Constitutional Court Ruling on Appointment Rights for Contracted Healthcare Personnel

The Constitutional Court (AYM) has rejected by a majority vote the request to annul the regulation that prevents contracted healthcare personnel working within the Ministry of Health under Decree Law No. 663 from changing their location based on family unity grounds before completing a three-year service period, if their spouse works under contract in another public institution.

In the application brought before the AYM by the Hakkâri 2nd Administrative Court, it was argued that the aforementioned three-year service period requirement was unconstitutional. The court stated that the uninterrupted delivery of healthcare services is critical for public health and ruled that the legislator has the authority to determine personnel assignment and relocation procedures.

The AYM emphasized that the right to transfer has not been completely abolished, but rather made conditional upon a three-year term of duty. Deciding that this period does not constitute a burden heavy enough to make family unity impossible, the court stated that the status difference between permanent and contracted personnel is based on an objective foundation.

Assessment: Three members who voted against the decision drew attention to the state's obligation to protect family unity, arguing that the impact of the spouse's status on family life remains unchanged and that the three-year period does not comply with the principle of proportionality.