The appearance of concept of water and right to water in Turkish judicial decisions

There are various rights to water, which is a vital asset. What the right to water means and whether it is a human right has been debated. Although the majority of scholars believe that there is a right to water, which can be characterized as a fundamental human right, and that this right refers to the right to have access to water of sufficient quality and quantity for drinking and other forms of personal use, which is necessary for human. There are also those who argue that the right to water should not be recognized as a human right in itself. Water is needed primarily for drinking water, but also for agriculture, industry, technology, energy, health, environment, state security and all other areas that contain water-related elements. Disputes over water have arisen throughout history due to these needs. These disputes have sometimes been between individuals - individuals, sometimes between individuals - states, and sometimes between states - states. In the face of the diversification of the areas where water is used and the increase in the need for water over time, disputes involving water or water-related elements have also diversified and increased due to the fact that water is a limited existence. In order to ensure the welfare of the society and to sustain life in a good way, disputes must be resolved. One of the main mechanisms to ensure this is the judiciary. Within the scope of the thesis, in line with the limitations set, the publicly available decisions of the Court of Cassation and the Presidency of the Council of State, which are among the Turkish high courts that contain concepts and rights related to water, have been evaluated within the framework of the opinions in the doctrine, national and international legislation and acceptances; It is tried to demonstrate what kind of water-related disputes can be seen in Türkiye while resolving disputes how water, rights related to water and the right to water in this context are handled in the Turkish judiciary, which principles are paid attention to while resolving disputes and what the general practice in disputeresolution is, whether the right to water is accepted as a human right in itself, and if so, what kind of right to water is considered as a human right. Key words: water, right to water, human right, water management, water security, Turkish judiciary.