A court in Istanbul has rejected a lawsuit filed by jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu challenging the annulment of his university diploma, according to the reasoned decision published on January 25. The ruling preserves Istanbul University’s March 2025 decision and, for now, keeps in place a barrier to any future presidential bid, since Turkish law requires presidential candidates to hold a university degree.
In its reasoning, Istanbul’s 5th Administrative Court focused on İmamoğlu’s 1990 lateral transfer to Istanbul University’s Faculty of Business Administration from Girne American University (GAU) in northern Cyprus. The court said the core condition of “equivalency” for such a transfer was not met at the time, noting that Turkey’s Council of Higher Education (YÖK) did not recognize GAU in 1990, and that recognition was granted later, in 1993. On that basis, the court concluded that a transfer from an unrecognized institution to a state university could not be considered legally valid.
The decision also acknowledges serious administrative irregularities during the process at Istanbul University. The court described the university’s quota increase as a “clear error” and referenced procedural issues raised in the file, including allegations that the process was finalized before the advertised application deadline and that quotas were increased without a new announcement, alongside disputes over GPA and ranking criteria. However, it ruled that such administrative errors do not create a vested right for the student if the underlying legal requirements were not satisfied.
Even while noting shortcomings by the administration, the court’s reasoning places responsibility on İmamoğlu, arguing in effect that the scale of the defects was too significant to have gone unnoticed under normal circumstances. Turkish media reports on the decision describe the court as concluding that it was not plausible for the applicant to be unaware of the legal problems associated with the transfer.
The case stems from Istanbul University’s March 2025 announcement that it had annulled the degrees of multiple people—including İmamoğlu—citing irregularities tied to transfers carried out in 1990. İmamoğlu has argued that the annulment was unlawful and outside the university’s authority.
İmamoğlu, a leading figure in the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has been in pre-trial detention since March 2025 in a separate corruption case, which he denies. His party and other critics say legal action against him is politically motivated, while the government says the judiciary acts independently.
The administrative ruling is separate from criminal proceedings linked to allegations around the diploma, which Turkish media have reported in recent months.
İmamoğlu’s lawyers are expected to challenge the ruling through the administrative appeals process. Under Turkey’s administrative procedure rules, first-instance administrative court decisions can generally be appealed to the regional administrative court (istinaf) within 30 days of formal service (tebliğ) of the decision; Turkish media reporting on the case has pointed to the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court as the next address.
