Unlawful evidence in Turkish and Azerbaijan criminal procedure in the light of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights

The institution of unlawful evidence in criminal proceedings requires the right to a fair trial, which is a universal principle. As a requirement of the principle of a fair trial, it is prohibited to obtain evidence by unlawful methods and to use this evidence in the trial. In practice, it is seen that illegal evidence is obtained through the use of prohibited interrogation methods, violation of the procedural rules regarding search, seizure, and arrest, violation of the procedural rules regarding the control of communication, and violation of the procedural rules regarding body examination and genetic and molecular examinations. Whether unlawful methods obtained the evidence in a case is carefully examined in the context of the right to a fair trial in the European Court of Human Rights proceedings. The article on the right to a fair trial regulated in article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights does not include unlawful evidence. However, suppose the Court considers that the evidence used to conclude a case in domestic law has been obtained unlawfully. In that case, it may decide that the proceedings become unfair and that the right to a fair trial is violated. In the study, the issue of unlawful evidence in Turkish and Azerbaijani criminal procedure law has been examined both theoretically and within the framework of the ECtHR case law. The recommendations of the ECtHR to the state parties regarding unlawful evidence are also included in the study.