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59-575: 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. The first constitution of the Ottoman Empire was adopted in 1876 and revised in 1908 . Since its founding,

118-676: A bicameral system with the National Assembly. The Grand National Assembly was formed of the National Assembly and Senate of the Republic. The National Assembly and the majority of senators were elected by the nation, but 15 senators were chosen by the President among former presidents and members of the National Unity Committee , which had organised the coup d'état . Legislative A legislature

177-418: A quorum . Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are usually delegated to committees made up of a few of the members of the chamber(s). The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties ; the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs. Legislatures vary widely in

236-540: A constitutional issue has been raised by a defendant or a plaintiff (A152). The Constitutional Court has the right to both a priori and a posteriori review (respectively, before and after enactment), and can invalidate whole laws or decrees and ban their application for all future cases (A153). 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

295-664: A legislature: One of the major functions of a legislature is to discuss and debate issues of major importance to society. This activity can take place in two forms. In debating legislatures, such as the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the floor of the legislature frequently sees lively debate. In contrast, in committee-based legislatures like the United States Congress , deliberation takes place in closed committees. While legislatures have nominally

354-526: A single unit is unicameral , one divided into two chambers is bicameral , and one divided into three chambers is tricameral . In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is usually considered the upper house , while the other is considered the lower house . The two types are not rigidly different, but members of upper houses tend to be indirectly elected or appointed rather than directly elected, tend to be allocated by administrative divisions rather than by population, and tend to have longer terms than members of

413-563: A violation of Article 10 of the Constitution and led to his trial in 2005. The complaint against Orhan Pamuk was made by a group of lawyers led by Kemal Kerinçsiz and charges filed by a district prosecutor under the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. Pamuk was later released and charges annulled by the justice ministry on a technicality. The same group of lawyers have also filed complaints against other lesser-known authors on

472-435: Is indirectly elected within the context of a one-party state . Legislature size is a trade off between efficiency and representation; the smaller the legislature, the more efficiently it can operate, but the larger the legislature, the better it can represent the political diversity of its constituents. Comparative analysis of national legislatures has found that size of a country's lower house tends to be proportional to

531-554: Is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country , nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government . Legislatures can exist at different levels of government–national, state/provincial/regional, local, even supranational (such as the European Parliament ). Countries differ as to what extent they grant deliberative assemblies at

590-621: Is a secular ( 2.1 ) and democratic ( 2.1 ) republic ( 1.1 ) that derives its sovereignty ( 6.1 ) 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

649-455: Is a nationalistic, democratic, secular and social state, governed by the rule of law, based on human rights and fundamental tenets set forth in the preamble. Article 3 - The Turkish State is an indivisible whole comprising its territory and people. Its official language is Turkish. Its capital is the city of Ankara. Article 4 - Sovereignty is vested in the nation without reservation and condition. The nation shall exercise its sovereignty through

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708-584: 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). In Article 175, it also sets out the procedure of its own revision and amendment by either referendum or a qualified majority vote of 2/3 in the National Assembly. It does not recognize

767-504: Is only the parliament that has the power to enact laws (A87) and ratify treaties of the Republic with other sovereign states (A90). 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" (A104). The President was elected by the parliament until 2007, and had a ceremonial role until 2017. Article Nine affirms that

826-481: Is the bill of rights . Article Twelve guarantees "fundamental rights and freedoms", which are defined as including the: 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

885-500: The Danıştay (The Council of State) the highest court for the former (A155) and Yargıtay (High Court of Appeals) the highest court for the latter (154). 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 (A150) or any judge before whom

944-664: The Americas have more independence in drafting and amending bills. The origins of the power of the purse which legislatures typically have in passing or denying government budgets goes back to the European assemblies of nobility which the monarchs would have to consult before raising taxes. For this power to be actually effective, the legislature should be able to amend the budget, have an effective committee system, enough time for consideration, as well as access to relevant background information. There are several ways in which

1003-714: The European Union . The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments – as in the European Union and in Germany and, before 1913, in the United States  – or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the United States since 1913. Tricameral legislatures are rare;

1062-497: The Federal Parliament of Somalia ) tied for least powerful. Some political systems follows the principle of legislative supremacy , which holds that the legislature is the supreme branch of government and cannot be bound by other institutions, such as the judicial branch or a written constitution . Such a system renders the legislature more powerful. In parliamentary and semi-presidential systems of government ,

1121-673: The Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of White-minority rule in South Africa . Tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. The only legislature with a number of chambers bigger than four was the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia ; initially established as a Pentacameral body in 1963, it

1180-547: The Nation as a whole". 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

1239-567: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights , which Turkey was one of the first nations to ratify in December 1948. Besides the provisions establishing Turkey as a secular state, Article 10 goes further with regards 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

