17.06.2026 17:10
Ekrem İmamoğlu brought the court decision rejecting his appeal in the case against the cancellation of his diploma to the Council of State, arguing that it was taken with political motives and in violation of the law.
Ekrem İmamoğlu has appealed the court of appeals' decision regarding the annulment of his diploma to the Council of State. His lawyers argued that the decision was politically motivated and unlawful.
İmamoğlu, in the case he filed against the annulment of his diploma, brought the decision of the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court's 7th Administrative Case Division, which rejected his appeal, to the Council of State. In the appeal petition submitted by İmamoğlu's lawyers, it was claimed that the diploma annulment decision, taken with political motives, clearly violated the law, the principle of legal certainty, administrative stability, and vested rights. It was argued that the natural judge principle and the right to a reasoned decision were violated during the trial process, and a request was made for a stay of execution and the reversal of the decision.
The petition recalled that Istanbul University annulled İmamoğlu's horizontal transfer, graduation, and diploma on March 18, 2025. Lawyers, asserting that this decision was taken "hastily and by an unauthorized authority" upon the request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, emphasized that in previous official opinions from the same university, İmamoğlu's horizontal transfer process was deemed compliant with the regulations.
It was noted that in a letter dated March 27, 2020, from Istanbul University, it was clearly stated that the necessary conditions for horizontal transfer were met, and an information note signed by the Rector on October 7, 2024, also indicated that the procedures were lawful. The petition claimed that, therefore, the diploma annulment was not made in the public interest but for political reasons.
"COURT OF APPEALS DECISION UNREASONED"
In the appeal petition, it was stated that the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court's 7th Administrative Case Division, while rejecting the appeal application, only assessed that "the Administrative Court's decision was procedurally and legally appropriate," arguing that this cannot be considered a legal justification. It was claimed that the court of appeals did not discuss any claims that could affect the outcome of the case, thus violating the "right to a reasoned decision." Referring to decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, the petition stated that higher courts must evaluate the parties' main claims and objections; otherwise, the right to a fair trial would be violated.
"COURT PANELS WERE CHANGED"
Lawyers stated that both the panel of the Istanbul 5th Administrative Court and the panel of the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court's 7th Administrative Case Division conducting the appeal review were changed during the trial process, arguing that this violated the "natural judge principle." It was reported that the first-instance court panel was changed four times during the lawsuit, and the president of the appeals court was also changed at the decision stage. In the petition, it was claimed that these changes constituted "open interference in the judiciary," violating the natural judge principle guaranteed under Article 37 of the Constitution and breaching the prohibition of abuse of power within the scope of Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"VESTED RIGHT REVOKED AFTER 35 YEARS"
The petition emphasized that Istanbul University was aware of the university İmamoğlu transferred to and the transfer process from the beginning, and there was no allegation of fraudulent behavior or use of forged documents during or after his student period. It was argued that revoking the diploma approximately 35 years later violated the principles of "legal certainty, administrative stability, and vested rights."
İmamoğlu's lawyers requested that the appeal application be accepted, resulting in a stay of execution and the reversal of the decision of the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court's 7th Administrative Case Division dated May 13, 2026, which unreasonably rejected the appeal application.