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issued by the Registrar of the Court   ECHR 002 (2026)   06.01.2026   Judgments of 6 January 2026   The European Court of Human Rights has today notified in writing two Chamber judgments1 which are   summarised below.   The judgments are available only in English.   Altıner Akıncı v. Türkiye (application no. 9570/23)   The applicant, Yasemin Altıner Akıncı, is a Turkish national who was born in 1973 and lives in Muğla   (Türkiye).   The case concerns compulsory sports arbitration proceedings. Ms Altıner Akıncı is a professional beach   volleyball referee. Invitations issued to her in 2021 and 2022 to referee in two international   competitions were withdrawn as the Central Referee and Observer Committee of the Turkish   Volleyball Association had not included her in the list of referees eligible to referee matches in such   competitions. Proceedings brought by Ms Altıner Akıncı before the Sports Arbitration Board of the   Ministry of Sports challenging those decisions were unsuccessful.   Relying on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life)   of the European Convention on Human Rights, the applicant alleges a breach of her right to a fair   hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, a lack of sufficient judicial review and an unjustified   interference with her right to exercise her profession.   No violation of Article 6 § 1 as regards the alleged lack of independence and impartiality of the Sports   Arbitration Board   Violation of Article 6 § 1 due to the lack of sufficient judicial review by the Sports Arbitration   Board   Just satisfaction:   non-pecuniary damage: 6,000 euros (EUR)   costs and expenses: EUR 2,000   Yokuşlu v. Türkiye (no. 489/24)   The applicant, Kutay Yokuşlu, is a Turkish national who was born in 1999 and lives in İzmir (Türkiye).   The case concerns a dispute between the applicant, a professional football player, and the Board of   Directors of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) about the revocation of a contract termination   notice. Mr Yokuşlu’s lawyer mistakenly filed a contract termination notice on behalf of Mr Yokuşlu   with the TFF in early July 2023, but then, together with the Football Club, sought to retract the   termination notice, submitting that it had been sent to the TFF by mistake. The Board of Directors of   the TFF rejected Mr Yokuşlu’s request. Proceedings brought by the applicant before the Arbitration   Committee of the TFF challenging the Board of Directors’ decision were unsuccessful.   Under Articles 43 and 44 of the Convention, Chamber judgments are not final. During the three-month period following a Chamber   judgment’s delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court. If such a request is made, a panel   of five judges considers whether the case deserves further examination. In that event, the Grand Chamber will hear the case and deliver a   final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day. Under Article 28 of the Convention,   judgments delivered by a Committee are final.   Once a judgment becomes final, it is transmitted to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for supervision of its execution.   Further information about the execution process can be found here: www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/execution   Relying on Article 6 (right to a fair trial/access to court) of the European Convention, the applicant   complains that the Arbitration Committee lacked independence and impartiality and failed to render   a reasoned decision in his case. Relying on Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), he   alleges that the refusal to revoke the termination notice had had serious consequences on his private   and family life.   Violation of Article 6 § 1 on account of the lack of independence and impartiality of the Arbitration   Committee   Just satisfaction:   non-pecuniary damage: EUR 6,000   costs and expenses: EUR 3,000   This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. Decisions,   judgments and further information about the Court can be found on www.echr.coe.int.   Follow the Court on Bluesky @echr.coe.int, X ECHR_CEDH, LinkedIn, and YouTube.   Contact ECHRPress to subscribe to the press-release mailing list.   Where can the Court’s press releases be found? HUDOC - Press collection   Press contacts   [email protected]e.int | tel.: +33 3 90 21 42 08   We are happy to receive journalists’ enquiries via either email or telephone.   Tracey Turner-Tretz (tel.: + 33 3 88 41 35 30)   Denis Lambert (tel.: + 33 3 90 21 41 09)   Inci Ertekin (tel.: + 33 3 90 21 55 30)   Jane Swift (tel.: + 33 3 88 41 29 04)   Claire Windsor (tel.: + 33 3 88 41 24 01)   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe member   States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.   2