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| Constitutional history of Turkey |
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 First Ottoman Parliament at theOld Darülfünun building |
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| Constitutions |
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Over the centuries,Turkey has had manyconstitutions and can be characterised by the steady establishment of anation-state,democratisation and recognition ofinternational law.
Turkey's constitutional history dates from 1808 to the present.[1] Over the years, Turkey has had many constitutions and radical amendments made to those constitutions. The four main constitutions of Turkey since inception have been theConstitution of 1921, theConstitution of 1924, theConstitution of 1961 and theConstitution of 1982.[1] Prior to these constitutions, Turkey was governed by the Ottoman Empire and other fundamental instruments such as theSened-I Ittifak,Imperial Edict of Reorganisation, theOttoman Reform Edict, theOttoman Constitution of 1876.
The current1982 Turkish constitution has been ratified nineteen times, with its most recent revision in 2017 which was aimed at improving the rights and liberties of individuals and strengthening the rule of law.[2]
TheTurkish Constitution of 1921 was a fundamental law for Turkey from 1921 to 1924.[3] It is generally accepted that the Constitution was the result of the most democratic constitution-making process in Turkish history.[4] It was crafted by an elected constituent assembly in which different groups and ideologies were not only present, but also actively participated.[4]
The draft constitution was prepared by the council of ministers in the form of alegislative proposal, and sent to the general assembly.[5] The general assembly debated legal and procedural problems related to the proposal, and decided to send it to an ad hoc special commission as a document comprising 31 articles.[5] The commission that worked on the draft divided it into two parts: the "program ofpopulism" and "the Basic Establishment Act (1921 Constitution)".[4] The program of populism was a declaration of political purposes and views rather than being normative. Therefore, it was separated from the constitutional rules and declared as a government program reflectinganti-imperialist andanti-capitalist, left populist ideas, as well as civil control over the military. The latter part became the actual constitution and made the revolutionary choice of unconditional sovereignty of the nation, marking a significant break with theimperial andmonarchical past.[6]
The1921 constitution was very short. It contained 23 articles and an individual article, which addressed issues of power, local governments and their jurisdiction.[6]
The Constitution was created after the collapse of theOttoman Empire in the aftermath of theFirst World War.[3]Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who then became Turkey's firstPresident was a key driver in preparing this Constitution.[3] Mustafa Kemal announced the election of a new assembly to meet in Turkey's capital,Ankara.[3] This was named theGrand National Assembly of Turkey and held both the executive and legislative powers.[6] Article 3 of the Constitution stated that"[t]he State of Turkey is governed by the Grand National Assembly and its government is titled as the Government of Grand National Assembly."[7] This Assembly could change ministers at will and the Council Ministers had no power to dissolve the Assembly.[7] This was due to both the executive and legislative powers being vested in the Assembly.[7]
Nevertheless, this Assembly enacted the 1921 Constitution, which had a profound place in Turkey's constitutional history.[8] It was the first constitution which declared Turkey asecular republic and moved away from themonarchist system established by theOttoman Empire.[3] The Constitution tooksovereignty away from the Sultan and gave this right to the public.[9] In Article 1 of the Constitution, it proclaimed the principle of national sovereignty and stated that "sovereignty [was] vested upon the nation without condition."[9]
TheTurkish Constitution of 1924 was the longest constitution, remaining in force for 36 years from 1924 to 1961.[10] The Assembly was renewed in the middle of 1923 and decided to create a new constitution, which was adopted by a majority of the Assembly on 20 April 1924.[10] Initially, it was titled the "Constitution of the Republic of Turkey" and is often referred to as the firstConstitution of Turkey.[11]
This Constitution was codified similarly to the 1921 Constitution and retained the fundamental principles found in the earlier Constitution; however, it was much more detailed and consisted 105 articles.[11]
The principle of nationalsovereignty remained. Similar to the 1921 Constitution, the TurkishGrand National Assembly was considered to be the "sole representative of the nation".[12] According to1924 Constitution both thelegislative and executive powers were embodied in the Assembly. However, the 1924 Constitution approached to a "parliamentary democracy" by giving the Assembly the power to supervise and dismiss the government although the government and the president did not have the power to dissolve the Assembly.[12] Nevertheless,judicial power was completely independent.[9] That is why the 1924 constitution was characterised as a step towards aparliamentary system andseparation of powers.
