Besides the administrative courts, some appeals were made to the Constitutional
Court against the EIA-related provisions of the Environment Code, on the basis of
unconstitutionality. In 2009, the Constitutional Court annulled the third paragraph
of Article 10 of the Environment Code,
4 which exempted oil, geothermal and
mining exploration activities from the EIA procedure (Constitutional Court
Decision, 15 January 2009, E: 2006/99, K: 2009/). The repeal of this provision that
was considered contrary to the Constitution was significant in terms of its legal
consequences. The exempted activities were included within the scope of the EIA
procedure as a result of this decision. The Constitutional Court Decision taken in
2015 was also related to exempted projects. This time Provisional Article 2 was
partially repealed by the Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court Decision, 3 July
2015, E: 2013/89, K: 2014/116).
The Constitutional Court also considers individual complaints that have reflections on EIA practices. In a recent decision concerning an individual complaint with
regard to dismissal of the Action for Annulment against the EIA decision taken by
the MoEU, the Constitutional Court decided in favour of the applicant. Refusal by
the administrative court and the Council of State of appeals against the EIA decision on the basis of the statute of limitations was found contrary to the Right to
Access to Courts, which is stipulated in Article 36 of the Constitution
(Constitutional Court Decision, 25 December 2018, No. 2014/14359).
5.3 The Stages of the EIA Process
5.3.1 Application and Screening Stage
5.3.1.1 Project Owners’ Obligations
The EIA process is conducted by the actors envisaged in the EIA By-Law under the
supervision of the MoEU by the General Directorate of EIA, Permit and Inspection
(GD for EIA) (DHFL on the Organization and Duties of the MoEU, Article 9). The
Turkish EIA By-Law is based on a comprehensive understanding of the EIA
process, which extends even post operation works of the planned investments. The
2014 EIA By-Law, Article 4(i) provides that “EIA Process refers to the process
which starts with the application filed for conducting an environmental impact
assessment for the project proposed to be carried out and comprises construction,
operation and post operation works”.
Article 6 provides that “Any natural or legal person planning to carry out a
project governed by this By-Law shall procure that an EIA Application File and
EIA File for their projects subject to EIA or a Project Presentation File subject to
4
This provision was incorporated in Article 10 of the Environment Code in 2006 by law
amendment (26 April 2006, No. 5491).
5 Environmental Impact Assessment in Turkey: …
87
Court against the EIA-related provisions of the Environment Code, on the basis of
unconstitutionality. In 2009, the Constitutional Court annulled the third paragraph
of Article 10 of the Environment Code,
4 which exempted oil, geothermal and
mining exploration activities from the EIA procedure (Constitutional Court
Decision, 15 January 2009, E: 2006/99, K: 2009/). The repeal of this provision that
was considered contrary to the Constitution was significant in terms of its legal
consequences. The exempted activities were included within the scope of the EIA
procedure as a result of this decision. The Constitutional Court Decision taken in
2015 was also related to exempted projects. This time Provisional Article 2 was
partially repealed by the Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court Decision, 3 July
2015, E: 2013/89, K: 2014/116).
The Constitutional Court also considers individual complaints that have reflections on EIA practices. In a recent decision concerning an individual complaint with
regard to dismissal of the Action for Annulment against the EIA decision taken by
the MoEU, the Constitutional Court decided in favour of the applicant. Refusal by
the administrative court and the Council of State of appeals against the EIA decision on the basis of the statute of limitations was found contrary to the Right to
Access to Courts, which is stipulated in Article 36 of the Constitution
(Constitutional Court Decision, 25 December 2018, No. 2014/14359).
5.3 The Stages of the EIA Process
5.3.1 Application and Screening Stage
5.3.1.1 Project Owners’ Obligations
The EIA process is conducted by the actors envisaged in the EIA By-Law under the
supervision of the MoEU by the General Directorate of EIA, Permit and Inspection
(GD for EIA) (DHFL on the Organization and Duties of the MoEU, Article 9). The
Turkish EIA By-Law is based on a comprehensive understanding of the EIA
process, which extends even post operation works of the planned investments. The
2014 EIA By-Law, Article 4(i) provides that “EIA Process refers to the process
which starts with the application filed for conducting an environmental impact
assessment for the project proposed to be carried out and comprises construction,
operation and post operation works”.
Article 6 provides that “Any natural or legal person planning to carry out a
project governed by this By-Law shall procure that an EIA Application File and
EIA File for their projects subject to EIA or a Project Presentation File subject to
4
This provision was incorporated in Article 10 of the Environment Code in 2006 by law
amendment (26 April 2006, No. 5491).
5 Environmental Impact Assessment in Turkey: …
87