International standards on conscientious objection to military service and Turkey's resulting obligations

Armies require obedient soldiers. However, throughout history there have been those who, for a variety of reasons, have refused to take part in war or to perform military service. The most direct way of objecting to serving a military function is through conscientious objection to the performance of military service. This objection is usually based on principles or reasons of conscience, including profound convictions arising from religious, ethical, moral, philosophical, humanitarian or similar motives. The right to conscientious objection to military service is nowadays recognised by most international mechanisms as the legitimate expression of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. At the European level, there is equally now a consensus on the right to conscientious objection as exemplified in the case of Bayatyan v. Armenia. In the Republic of Turkey conscientious objection to military service is nevertheless still a highly controversial issue. Turkey does not recognise the right to conscientious objection to military service, and it does not provide alternative civilian service. Based on a thorough analysis of international and regional human rights law, this thesis will demonstrate that Turkey is in violation of its international obligations on the issue of conscientious objection to military service, in particular following the Bayatyan, Ercep and Fethi Demirtas judgments from the European Court of Human Rights - the last two judgements directly addressing Turkey. Indeed, as a European x Union accession candidate, the Republic of Turkey must make some expeditious changes in its legal system in order to recognise such a right. This thesis aims to identify where Turkey falls short of its obligations under international human rights law and to show what changes in Turkish law should be made for Turkey to be in compliance with these obligations.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo