CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 16 décembre 2009

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sA678F94A { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s598389F8 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:11pt } .s2E932ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:11pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4BAE41EE { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s92A5AB2 { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s99A63BFE { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:11pt } .s8A3CF084 { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt; font-size:11pt } .s624258FB { width:17.2pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s595A57E4 { width:85.05pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s39D67136 { width:31.88pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .sCC018295 { font-family:Arial; font-size:5.33pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } 963 16.12.2009   Press release issued by the Registrar   GRAND CHAMBER HEARING ŞERİFE YİĞİT v. TURKEY   The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Grand Chamber hearing today Wednesday 16 December 2009 at 9.15 a.m. , in the case of Şerife Yiğit v.   Turkey (application no.   3976/05).   The hearing will be broadcast from 2.30 p.m. on the Court’s Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   The applicant   The applicant, Şerife Yiğit, is a Turkish national who was born in 1954 and lives in İslahiye (district of Gaziantep, Turkey).   Summary of the facts   In 1976 she married Ömer Koç (Ö.K.) in a religious ceremony ( imam nikahı ). Ö.K. died on 10   September 2002. The youngest of their six children, Emine, was born in 1990. On 11   September 2003 Şerife Yiğit brought an action, in her own name and that of Emine, seeking to have her marriage with Ö.K. recognised and to have Emine entered in the civil register as his daughter. The District Court allowed the second request but rejected the request concerning the marriage. The applicant further applied to the retirement pension fund ( Bağ-Kur ) to have Ö.K.’s retirement pension and health-insurance benefits transferred to her and her daughter. The benefits were granted to Emine but not to her mother, on the ground that her marriage to Ö.K. had not been legally recognised. The applicant appealed unsuccessfully against that decision.   Complaint   Relying on Article   8 (right to respect for family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicant complained about the Turkish courts’ refusal to transfer her deceased partner’s social-security entitlements to her.   Procedure   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 6   December 2004. In its judgment of 20   January 2009 the Chamber examining the case found that it was not unreasonable for special protection to be afforded only to civil marriages in Turkey, pointing out that marriage remained an institution widely recognised as conferring a particular status on those who entered into it. It considered that the difference in treatment between married and unmarried couples with regard to survivors’ benefits was aimed at protecting the traditional family based on the bonds of marriage and was therefore legitimate and justified. Accordingly, the Chamber held by four votes to three that there had been no violation of Article   8 of the Convention.   On 14   September 2009 the case was referred to the Grand Chamber at the applicant’s request.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Jean-Paul Costa (France), President , Christos Rozakis (Greece), Nicolas Bratza (the United Kingdom), Peer Lorenzen (Denmark), Josep Casadevall (Andorra), Corneliu Bîrsan (Romania), Nina Vajić (Croatia) Anatoly Kovler (Russia), Dean Spielmann (Luxembourg), Renate Jaeger (Germany), Sverre Erik Jebens (Norway), David Thór Björgvinsson (Iceland), Ján Šikuta (Slovakia), Luis López Guerra (Spain), Nona Tsotsoria (Georgia), Ann Power (Ireland), Işıl Karakaş (Turkey), judges , Rait Maruste (Estonia), Päivi Hirvelä (Finland), Mark Villiger (Liechtenstein), substitute judges , and also Vincent Berger , Jurisconsult .   Representatives of the parties   Government :   Şebnem Akipek , Counsel ,   Münci Özmen , Co-Agent ,   Ayşen Emüler , Meltem Aksen , Tahsin Taşkın , Advisers ;   Applicant :   Mustafa Sezgin Tanrıkulu , Nazım Kırık , İnan Sevinç , Counsel .   ***   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date. [1]   Press contacts Stefano Piedimonte (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 04) Tracey Turner-Tretz (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30) Kristina Pencheva-Malinowski (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 70) Céline Menu-Lange (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 90 21 58 77) Frédéric Dolt (telephone : 00 33 (0)3 90 21 53 39) Nina Salomon (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 49 79)   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. [1] This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.