The Constitutional Court’s decision dated 02.02.2022 with application number 2020/20874, regarding the violation of the right to request the protection of personal data and freedom of communication within the scope of respect for private life by scanning and recording the letters of the detainees in the UYAP system, was published in the Official Gazette on 07.04.2022.
The applicant is detained in the penitentiary institution for the crime of being a member of an armed terrorist organization. In accordance with the Circular of the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses dated 10.10.2016, all letters, faxes and petitions are scanned and recorded in the UYAP system, with the exception of the letters and faxes in the closed envelope given to the official authorities or their lawyers for defense.
Thereupon, the applicant claimed that the letters he sent and received were recorded in the UYAP system, thereby violating the respect for private life and the presumption of innocence. Therefore, the applicant applied to the Tekirdağ 2nd Execution Judge for the termination of this practice and the deletion of the records. The Exucation Judge, on the other hand, stated in the second paragraph of Article 68 of the Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Criminal and Security Measures that the letter, fax and telegrams sent and received by the convict would be inspected by the letter reading commission. Emphasizing that in the absence of the commission, it was regulated that the institution would be audited by the highest authority, stated that the said practices were not contrary to the Constitution. The applicant’s objection to the decision was also rejected by the Tekirdağ 2nd High Criminal Court. Upon the rejection of this application, the applicant made an individual application to the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court examined the concrete application in terms of basic criteria such as being foreseen by the law regulated in Article 13 of the Constitution, carrying a legitimate aim, not being contrary to the requirements of the democratic social order and the principle of proportionality.
The Constitutional Court also evaluated the practice of uploading letters to the UYAP system within the scope of the right to demand the protection of personal data. As a result of these evaluations, he emphasized that it is not sufficient for the laws on the restriction of fundamental rights and freedoms to exist in form, but also to should have a material content. In addition, The Constitutional Court stated that it should include detailed rules regarding what information can be recorded and the processing time of the data in terms of the laws regarding the entry and recording of personal data of detainees in the UYAP system and the legislation based on the relevant law. Also stated that it should include detailed rules regarding the destruction period of data, technical and administrative measures, whether there will be a transfer to third parties or not.
Conclusion: The Constitutional Court stated that there is no clear regulation in the relevant Circular in terms of the storage period of the letters and correspondence of the detainees in the UYAP system, the access of third parties and authorities to this data, and the protection of personal data. It determined that the interference with the right to respect for private life and the freedom of communication had no legal basis and decided that the applicant’s right to respect for private life and freedom of communication were violated.