PRESIDENT'S SPEECH AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CELEBRATING THE

45th YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF

THE TURKISH CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

(April 25, 2007)

Kang-Kook Lee

President of the Constitutional Court

Republic of Korea

Honorable Chief Justice Tülay TuĞcu of the Constitutional Court, Honorable justices, and fellow ladies and gentlemen,

I am very honored to attend and have the opportunity to speak at this conference dedicated to the remarkable event celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the Turkish Constitutional Court.

First of all, I would like to offer my sincere respect for the Constitutional Court of Turkey’s enormous efforts and achievements. While undertaking the role as guardian of the Constitution for its people and overcoming numerous difficulties and challenges for a long period of 45 years, this institution has firmly place itself as the highest judicial institution in Turkey.

I am also deeply grateful for the warm welcome and kind hospitality that you have extended to my company and me.

Turkey has a special relationship with Korea in history and culture. I have a significant interest in the social system of Turkey and also feel a great sense of resemblance with its historic and beautiful cultural properties.

Now I would like to take a short moment to speak to you about the Korean Constitutional Court's experience.

The constitutional review system, in Korea, was introduced in 1948. However, full-scale constitutional review actually began when the current Constitutional Court was established in September 1988.

The Constitutional Court of Korea exercises jurisdiction over constitutional review of statutes, impeachment, dissolution of a political party, competence dispute, and constitutional complaints.

Particularly important is that the Korean constitutional complaint system allows an individual to directly petition to the Constitutional Court. When the basic rights of an individual are infringed by the exercise or non-exercise of public authority, the person may file a case in Constitutional Court for relief. In addition, when a motion for referral to the Constitutional Court for a judgement on the constitutionality of a law is rejected by the court of original jurisdiction, the party requesting the referral may also petition to the Constitutional Court for a final judgement on the law's constitutionality. The introduction of the constitutional complaint system is valued as such a remarkable reform of the Korean constitutional adjudication system in that it extended standing to an ordinary individual petitioner.

Since the creation of the Korean Constitutional Court, the Court has disposed of 13,800 constitutional complaints including about 550 cases reviewing the constitutionality of statutes. In 730 of those cases, the Korean Constitutional Court pronounced that the laws were unconstitutional or upheld constitutional complaints. This large number of cases shows the citizen's high expectations for and interests in the Constitutional Court.

Due to the activities of the Constitutional Court, the basic rights of people have been more completely protected. The freedom and rights of people of Korea have been guaranteed with equal status to advanced countries. It is estimated that Korea is the most successful country in Asia to settle into a constitutional adjudication system.

Many asian countries try to adopt constitutional adjudication systems because of the necessity of the system as an institutional apparatus to guarantee liberal-democratic constitutionalism. In the future, the Constitutional Court of Korea will provide full cooperation in the process of introducing and settling the constitutional adjudication system for countries in Asia.

I am concerned that holding this International Conference itself has significant implication and value. The legal system of each country is the essence of its history and culture. Knowing and understanding each other’s system and experience is sharing the core part of its culture. I am assured that today’s International Conference would be a meaningful occasion to share the experience and wisdom of each other as a way to seek a more profound understanding and also further develop of our respective constitutions and constitutional adjudication systems.

The Constitutional Court of Korea will hold an international conference during for 20th anniversary ceremonies on September 2008, in Seoul, where presidents and members of high courts, scholars, and other participants have an opportunity of sharing their experience and wisdom. The date and the detailed program of the conference are soon to be determined and you or a representative of your court will be kindly invited to the conference. I appreciate your cooperation and support for the conference in advance.

Once again, I wish to offer my congratulations on the 45th Anniversary of the Turkish Constitutional Court and I deeply appreciate the invitation to this honorable ceremony.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.