THE EQUALITY OF ARMS PRINCIPLE AND THE FIELD OF APPLICATION UNDER TURKISH JUDICIAL LAW REGARDING THE RIGHT TO LITIGIOUS TRIAL

Following the intense violation of human rights which occurred during WWII, a protective system for the human rights which arise due to their being human beings was attempted to be created and based on this enactment, the European Convention on Human Rights was prepared by the countries who are members of European Council. With the passing time, the member states of the European Council have signed the European Convention on Human Rights and they have made harmonious changes to the provisions of national regulations. European Convention on Human Rights which was signed by Turkey as well is also an integral part of our national regulations yet it is debatable how great an area of application it can find. The scope of the right to fair trials which is among the most essential parts of basic rights and freedoms enacted under article 6 of Human Rights Convention and what its parts were and the equality of arms principle governed under the same regulations and the observation and study of litigious right to trial concepts are the primary objective of this study. Thus, in the first section of the study consisting of two parts, the scope of right to fair trial and its components are to be considered as mentioned in the 6th article of European Convention on Human Rights and Ruling Cases of European Court of Human Rights and the equality of arms principle which is among the most important milestones of fair trial and the litigious rights will be explained. In the second part, the area of application of the equality of arms principle and litigious rights and their areas of application under Turkish Law will be studied. The main reason beyond this study is attempting to understand whether a fair trial can be achieved between the administration having the upper hand and the individuals as stipulated by European Convention on Human Rights.