Transfer of a judge without his consent to another court in a lower judicial district without a judicial review (ECtHR)
In Chamber's judgment in the case of Bilgen v. Turkey (application no. 1571/07) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been: a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned a senior judge at the Ankara Regional Administrative Court who had been transferred without his consent to another court in a lower judicial district by a decree of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors that had not been subject to judicial review. After reiterating the importance of separation of powers, the Court found in particular that denying the applicant access to a court for an important career matter had not pursued a legitimate aim and could have potentially damaged judicial independence and had thus violated his rights. Facts The applicant, Hüseyin Cahit Bilgen, is a Turkish national who was born in 1952 and lives in Ankara. In 1979 the applicant was appointed as an apprentice rapporteur judge at the