Council of State ruled in favor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), leading to the cancellation of a regulation that allowed coastal areas to be reserved exclusively for tourist facilities.
Said regulation was contested by İBB, which argued that it could lead to favoritism towards certain businesses and make it harder to regulate unauthorized constructions along the coast. The court found the regulation to be in violation of the law and thus ordered its cancellation.
The decision emphasized the principle that coastal areas should primarily serve the public interest, as stipulated by the Constitution and the Coastal Law. It also highlighted concerns that the amended regulation introduced a new appeals process for altering the coastal boundary line, which could potentially encourage practices contrary to coastal preservation.
Overall, the court concluded that the regulation did not adhere to objective criteria in considering public interest and service requirements, and it could lead to actions detrimental to coastal preservation and public access. Consequently, the regulation was deemed unlawful, and its cancellation was ordered.
