NATO Kuvvetler Statüsü Sözleşmesi (SOFA) Ve Yarbay Morrison Davası
NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and the Lieutenant Colonel Morrison Case

Summary/Abstract: After World War II, NATO was established on April 4, 1949, with the participation of England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Italy, USA and Canada as a military defense system to provide military deterrence against Soviet expansionism. NATO member countries signed the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) on 19 June 1951 to determine the status of their military forces while stationed on each other’s territory. Turkey, which became a NATO member on February 18, 1952, accepted the NATO Status of Forces Agreement on March 10, 1954, and later the status of American military personnel in Turkey was determined within the framework of this agreement. This contract has been a factor in the rise of negative voices against the American military presence in Turkey, due to its structure that leaves the jurisdiction over the crimes committed by foreign military personnel to the laws of the sending country. The incident, in which the American military personnel on duty in Turkey, Lieutenant Colonel Allan L. Morrison, caused the death of a Turkish citizen while under the influence of alcohol in November 1959, was evaluated within the framework of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement and the lieutenant colonel escaped punishment under Turkish law.

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