This Constitution also embodied subjects such as fundamental rights and freedoms.[10] As to the relevant articles, everyone was equal before the law, torture and cruel or unusual punishment were forbidden, personal freedom, freedom of conscience and religion, as well as freedom of thought and expression were guaranteed in addition to all civilian and political rights and freedoms.[10]
However, one problematic aspect of1924 Constitution was the presence of an article stating that the "official religion of the state [was] Islam", an idea against secularism and one which was not present in the1921 Constitution.[13]
This Constitution was amended seven times in total, two of which can be considered modal amendments. The most important amendments were that in 1928, the article stating the "religion of the state as Islam" was removed andsecularism was introduced.[13] In addition, in the 1934 amendment, women's rights tovote and be elected toparliament was also recognised.[13]
In 1937, the values ofrepublicanism,nationalism,populism,statism andreformism were also embodied in the constitution.[citation needed]
The 1924 constitution was maintained without change after the transition to amulti-party system in 1946 however, it came to an end in May 1960 after amilitary takeover.[10] The revolutionary officers, with the help of opposition parties, started to prepare a new constitution to establish a "more pluralistic mode of democracy", with all its attendant safeguards, while maintaining the modern andsecular nature of the state.[14]
TheTurkish Constitution of 1961 was enacted after Turkey' firstmilitary coup in May 1960.[15] When the militants took charge, they dissolved the Assembly, imprisoned the President (Celal Bayar at the time), Prime Minister (Adnan Menderes, who was later hanged) and all the members of the Assembly.[15]
TheConstitution of 1961 was adopted by areferendum in May 1961, with 61.7% of the nation voting in its favour.[10] It was composed of 157 main articles and 11 temporary articles. This constitution introduced a modified system of checks, establishing abicameral system consisting of theSenate and theNational Assembly.[10] In doing so, it limited the authority of the government; the powers of the president were curtailed, and individual rights and liberties were given greater emphasis.[16] The Constitution focused on issues such as fundamental rights and freedoms, working life, the right to form atrade union, the right tocollective bargaining and strike,freedom of the press and communication, political rights.[16] It also contained a longbill of rights and limited the powers of the executive.[17]
The1961 constitution was distinct from the previous1924 constitution because of the relative importance it placed on the notion of democracy which shifted from majority topluralism.[17] In addition, it sought to expand and strengthen basichuman rights. This constitution was also the first time Turkey adopted constitutional review and established theConstitutional Court.[18] Hence, this constitution has been regarded as the mostliberal constitution in Turkish history.
Nevertheless, although, the main objective of the militant leaders was to restore the democratic process, they also wished to protect their own interests.[14] Thus, the constitution was drafted in such a way, so as to provide concessions to those in power.
This constitution was amended seven times. The first amendment was made in November 1969 and the last one in April 1974.[14] However, due topolitical instability and growingtension betweenright wing andleft wing groups, there was military intervention in September 1980, which saw the introduction of the1982 constitution.[18]
CurrentConstitution of Turkey is the product of a successfulmilitary coup on 12 September 1980.[19] After this intervention, on 9 November 1982, the military regime (theNational Security Council, (NSC) regime) enacted the constitution presently in force.[19] From inception, the NSC expressed its intent on restoring democracy and restructuring Turkey's democratic system.[20] Hence, when drafting this constitution, it abolished thebicameral system and reintroduced theunicameral system. It also strengthened the power of the executive and asserted that Turkey was asecular and democraticrepublic, deriving itssovereignty from its people.[20]
The primary aim of the constitution was to restore the state's authority and therefore protect it from the actions of its citizens, rather than protecting the individual liberties from the encroachments of the state.[19] This was supported by the preamble which stated that "no protection shall be afforded to thoughts or opinions contrary to Turkish national interest."[19]
Thus, in comparison to the1961 constitution, the present1982 constitution was more casuistic or specific in details.[21] It was also more difficult to change, was more transitional and shifted the balance between authority and freedom towards the former.[21] In doing so, it strengthened the power of the executive branch of government, avoided deadlocks in the political decision-making mechanism and was less lenient towardsparticipatory democracy.
Like its predecessor, the1982 constitution includes a detailedbill of rights covering the social, economic, and political rights and liberties of citizens.[22] According to Article 5, all individuals are equal before the law and possess "inherent fundamental rights and freedoms which are inviolable and inalienable."[5] However, articles 10 through to 15 authorise the government to restrict individual rights in the interest of safeguarding the "integrity of the state" and "the public interest."[5]
Thus, in sum, the1982 constitution was designed to support a strongcentral government and limited political freedom envisaged in Turkey's previous constitutions.[21]
This constitution has been amended nineteen times.[10] Three of these amendments, which occurred in 2007, 2010 and 2017 were a result of a successfulreferendum. The most recent amendments occurred in after the 2017 referendum.[10] The general direction of these amendments was to improve the rights and liberties afforded to individuals, strengthen the rule of law and limit the prerogative powers granted to the military.[19]
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