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1298-401: The executive is responsible to the legislature, which may remove it with a vote of no confidence . On the other hand, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature in a presidential system is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary and the executive. Nevertheless, many presidential systems provide for the impeachment of

1357-464: 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 (A137-140). 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

1416-466: The Constitution establishing the form of the state as a republic shall not be amended nor shall any motion therefore be made. Unlike the former constitution, the new constitution was based on human rights; with Article 11, the individual's freedom was secured at all times. The phrase social state was included in this Constitution for the first time. The new constitution also introduced the Senate, to form

1475-455: The Constitution, which prohibits the teaching of any language other than Turkish as a first language in schools. The Turkish constitutional principle of not allowing the teaching of other languages as first languages in schools to its citizens , other than the official one is criticized by the EU, human rights organizations and minorities of Turkey. The Kurds , who comprise between 10 and 20% of

1534-465: The President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers within the framework of law. Article 7 - Judicial power shall be exercised by independent courts on behalf of the Turkish nation. Article 8 - Laws shall not be in conflict with the Constitution. The provisions of the Constitution shall be the fundamental legal principles binding the legislative, executive and judicial organs, administrative authorities and individuals. Article 9 - The provision of

1593-581: The State is defined in Article 5 . Constitution establishes a separation of powers between the Legislative Power ( 7.1 ), Executive Power ( 8.1 ), and Judicial Power ( 9.1 ) 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 of the constitution

1652-478: The Turkish Nation, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey , shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years" and also that "Expressions of thought intended to criticise shall not constitute a crime". Orhan Pamuk 's remark "One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares talk about it" was considered by some to be

1711-489: The Turkish population are not allowed to get education in their mother tongue because of this article. Currently Circassian , Kurdish , Zaza , Laz languages can be chosen as lessons in some public schools. Since 2003, private courses teaching minority languages can be offered, but the curriculum, appointment of teachers, and criteria for enrollment are subject to significant restrictions. All private Kurdish courses were closed down in 2005 because of bureaucratic barriers and

1770-446: The administration are based on the principles of centralization and local administration". 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

1829-702: The amount of political power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries , militaries , and executives . In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary powers index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures. The German Bundestag , the Italian Parliament , and the Mongolian State Great Khural tied for most powerful, while Myanmar's House of Representatives and Somalia's Transitional Federal Assembly (since replaced by

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1888-542: The authorized agencies as prescribed by the principles laid forth in the Constitution. The right to exercise such sovereignty shall not be delegated to any one person, group or class. No person or agency shall exercise any state authority, which does not derive its origin from the Constitution. Article 5 - Legislative power is vested in the Grand National Assembly. This power shall not be delegated. Article 6 - The executive function shall be carried out by

1947-835: The country. Among the earliest recognised formal legislatures was the Athenian Ecclesia . In the Middle Ages , European monarchs would host assemblies of the nobility, which would later develop into predecessors of modern legislatures. These were often named the Estates . The oldest surviving legislature is the Icelandic Althing , founded in 930 CE. Democratic legislatures have six major functions: representation, deliberation, legislation, authorizing expenditure, making governments, and oversight. There exist five ways that representation can be achieved in

2006-403: The duration of their entire term, or for just those related to their legislative duties. A legislature may debate and vote upon bills as a single unit, or it may be composed of multiple separate assemblies , called by various names including legislative chambers , debate chambers , and houses , which debate and vote separately and have distinct powers. A legislature which operates as

2065-421: The executive are also used, particularly for bicameral legislatures featuring an upper house . The name used to refer to a legislative body varies by country. Common names include: By names: By languages: Though the specific roles for each legislature differ by location, they all aim to serve the same purpose of appointing officials to represent their citizens to determine appropriate legislation for

2124-406: The executive for criminal or unconstitutional behaviour. Legislatures will sometimes delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies . Legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators , who vote on proposed laws. A legislature usually contains a fixed number of legislators; because legislatures usually meet in a specific room filled with seats for

2183-498: 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". Article 26 establishes freedom of expression and Articles 27 and 28

2242-414: The freedom of the press, while Articles 33 and 34 affirm the freedom of association and freedom of assembly , respectively. Classes are considered irrelevant in legal terms (A10). 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" (A51). Articles 53 and 54 affirm

2301-494: 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: in 1960 , in 1971 and in 1980 . Turkish Constitution of 1961 The Constitution of 1961 , officially titled the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey ( Turkish : Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası ), was the fundamental law of Turkey from 1961 to 1982. It

