We, the Presidents or Heads of the constitutional jurisdictions of the Islamic world, present at the Constituent Congress:
NOTING that the idea to establish a permanent judicial platform to ensure an efficient and constructive dialogue among Constitutional and Supreme Courts/Councils and Equivalent Institutions exercising constitutional jurisdiction of the Islamic world was initiated by the 1st Conference hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 14-15 December 2018, during which the respective Courts/Councils/Equivalent Institutions’ Heads and representatives present at the conference adopted “the Istanbul Declaration” on 15 December 2018, recognizing the need for greater cooperation and agreeing in principle to engage in activities with a view to institutionalize such platform among the constitutional jurisdictions of the Islamic world;
RECALLING that the “Bandung Declaration”, which was adopted on 17 September 2021 at the 2nd Conference hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia in Bandung, Indonesia, on 15-17 September 2021, reiterated the role of the constitutional jurisdictions of the Islamic world in ensuring respect for the implementation of national constitutions’ principles of the rule of law, democracy, and human rights and agreed to establish a formal and independent platform for these jurisdictions for the purposes of enhancing the exchange of experiences and information on mutual concern relating to dealing with constitutional cases and jurisprudence in pursuance of the rule of law, democracy, and human rights;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the “Istanbul Declaration”, which was adopted on 24 December 2022 at the Inaugural Congress of the new platform launched under the official name of “Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Islamic World (CCJ-I)”, held by the Turkish Constitutional Court in Istanbul, Türkiye, proclaiming the establishment of the present Statute prepared by the Working Committee at expert-level consisting of Indonesia, Türkiye, Algeria, Pakistan, and Gambia in conformity with its mandate granted by the Heads and representatives of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts/Councils and Equivalent Institutions present at the 1st and 2nd Conferences, in accordance with the aforementioned Declarations adopted at the end of each respective conference;
CONVINCED that achieving these objectives remains closely linked to the independence and impartiality of constitutional jurisdictions that compose this framework to ensure its success and continuity;
REALIZING the need for sharing experiences, exchanging information, and discussing issues of mutual concern over constitutional practice and jurisprudence for the development of the constitutional jurisdictions of the Islamic world;
CONSIDERING the common cultural and civilian heritage in order to benefit from solidarity and cooperation, knowledge, manners and mutual experience;
CONVINCED that the establishment of a permanently functioning body composed of the Islamic world States’ constitutional jurisdictions and equivalent institutions will greatly enhance cooperation and exchanges of experiences and information among them;
HAVE THEREFORE AGREED on the following provisions for the establishment of a Conference on the basis of mutual respect and with due regard to the principle of judicial independence:
1. The name of the conference shall be the “Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Islamic World” and be abbreviated as the “CCJ-I” (hereinafter referred to as the “Conference”).
2. The Conference has a flag and emblem approved by the Board of Members.
The Conference shall operate as an autonomous, independent, and non-political body in accordance with this Statute. It shall not produce any legally binding effects outside the Conference.
The objectives of the Conference shall be to promote:
a) The fight against Islamophobia to counter the widespread xenophobic and Islamophobic discourse and practice;
b) The respect for the implementation of national constitutions’ principles of the rule of law, democracy and human rights;
c) The independence of constitutional jurisdictions among its members;
d) The organisation and the development of the cooperation between its members and the strengthening of the relationships between them;
e) The exchanges of ideas, knowledge, experiences, best-practices, and information on mutual concern in the constitutional judiciary field among its members;
f) The encouragement and support for researches and legal studies concerning constitutional justice;
g) The publication and dissemination of judgments of the constitutional jurisdictions of the Islamic world, and also the compilation of judgments of these jurisdictions on human rights matters among its members;
h) The uses of information technology among its members;
i) The organisation and the development of the cooperation between the Conference and similar organisations at regional and international level;
j) The participation in international conferences, symposia, workshops and seminars concerning constitutional justice;
k) The presentation of opinions and advice in the constitutional field on the request of the members; and
l) The contribution to enriching constitutional theory and practice among its members.
The Conference will achieve its objectives set out in Article 3 by the following means:
a) Holding regular meetings;
b) Organizing and convening activities such as symposia, workshops and seminars to present and discuss constitutional researches and studies;
c) Facilitating exchange of views, information and experiences on constitutional adjudication and case-law;
d) Publishing books and periodicals on constitutional and legal issues of common concern, among the Conference members;
e) Exchanging judgments and decisions issued by the bodies concerned with constitutional judiciary, among the Conference members;
f) Exchanging visits among the Conference members; and
g) Further means can be developed and adopted by the Board of Members.
1. The official working languages of the Conference shall be English and Arabic.
2. Simultaneous translation into English, Arabic and French shall be provided at the Board of Members meetings, Congresses and other events held in the framework of the Conference’s activity. Correspondence in the framework of the Conference’s activity shall be performed in English. Final documents in the framework of the Conference’s activity shall be adopted in English.
