Right to Health: A Fundamental Right Under Turkish Law

The right to health is among social rights, in terms of its subject-matter, and among second generation rights, in terms of its historical evolution. A fundamental right under the section of economic and social rights in the Turkish Constitution, the right to health is usually studied as a typical “positive status right” in Turkish legal scholarship. This approach makes sense to a certain degree but has serious shortcomings to guide a comprehensive study. Because the scope of the right to health goes beyond the positive status of its subjects, a similar argument is valid for the corresponding duties of the state. This article deals with the right to health under Turkish law, and is aimed at describing the subjects, the scope and the limits of the right as well as the corresponding duties of the state. It will argue that the tripartite typology (respect, protect, fulfill) is better fit for the task of understanding the nature and scope of the duties of the state pertaining to the right to health.