The Constitution
The earliest efforts to write a constitution in Turkey date
back to the Ottoman period. The first constitution was the “Kanun-i Esasi”, which was enunciated by an imperial edict of Padishah 2nd Abdulhamit and went into effect in 1876. The initial constitution of the new Turkish State went into effect in 1921 under the title “Teþkilat-ý Esasiye Kanunu” and an amendment made in 1923 stipulated that the system of government was a Republic.
The first constitution of the Republic, declared on October 29, 1923, was again called the “Teþkilat-ý Esasiye Kanunu” and approved in 1924. Later on, two new texts were written, namely the 1961 Constitution and the 1982 Constitution, which is currently in effect. |
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The principle of “separation of powers”, the fundamental constitutional requirement, was first adopted with the 1961 Constitution, and the Constitutional Court was included in the text of the Constitution. Thus, the rule that laws cannot be contrary to the Constitution became functional.
The Constitution characterizes the Republic as “a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law; respecting human rights and loyal to Atatürk’s nationalism”. The compliance of the laws with the Constitution is placed under the supervision of the Constitutional Court, and the operations and actions of the administration under the supervision of Administrative Courts.
Under the Constitution, “Sovereignty is vested unconditionally in the nation”. People exercise their sovereignty directly through elections and indirectly through
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