THE STATE ORDER,
THE CONSTITUTION,
THE LEGAL SYSTEM

The Constitution
The Fundamental Organs of the State
The Unitary Structure of the State and Local Administrations
The Election System and Political Parties
The Legal System

The Constitution

Activities for preparing a constitution in Turkey started in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the first Constitution was adopted in 1876 during the final period of the Ottoman Empire. The Constitution of 1921 was the second constitution promulgated, during the years of the War of Independence, that included the rules necessitated by the conditions and requirements of the war. Three constitutions have been promulgated during the Republic Period. The first constitution of the Republic of Turkey was adopted in 1924, the second constitution was adopted in 1961 and the third constitution, which is still in effect today, was adopted in 1982.

The Republic of Turkey also accepted the separation of powers, as in all contemporary democracies. In the preamble of the Constitution, which determines the foundations on which the State is based, it is emphasized that the separation of powers do not have the meaning of an order of superiority among the State organs, but it consists of the use of definite State authorities and functions and the cooperation among them. The principle of the separation of powers was not included in the first constitution adopted by the Republic of Turkey in 1924. It was stated in this constitution that unconditional and unrestricted sovereignty belongs to the nation, but the use of sovereignty was entrusted to the Parliament. As a result, in the Constitution of 1924, in spite of it being stated that the laws could not be in violation of the Constitution, there was not an organ which would control this, in other words, constitutional adjudication was not anticipated. However, it was understood that the problems did not end when the multiparty system was adopted in 1946, and with the government passing to the opposition, in the democratic elections held in 1950 a need was felt to supervise the legislative as-sambly. This perception, first expressed by the intellectuals, and later also supported by the political parties and in the Constitution of 1961 for the first time, the principle of the separation of powers was adopted and constitutional adjudication was anticipated, and provisions for the Constitutional Court were included in the Constitution. Thus, the decree that the laws cannot be unconstitutional became functional.