Constitution of Turkey


The Constitution of Turkey, formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye, and informally as the Constitution of 1982, is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government, and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its responsibilities in regard to its citizens. The constitution also establishes the rights and responsibilities of the latter while setting the guidelines for the delegation and exercise that sovereignty belongs entirely and without doubt to the people.
The constitution was ratified on 7 November 1982. It replaced the earlier Constitution of 1961. The constitution was amended 21 times, three of them through a referendum: 2007, 2010, 2017, one of them partly through referendum: 1987. As of April 2017, 117 of the 177 articles of the Constitution of 1982 were amended overall.

History

The first constitution of the Ottoman Empire was adopted in 1876 and revised in 1908.
Since its founding, the modern Turkish state has been governed under four documents:
The current constitution was ratified by popular referendum during the military junta of 1980-1983. Since its ratification in 1982, the current constitution has overseen many important events and changes in the Republic of Turkey, and it has been modified many times to keep up with global and regional geopolitical conjunctures. Major amendments were made in 2010. A minor amendment to Article 59, on the permissible means for challenging "decisions of sport federations relating to administration and discipline of sportive activities," was made in March 2011. Following the 2017 constitutional referendum, fundamental changes were introduced including changing the parliamentary system in Turkey to a presidential system. The executive, legislative and judiciary power under control by the president may cause less democracy.

Overview

Part one: Founding principles

The Constitution asserts that Turkey is a secular and democratic republic that derives its sovereignty from the people. The sovereignty rests with the Turkish Nation, who delegates its exercise to an elected unicameral parliament, the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The Article 4 declares the immovability of the founding principles of the Republic defined in the first three Articles and bans any proposals for their modification. The preamble also invokes the principles of nationalism, defined as the "material and spiritual well-being of the Republic". The basic nature of Turkey is laïcité, social equality , equality before law, the Republican form of government, the indivisibility of the Republic and of the Turkish Nation." Thus, it sets out to found a unitary nation-state based on the principles of secular democracy.
Fundamental Aims and Duties of the State is defined in Article 5. Constitution establishes a separation of powers between the Legislative Power, Executive Power, and Judicial Power of the state. The separation of powers between the legislative and the executive is a loose one, whereas the one between the executive and the legislative with the judiciary is a strict one.

Part Two: Individual and Group Rights

Part Two of the constitution is the bill of rights. Article Twelve guarantees "fundamental rights and freedoms", which are defined as including the:
  • Article 17: Personal Inviolability, Material and Spiritual Entity of the Individual
  • Article 18: Prohibition of Forced Labour
  • Article 19: Personal Liberty and Security
  • Article 20: Privacy of Individual Life
  • Article 21: Inviolability of the Domicile
  • Article 22: Freedom of Communication
  • Article 23: Freedom of Residence and Movement
  • Article 24: Freedom of Religion and Conscience
  • Article 25: Freedom of Thought and Opinion
  • Article 26: Freedom of Expression and Dissemination of Thought
  • Article 27: Freedom of Science and the Arts
  • Article 35: Right to property
Article Five of the Constitution sets out the raison d'être of the Turkish state, namely "to provide the conditions required for the development of the individual's material and spiritual existence".
Many of these entrenched rights have their basis in international bills of rights, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Turkey was one of the first nations to ratify in December 1948.

Equality of citizens

Besides the provisions establishing Turkey as a secular state, Article 10 goes further with regard to equality of its citizens by prohibiting any discrimination based on their "language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philosophical convictions or religious beliefs" and guaranteeing their equality in the eyes of the law. Borrowing from the French Revolutionary ideals of the nation and the Republic, Article 3 affirms that "The Turkish State, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible entity. Its language is Turkish". Article 66 defines a Turkish civic identity: "everyone bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship is a Turk".

Freedom of expression

Article 26 establishes freedom of expression and Articles 27 and 28 the freedom of the press, while Articles 33 and 34 affirm the freedom of association and freedom of assembly, respectively.

Group rights

are considered irrelevant in legal terms. The Constitution affirms the right of workers to form labor unions "without obtaining permission" and "to possess the right to become a member of a union and to freely withdraw from membership". Articles 53 and 54 affirm the right of workers to bargain collectively and to strike, respectively.

Part three: Fundamental organs

Legislative power

Article Seven provides for the establishment of a unicameral parliament as the sole organ of expression of sovereign people. Article Six of the Constitution affirms that "sovereignty is vested fully and unconditionally in the nation" and that "the Turkish Nation shall exercise its sovereignty through the authorised organs as prescribed by the principles laid down in the Constitution". The same article also rules out the delegation of sovereignty "to any individual, group or class" and affirms that "no person or agency shall exercise any state authority which does not emanate from the Constitution". Article 80 affirms the principle of national sovereignty: "members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly represent, not merely their own constituencies or constituents, but the Nation as a whole".
Part Three, Chapter One sets the rules for the election and functioning of the Turkish Grand National Assembly as the legislative organ, as well as the conditions of eligibility, parliamentary immunity and general legislative procedures to be followed. Per Articles 87 and 88, both the government and the parliament can propose laws, however it is only the parliament that has the power to enact laws and ratify treaties of the Republic with other sovereign states.
The President of the Republic is elected by direct election and has an executive role as the Head of State, "representing the Republic of Turkey and the unity of the Turkish Nation". The President was elected by the parliament until 2007, and had a ceremonial role until 2017.

Judiciary

Article Nine affirms that the "judicial power shall be exercised by independent courts on behalf of the Turkish Nation". Part Four provides the rules relating to their functioning and guarantees their full independence. The judiciary conforms to the principle of separation of powers not only through its independence from the executive and legislative branches of government but by being divided into two entities, Administrative Justice and Judicial Justice, with the Danıştay the highest court for the former and Yargıtay the highest court for the latter.
Part Four, Section Two allows for a Constitutional Court that rules on the conformity of laws and governmental decrees to the Constitution. It may hear cases referred by the President of the Republic, the government, the members of Parliament or any judge before whom a constitutional issue has been raised by a defendant or a plaintiff. The Constitutional Court has the right to both a priori and a posteriori review, and can invalidate whole laws or decrees and ban their application for all future cases.

Executive

Per Article Eight, the executive power is vested in the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers. Part Three, Chapter One, Section Two lays out the rules for the confirmation and functioning of the executive, consisting of the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers. Executive power was shared between the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers until 2017.
Part Three, Chapter Two, Section Four organizes the functioning of the central administration and certain important institutions of the Republic such as its universities, local administrations, fundamental public services and national security. Article 123 stipulates that "the organisation and functions of the administration are based on the principles of centralization and local administration".
National security
The Turkish Armed Forces are subordinate to the President, in the capacity of Commander-in-Chief. The Chief of General Staff of the TAF is responsible to the President in the exercise of his functions, and the latter is responsible, along with the rest of the Council of Ministers, before the parliament.
National Security Council is an advisory organization, comprising the Chief of General Staff, the four main Commanders of the TAF, the President and select members of the Council of Ministers, to develop the "national security policy of the state".