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Turkey launches legal proceedings against Israel
Turkey can also file claims under Article 77 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which regulates crimes against humanity, but it is likely that for the time being there will only be compensation cases.
Hasan Köni, a professor of international law from Galatasaray University, told Today's Zaman that Turkey could initiate these cases according to the principles of diplomatic protection.
This means that a state can take diplomatic and other action against another state on behalf of its nationals whose rights and interests have been injured by the other state.
“Even if the relatives of the dead and wounded people give up their rights, the state can do this on their behalf,” he said.
When asked what might happen if Israel chooses not to acknowledge or obey the court’s verdict, Köni replied that there would be diplomatic consequences.
“Then Turkey can take the issue to the United Nations,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice has set up a commission to research all the possible legal actions prescribed in national and international law which could be taken against Israel.
The commission also decided to send letters to its counterpart commissions and the European Union Parliament as well as the commissioner of the Council of Europe (EoC) regarding the violations of law and human rights by Israel during its lethal attack on the ships.
In the letter, it is pointed out that the Israeli attack took place in international waters and it is in violation of many other principles of international law: “To use force and violence against unarmed people including women, children and the elderly is a very serious violation of human rights and cannot be legitimize by any means,” the letter said.
It also noted that no apology or act could bring back the dead and that the rights to life, travel, freedom and security had been violated, as well as the right to communicate.
The commission also indicated in its letter that people had been subject to ill treatment during their detention.
The commission urged its counterparts to react against all these violations and also announced its decision to form a subcommittee to travel to Israel to investigate the events in question.
Meanwhile the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday condemned Israel for its “outrageous attack” and established a fact-finding mission into possible violations of international law.
The resolution proposed by Islamic nations was adopted with 32 “yes” votes, nine abstentions and three “no” votes -- cast by the United States, Italy and the Netherlands.
Israel has refused to cooperate with previous investigations ordered by the Geneva-based council. This includes an investigation into the 2009 Gaza assault. The investigation was headed by former UN war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone and concluded that both the Israelis and Hamas, which controls Gaza, committed war crimes.
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