PROCEDURE

The case originated in an application (no. 43554/04) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Turkish national, Mr Nazım İlter (“the applicant”), on 3 November 2004. The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent.

On 11 February 2008 the President of the Second Section decided to give notice of the application to the Government. It was also decided to examine the merits of the application at the same time as its admissibility (Article 29 § 3).

THE FACTS

I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE

The applicant, who is a retired non-commissioned officer, was born in 1959 and lives in Osmaniye.

On 29 June 2002 the applicant attempted to enter the social facilities of the Osmaniye Gendarmerie Commandership, which was a right granted to him under Article 664 § 4 of the Internal Service Regulation of the Turkish Armed Forces (“the Internal Service Regulation”) as a retired non‑commissioned officer. He was, however, not admitted on the basis of an order of the Turkish General Staff, prohibiting him from entering any social facilities of the Armed Forces. The applicant was not provided any further information as to the reason for this prohibition.

The applicant subsequently filed an action against the Ministry of Defence with the Supreme Military Administrative Court and requested the annulment of the order of the Turkish General Staff. The applicant emphasised that he was not able to duly defend himself against the impugned decision due to his lack of access to the secret information and documents relied on by the Turkish General Staff.

In its reply, the Ministry of Defence stated that the applicant had been banned from using the said facilities for engaging in activities proscribed under Article 664 § 4 (c) of the Internal Service Regulation. It submitted certain classified documents in support of its decision.

On 22 April 2004 the Supreme Military Administrative Court rejected the applicant’s request. It stated that information and documents the confidentiality of which was required and necessitated for the performance of military service could not be disclosed to the applicant. The court further emphasised that it was not bound by the classification made by the administration and that it made its own assessment as to whether the confidentiality of the documents was justified in each case.

On 16 September 2004 the Supreme Military Administrative Court rejected the applicant’s rectification request