3. Any member may request simultaneous translation into another language at its own expense. The member hosting the meetings of the Board of Members and the Congress shall provide support for the simultaneous translation insofar as practicable.
1. Only one institution from any Member States and Observer Statesof the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to be considered as part of the Islamic world, can become a member of the Conference, provided that the founding members who have signed the present Statute, shall be ipso facto members.
2. Membership in the Conference is open to the Constitutional and Supreme Courts/Councils and Equivalent Institutions which exercise constitutional jurisdiction of Member and Observer States of the OIC.
3. Members shall be fully entitled to participate in all matters related to the Conference.
1. A written application for admission to the Conference as a member shall be addressed to the Board of Members and submitted to the President of the Conference. The application shall be accompanied by the following documents:
a) The legal instruments governing the establishment and composition of the candidate Court/Council/Institution and the appointment and status of judges;
b) The texts establishing the nature and scope of its jurisdiction; and
c) The documents demonstrating jurisdiction actually exercised.
2. Upon receipt of the application and necessary documents, the President of the Conference transmits their copies to all members.
3. The admission to membership shall be effected by a decision of the Board of Members.
1. Any member institution may withdraw from the Conference. Such withdrawal shall take effect upon official notification from the member institution to the Presidency of the Conference.
2. As an exceptional and precautionary measure, the Board of Members may decide to suspend a member institution temporarily when it no longer serves to the objectives of the Conference.
3. The Board of Members may decide to exclude a member institution that has failed to comply with this Statute.
4. The Board of Members shall hear the member in question before the measures taken mentioned above in sub-paragraphs 2 and 3.
1. The status of an observer may be granted to supranational courts and to constitutional jurisdictions whose states are not members of the OIC, whose principles are not in contradiction with the Preamble of the present Statute and its objectives.
2. A written application for an observer status of the Conference shall be addressed to the Board of Members and submitted to the President of the Conference.
3. Upon receipt of the application for an observer status, the President of the Conference transmits its copies to all members.
4. The admission or expulsion of observers shall be effected by a decision of the Board of Members.
5. Observers are entitled to submit proposals, participate in the Congress and deliver presentations on particular themes of the Congress program. Observers are not entitled to vote.
The President of the Conference, following consultation with the Board of Members, may invite guests and “guests of honor” who have contributed to the promotion of constitutional culture to attend the Congress and Conference’s activities such as symposia, workshops and seminars.
The organs of the Conference shall be the Board of Members and the Congress.
The Board of Members shall be composed of the Presidents or Heads of the constitutional jurisdictions with member status. The Presidents or Heads could be represented by a representative of the Courts or Institutions.
The Board of Members is the central decision-making body and has competence in the following matters:
a) Admission, suspension and expulsion of members;
b) Admission and expulsion of observers;
c) Admission of guests;
d) Appointing members of Ad-hoc Committees;
e) Assigning the title of “Honorary President” to the Presidents and judges and former Presidents and former judges of the constitutional jurisdictions and equivalent institutions of the Islamic world;
f) Fixing the dates and venues and selecting topics of the meetings of the Congress;
g) Adoption of the final declaration of the Congress;
h) Drawing up the Conference regulations;
i) Amending the Statute;
j) Dissolving the Conference;
k) Taking decision on recommendations from the Congress;
l) Adoption of the Conference’s work programs for the next two (2) years;
m) Confirming and developing the ways of cooperation between the Conference’s members and similar regional and international bodies;
n) Ratification of the agreements concluded by the Conference –within the scope of its purposes- with other regional and international organizations;
o) Deciding which member shall host the next Conference; and
p) Taking decisions on matters related to the Conference not specified in this Statute. Provided that if the Board of Members proceeds on a matter not mentioned in the Statute, it shall by a resolution provide a description of the matter along with reasons for proceeding with the same.
1. The President of the Conference shall be the President or Head of the member which hosted the current Congress.
2. The President of the Conference represents the latter in activities and events. If necessary, the President may designate participating Presidents or Heads of other members to represent him/her in such activities and events.
3. The President of the Conference shall preside over the Board of Members as well as the Congress. If necessary, the President may designate participating Presidents or Heads of other members to preside over parts of the meeting.
4. The term of mandate of the President is fixed at two (2) years. In case the President of the Conference is not determined, the term of mandate of the current President can be extended with his/her consent by decision of the Board of Members.
5. The President of the Conference shall exercise his/her other functions and competences according to the provisions of this Statute.
6. The Conference may assign to the Presidents and judges and former Presidents and former judges of the constitutional jurisdictions and equivalent institutions of the Islamic world who have contributed to the promotion of constitutional culture, the title of “Honorary President”, in accordance with Article 13 paragraph e) of this Statute. The Conference shall invite Honorary Presidents to the events it organizes.