2360-597: The immunity from prosecution the former leaders of the early 1980s military coup gave themselves. The Constitution of 1982 has been criticized as limiting individual cultural and political liberties in comparison with the previous constitution of 1961 . Per the Treaty of Lausanne which established the Turkish Republic, legally, the only minorities are Greeks , Armenians and Jews , which also have certain privileges not recognized to other ethnic communities, per

2419-446: The legislators, this is often described as the number of "seats" it contains. For example, a legislature that has 100 "seats" has 100 members. By extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a "seat", as, for example, in the phrases " safe seat " and " marginal seat ". After election, the members may be protected by parliamentary immunity or parliamentary privilege , either for all actions

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2478-436: The legislature can hold the executive branch (the administration or government) accountable. This can be done through hearings, questioning , interpellations , votes of confidence , the formation of committees. Parliaments are usually ensured with upholding the rule of law, verifying that public funds are used accountably and efficiently as well as make government processes transparent and actions so that they can be debated by

2537-406: The lower house. In some systems, particularly parliamentary systems , the upper house has less power and tends to have a more advisory role, but in others, particularly federal presidential systems , the upper house has equal or even greater power. In federations , the upper house typically represents the federation's component states. This is also the case with the supranational legislature of

2596-472: 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

2655-577: 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. The Constitution asserts that Turkey

2714-450: 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 (A80) affirms the principle of national sovereignty : "members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly represent, not merely their own constituencies or constituents , but

2773-513: The principles of nationalism , defined as the "material and spiritual well-being of the Republic". The basic nature of Turkey is laïcité ( 2 ), social equality ( 2 ), equality before law ( 10 ), the Republican form of government ( 1 ), the indivisibility of the Republic and of the Turkish Nation ( 3.1 )." Thus, it sets out to found a unitary nation-state based on the principles of secular democracy . Fundamental Aims and Duties of

2832-488: The public and its representatives. Agora notes that parliamentary systems or political parties in which political leaders can influence or decide which members receive top jobs can lead to passivity amongst members of the party and less challenging of leadership. Agora notes that this phenomenon is acute if the election of a member is dependant on the support of political leadership. In contrast to democratic systems, legislatures under authoritarianism are used to ensure

2891-447: The reluctance of Kurds to have to "pay to learn their mother tongue." In 2015, only 28 schools provided Kurdish language as a selective course. Also, neither private nor public schools are still allowed to use Kurdish language or other languages than Turkish as a first language. The constitution grants freedom of expression, as declared in Article 26 . Article 301 of the Turkish penal code states that "A person who publicly denigrates

2950-422: The right of workers to bargain collectively and to strike , respectively. 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

3009-472: The right to popular initiatives: Only the members of Parliament can propose modifications to the Constitution. 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

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3068-718: The rules for the confirmation and functioning of the executive, consisting of the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers (A109). 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 (A130-132), local administrations (A127), fundamental public services (A128) and national security (A117-118). Article 123 stipulates that "the organisation and functions of

3127-488: The same grounds. Kerinçsiz was indicted in the 2008 Ergenekon investigation , along with many others. 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

3186-411: The sole power to create laws, the substantive extent of this power depends on details of the political system. In Westminster-style legislatures the executive (composed of the cabinet) can essentially pass any laws it wants, as it usually has a majority of legislators behind it, kept in check by the party whip, while committee-based legislatures in continental Europe and those in presidential systems of

3245-400: The stability of the power structure by co-opting potential competing interests within the elites, which they achieve by: Each chamber of the legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a certain number of legislators present to carry out these activities; this is called

3304-442: The subnational law-making power, as opposed to purely administrative responsibilities. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as primary legislation. In addition, legislatures may observe and steer governing actions, with authority to amend the budget involved. The members of a legislature are called legislators. In a democracy, legislators are most commonly popularly elected , although indirect election and appointment by

3363-529: The treaty. According to the European Union, the constitution denies the fundamental rights of the Kurdish population because some articles, especially article 42, are against minority rights. The Council of Europe ’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published its third report on Turkey in February 2005. The commission has taken the position that the parliament should revise Article 42 of

3422-436: Was introduced following the 1960 coup d'état , replacing the earlier Constitution of 1924 . It was approved in a referendum held on 9 July 1961, with 61.7% of the nation voting in favor. It remained in force until the 1980 coup d'état , following which it was replaced by a new document, the Constitution of 1982 , which remains in force today. Article 1 - The Turkish State is a republic. Article 2 - The Turkish Republic

3481-519: Was turned into a hexacameral body in 1967. Legislatures vary widely in their size. Among national legislatures , China's National People's Congress is the largest with 2,980 members, while Vatican City 's Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7. Neither legislature is democratically elected: The Pontifical Commission members are appointed by the Pope and the National People's Congress

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