ABTTF President: “Our country Greece has been disregarding the principle of the rule of law and European values by failing to execute the ECtHR judgments regarding the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases, which includes the associations of our community for the past 16 years. Our country’s national courts and judges must also take into consideration the ECtHR judgments and jurisprudence. Otherwise, it will not be a surprise if national courts revoke the registrations and dissolve of other associations of our community for the same reasons, as in the court decision regarding the dissolution of the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association’’.
Public Law Professor Vassilios Skouris who served as President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) for 12 years touched upon the issue of Greek judges’ relations with the European Court of Justice in a programme he attended on the state television ERT3 channel.
Pointing out that the European Court of Justice is the institution that ensures that the EU is a legal community, Skouris indicated that its most important duty is to assist national courts in the correct implementation of EU law.
“While I agree with Professor Skouris’ words regarding the relations between the Court of Justice of the EU and national courts, I would like to add some remarks. Just as the European Court of Justice is an indispensable institution for the correct implementation of EU law in the Member States, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is equally important for the protection and development of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in the member states of the Council of Europe. The execution of the ECtHR judgments is one of the most important indicators proving that the principle of rule of law is guaranteed in the member states. However, our country Greece has been disregarding the principle of the rule of law and European values by failing to execute the ECtHR judgments regarding the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases, which includes the associations of our community for the past 16 years. Our country’s national courts and judges must also take into consideration the ECtHR judgments and jurisprudence. Otherwise, it will not be a surprise if national courts revoke the registrations and dissolve of other associations of our community for the same reasons, as in the court decision regarding the dissolution of the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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