1. The Board of Members shall insofar as possible hold at least one meeting between the Congress dates and, in principle, on the day preceding the opening of the Congress.
2. The Board of Members meets in principle on the day preceding the opening of the Congress and also before the closing of the Congress.
3. In principle, a preparatory meeting of the Board of Members for the Congress will be held at an appropriate time by the meeting of the Secretary Generals.
1. The President of the Conference shall send written invitation accompanied by the provisional agenda for the meeting to all members of the Conference at least three (3) months in advance of the meeting of the Board of Members.
2. The provisional agenda shall include:
a) The individual topics for debates;
b) The reports on the work of the Conference;
c) The recommendations from the Congress; and
d) Other items that the President of the Conference deems necessary.
3. The decisions taken shall be written down in the minutes of the meeting. The Secretariat shall be responsible for preparing the minutes of the meeting.
4. Members shall be provided with the minutes.
1. The Board of Members shall, as a rule, meet at the seat of the member responsible for organizing the next Congress. In a particular case, the Board of Members may fix another venue.
2. Upon proposal of the President of the Conference that is approved by a majority of two thirds (2 / 3) of the members of the Conference, the meeting of the Board of Members may be held in electronic format with using information technologies.
1. The Board of Members meets with simple majority.
2. The Board of Members shall take decisions by two thirds (2/3) majority of the members present at a meeting.
3. Representatives of the Courts or Institutions may also vote on behalf of their Presidents or Heads at meetings.
4. Each member shall have one vote.
The following groups shall be entitled to participate in the Congress: Members, observers and guests. However, observers and guests are not allowed to participate in voting or decision-making.
1. The Conference holds in principle a Congress once every two (2) years. At the end of each Congress, the Board of Members shall determine the place where its next session will be held.
2. The Congress comprises an opening and a closing session as well as the debates.
3. The Congress shall start with a solemn opening session. It ends with a special closing session.
4. The Board of Members elects a chairperson for each meeting in the Congress.
5. For the preparatory meeting of the Board of Members and the Congress, the host member shall provide the participants with an updated list of members, observers and guests.
6. Upon proposal of the President of the Conference that is approved by a majority of two thirds (2/3) of the members of the Conference, in exceptional cases, the Congress may be held in special order and in electronic format with using information technologies. In this case, the Congress in electronic format is organized by the Host Secretariat.
1. The Secretariat of the Conference shall be provided by the member organizing the next Congress.
2. The President of the Conference shall designate a Secretary of the Conference.
3. The Secretary of the Conference shall also be the Secretary to the Board of Members.
4. The Secretary designated by the President shall be assisted by all the members of the Conference in carrying out his/her duties.
The Board of Members may, either of its own accord or by a decision of the Congress, appoint from among its members one or more ad-hoc committees composed of competent judges having extensive experience in the area of constitutional justice and experts on constitutional law.
1. The Ad-hoc Committee considers, among others, any matter relating to the Islamic world in the area of constitutional justice and submits any reflections on this subject.
2. The Ad-hoc Committee prepares and adopts its rules of procedure.
3. The Ad-hoc Committee presents its conclusions at the next session of the Congress. The conclusions are debated and may, as appropriate, be published.
1. The host member shall be responsible for the costs of the Secretariat of the Conference as well as the costs of organising the meetings of the Board of Members and the Congress, and other activities including symposia, workshops and seminars. However, the travel costs shall be borne by the participating members.
2. Other arrangements regarding financial matters may be decided by the Board of Members.
1. Each member shall designate a Liaison Officer.
2. The Liaison Officer shall act as the channel of communication among members.
The media (the press, radio, television) may be invited to the opening of the Congress. After the closing session, a press conference may be held by the President of the Conference, accompanied, if appropriate, by other participants in the Congress.
1. Any member institution may submit amendments to this Statute as written proposals.
2. Such amendments are submitted to the Board of Members which, after consideration, prepares a report and submits it to the Congress for adoption by a majority of two thirds (2 / 3) of its members.
The Conference may be dissolved by a unanimous decision of the Board of Members.
This Statute is done in English in a single original copy.
This Statute shall enter into force on the day of its adoption at a meeting of the Presidents or Heads or their designated representatives of the constitutional jurisdictions of the Islamic world. The member institutions who adopt this Statute at the Constituent Congress shall be the founding members of the Conference.
Provisional Article: The First Term President of the Conference shall be the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Türkiye. The First Congress of the Conference shall be held in the venue to be decided by the Board of Members within two (2) years upon the entry into force of this Statute.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Presidents or Heads or their designated representatives of the constitutional jurisdictions of the Islamic world have adopted this Statute.
Done in Istanbul on 24 December 2022.