Constitution of Turkey
Constitution of Turkey | ||
---|---|---|
Executive Presidential Cabinet | | |
Judiciary | Judicial system of Turkey 4 supreme courts | |
Federalism | Unitary | |
Electoral college | No | |
Entrenchments | 3 | |
History | ||
First legislature | 6 November 1983 | |
First executive | 13 December 1983 | |
Amendments | 21 | |
Last amended | 16 April 2017 | |
Commissioned by | National Security Council | |
Author(s) | Advisory Parliament of Turkey | |
Signatories | 83% of the electorate | |
Supersedes | Constitution of 1961 | |
Full text | ||
Constitution of the Republic of Turkey at Wikisource | ||
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası at Turkish Wikisource |
Turkey portal |
Constitutional history of Turkey |
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Constitutional documents |
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Referendums |
Constitutional Court |
The Constitution of Turkey, formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye (
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 2016, 113 of the 177 articles of the Constitution of 1982 were amended overall.[1][needs update]
History
The first constitution of the
Since its founding, the modern Turkish state has been governed under four documents:
- The Constitution of 1921,
- The Constitution of 1924,
- The Constitution of 1961, and,
- The current Constitution of 1982.
The current constitution was ratified by popular
Overview
Part one: Founding principles
The Constitution asserts that Turkey is a
The
Fundamental Aims and Duties of the State is defined in
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 (right to life)
- Article 18: Prohibition of Forced Labour
- Article 19: Personal Liberty and Security (security of person)
- 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.[6]
Equality of citizens
Besides the provisions establishing Turkey as a secular state,
Freedom of expression
Article 26 establishes
Group rights
Part three: Fundamental organs
Legislative power
Article Seven provides for the establishment of a
Part Three, Chapter One (Articles 75–100) 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 (A76), parliamentary immunity (A83) 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 (A87) and ratify treaties of the Republic with other sovereign states (A90).
The
Judiciary
Article Nine affirms that the "
Part Four, Section Two allows for a
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 (Articles 109–116) lays out the rules for the confirmation and functioning of the executive, consisting of the President of the Republic and the
Part Three, Chapter Two, Section Four organizes the functioning of the central administration and certain important institutions of the Republic such as its
National security
The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) 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 (A117).
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" (A118).
Revision and amendments
In Article 175, it also sets out the procedure of its own
A revision of the Constitution was approved on September 13, 2010, by a 58 percent approval given by the 39 million people who voted. The change would allow the National Assembly to appoint a number of high-court judges, would reduce the power of the military court system over the civilian population and would improve human rights. The changes also remove the immunity from prosecution the former leaders of the early 1980s military coup gave themselves.[7]
# | Date | Notes [8] |
---|---|---|
1 | 17 May 1987 | Voting age lowered from 21 to 19, Number of MPs raised from 400 to 450, Lifted 1980 ban on politicians, 1987 Turkish constitutional referendum |
2 | 8 July 1993 | Public radio and televisions allowed |
3 | 23 July 1995 | Voting age lowered from 19 to 18, Number of MPs raised from 450 to 550 |
4 | 18 June 1999 | Appointment of civilian judges to State Security Courts in place of military judges |
5 | 13 August 1999 | Introduced privatization |
6 | 3 October 2001 | Changes in accordance with European Union acquis and European Convention on Human Rights |
7 | 21 November 2001 | Changes for rights and retirement of MPs |
8 | 27 December 2002 | Introduced interim elections |
9 | 7 May 2004 | Second changes made in accordance with European Union acquis |
10 | 21 June 2005 | Changes on election of Radio and Television Supreme Council members |
11 | 29 October 2005 | Changes on budget laws |
12 | 13 October 2006 | Age of candidacy lowered from 30 to 25 |
13 | 10 May 2007 | Temporary law on independent politicians for 2007 elections |
14 | 31 May 2007 | Parliamentary term is lowered from 5 to 4, President would be elected with popular vote, 2007 Turkish constitutional referendum |
15 | 9 February 2008 | Changes for public office holders' usage of public services |
16 | 7 May 2010 | 2010 Turkish constitutional referendum |
17 | 17 March 2011 | Arbitration on sports activities[9] |
18 | 20 May 2016 | Reducing parliamentary immunity,[10] especially for opposition and pro-Kurdish parties[11][12] |
19 | 21 January 2017 | 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum, introducing a presidential system and abolished the parliamentary system[13] |
Critique
Ethnic rights
The Constitution of 1982 has been criticized as limiting individual cultural and political
Currently
Freedom of expression
The constitution grants freedom of expression, as declared in
Influence of the military
Although modified several times in the last three decades, specifically within the framework of European Union reforms, the 1982 constitution is also criticised for giving the military too much influence in political affairs via the National Security Council. Turkish Armed Forces see themselves as the guardians of the secular and unitary nature of the Republic along with Atatürk's reforms and have intervened by taking over the government three times:[20] in 1960, in 1971 and in 1980.
See also
- 1982 Turkish constitutional referendum
- 2007 Turkish constitutional referendum
- 2010 Turkish constitutional referendum
- 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum
References
- ^ "1982 ANAYASASI'NDA DEĞİŞEN MADDELER". Odatv.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ Ergun Ozbudun, Turkey's Constitutional Reform and the 2010 Constitutional Referendum, IEMed 2011, available at http://www.iemed.org/observatori-en/arees-danalisi/arxius-adjunts/anuari/med.2011/Ozbudun_en.pdf Archived 2021-03-23 at the Wayback Machine (accessed Mar. 3, 2016).
- ^ Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, art. 59, official English translation (Turkish Grand National Assembly [TBMM]), available at https://global.tbmm.gov.tr/docs/constitution_en.pdf Archived 2020-02-09 at the Wayback Machine (accessed Mar. 3, 2016).
- from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ M@Rt1n@Sl@n (2023-01-09). "A referendum for less democracy". Ost Konflikt. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Adoption of the Universal Declaration, 1948 PARIS". The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Collège universitaire Henry Dunant[clarification needed]. 11 March 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
- ^ "Turkey's Erdogan ready to make changes after referendum win". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010.
- ^ "82 Anayasası'nda bugüne kadar yapılan değişiklikler". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Başbakanlık Mevzuatı Geliştirme ve Yayın Genel Müdürlüğü". www.resmigazete.gov.tr (in Turkish). 29 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "Başbakanlık Mevzuatı Geliştirme ve Yayın Genel Müdürlüğü". www.resmigazete.gov.tr (in Turkish). 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "Turkish parliament votes to lift MPs' immunity from prosecution". The Guardian. Associated Press. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "Turkish parliament strips MPs of immunity in blow to Kurdish opposition". Reuters. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "Turkish parliament nears approval of presidential system sought by Erdogan". Reuters. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ a b c d "COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Progress report". europa.eu. 2005. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ "ÇERKES-FED, Seçmeli Anadili Dersleri İçin Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı'ndaydı…". Ozgurcerkes.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ "Siverek'te 'Anadil' günü kutlaması". Odatv.com. 2014-02-22. Archived from the original on 2014-05-28. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ "Lazca Ders Müfredatı Hazır - Beyza Kural". bianet. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Serra Cremer, A. Turkey Between the Ottoman Empire and the European Union: Shifting Political Authority Through the Constitutional Reform Archived 2021-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, Fordham International Law Journal. Volume 35, Issue 1, 2016 p. 282, 297, 298
Further reading
- (in Turkish) The current constitution from the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
External links
- Turkish Constitutional Law Materials in English by Kemal Gözler, Professor of Constitutional Law, Uludag UniversityLaw School.