The Constitutional Court (“Court”) evaluated the applications regarding the dismissal of the appeals of the lawsuits filed for the annulment of the environmental impact assessment (“EIA”) positive decisions regarding the İZDEMİR Thermal Power Plant II project operated by İzmir Demir Çelik Sanayi A.Ş. (“İZDEMİR”) in Aliağa district of İzmir and ruled that the applicants’ right to respect for private life guaranteed by the Constitution was violated.
The local community, environmental associations and professional chambers had filed a claim on the grounds that the construction of the power plant would pose environmental risks, negatively affect agricultural life in the region, especially olive cultivation, cause deforestation and climate change.
In its decision, the Court emphasized the importance of a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impacts of projects, also noted that the project would seriously affect the applicants’ living spaces, which would lead to a violation of their private lives. The Constitutional Court noted that the right to respect for private life is a fundamental right for the protection of individuals’ living spaces and that this right must be balanced with the public interest.
Drawing attention to the state’s positive obligation under the right to respect for private life, the Constitutional Court concluded that the public authorities did not approach the case with due diligence and did not sufficiently consider public and individual interests.
It is important to note that in the aforementioned decision, the court underlined that the approval of the project without assessing the environmental impacts of the power plant is a situation that threatens the quality of life of individuals. The fact that the court emphasized this point means that in similar cases, first instance courts should obtain an expert report on environmental impacts.
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