Top court nixes press ad authority's sanction power

ANKARA

Türkiye's top court has annulled a regulation granting the Press Advertisement Institution (BİK) the authority to impose penalties by cutting advertisements, ruling that the provision lacked clear definitions.

The decision, published in the Official Gazette on Oct. 13, found that Article 49 of the related law failed to specify which acts warranted the cutting of advertisements or the scope of the penalties, rendering the rule vague and unconstitutional.

An Istanbul court had referred the case to the Constitutional Court after the Journalists’ Association filed a lawsuit challenging BİK’s authority to issue such penalties, arguing that the rule violated press freedom and legal certainty.

The high court cited a previous case involving a news agency, in which it similarly ruled that sanctions interfering with media operations must be narrowly defined and applied within clear legal boundaries.

“The decision underlines that legal regulations affecting press freedom must be drafted in precise and unambiguous terms, leaving no room for arbitrary interpretation,” it stated.

A notification has been sent to parliament urging lawmakers to address the structural issue and clarify the scope of the regulation in line with constitutional guarantees for press freedom.

The BİK is a legal entity responsible for distribution of public ads to the Turkish newspapers, including private and state-owned.