The UK, The Council of Europe and Turkey's International Human Rights Obligations in a State of Emergency : Submission to Foreign Affairs Committee: United Kingdom's Relations with Turkey

This report argues that the UK should urge Turkey to ensure that its state of emergency declared under Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; the Convention) remains temporary; that the emergency measures taken by Turkey following this declaration remain proportionate to the exigencies of the situation; and that none of the non-derogable rights of the Convention, including the prohibition of the death penalty should be infringed upon. As the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR; the Court) has been extremely deferential to Contracting Parties as to the existence of a state of emergency within its jurisdiction, it is incumbent upon the other Contracting Parties to the Convention to use political and diplomatic ties to ensure its temporariness.Secondly, this report argues that the legitimacy of the ECtHR and its judgments have been undermined through the lack of implementation of the UK's and other Contracting Parties' Convention obligations and through political rhetoric attacking the ECtHR. There is evidence that this defiance of Court judgments is encouraging other Contracting Parties to do likewise. This trend is particularly worrying in light of Turkey's declaration of a state of emergency and suggestions that it could reintroduce the death penalty in clear violation of Protocol 13 of the ECHR. This report therefore urges the UK to take positive steps in vindicating its international human rights obligations under the ECHR and avoid political rhetoric that may damage the legitimacy of the ECtHR