carefully analyze the 2010 constitutional amendments seeking to ascertain whether they have achieved a reform of the TCC by removing anti-democratic features of the 1982 Constitution. Finally, Sect. 4.2 will present recommendations regarding composition of the TCC. Section 4.3 aims to study the influence of the 2010 amendments on the Court’s approach in freedom of religion cases. It seeks to identify whether the TCC has made a shift towards a rights-based approach in religious freedom cases and adopted an understanding of “liberal secularism” or “pluralistic secularism” as argued by some legal scholars.