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Turkey: Turkey Government Profile 2012

2012/04/05

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Turkey Government Profile 2012

The Republic of Turkey adopted its first Constitution in 1924. It retained the basic principles of the 1921 Constitution, notably the principle of national sovereignty. As in the 1921 Constitution, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA, or Parliament) was deemed the "sole representative of the nation." The second Constitution of the Republic of Turkey was adopted in 1961 and introduced a bicameral Parliament: the National Assembly with 450 deputies and the Senate of the Republic with 150 members. The third Constitution of the Republic of Turkey was passed in 1982 by a national referendum and is still in effect today. Under the 1982 Constitution, sovereignty is vested fully and unconditionally in the nation.
The Constitution emphasizes that the Turkish state, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible entity, and a secular, democratic, social state under the rule of law. All individuals are equal without any discrimination before the law, irrespective of language, race, skin color, gender, political orientation, philosophical creed, religion and sect, or any such considerations. The 1982 Constitution recognizes all basic human rights and freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of residence and movement, freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of thought and opinion, freedom of expression and dissemination of thought, freedom of association, freedom of communication, the right to privacy, right to property, right to hold meetings and demonstration marches, right to legal remedies, guarantee of lawful judgment and right to acquire information.
 
Parliament has passed many constitutional amendments to make the 1982 Constitution more democratic and to expand democratic rights and freedoms in the country. These efforts gained significant momentum after the EU recognized Turkey as a candidate country in 1999 and later agreed to start full membership talks with Turkey in 2005.

Legislature

Legislative power is vested in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) on behalf of the Turkish nation and this power cannot be delegated. TGNA is composed of 550 deputies, while Parliamentary elections are held every four years. Deputies represent the entire nation and before assuming office, take an oath.
 
The functions and powers of TGNA comprise the enactment, amendment, and repeal of laws; the supervision of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) and the Ministers; authorization of the Council of Ministers to issue governmental decrees having the force of law on certain matters; debating and approval of the budget draft and the draft law of final accounts, making decisions on the printing of currency, the declaration of war, martial law or emergency rule; ratifying international agreements; making decisions with 3/5 of the TGNA on proclamation of amnesties and pardons in line with the Constitution.

Judiciary

Judicial power in Turkey is exercised by independent courts and high judicial organs functioning on behalf of the Turkish nation. The judicial section of the Constitution is based on the principle of the rule of law. The judiciary is founded on the principles of the independence of the courts and the security of tenure of judges. Judges rule on the basis of constitutional provisions, law and jurisprudence.
The legislative and executive organs must comply with the rulings of the courts and may not change or delay the application of these rulings. Functionally, a tripartite judicial system was adopted by the Constitution and accordingly, it was divided into an administrative judiciary, a legal judiciary and a special judiciary.
 
The Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Council of State, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals, the Supreme Military Administrative Court and the Court of Jurisdictional Conflicts are the supreme courts stipulated in the judicial section of the Constitution. The Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors and the Supreme Council of Public Accounts are two additional organizations having special functions which are set out in the judicial section of the Constitution.

Executive

The executive branch in Turkey has a dual structure. It is composed of the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers (Cabinet).

President

The President of the Republic is the head of State and represents the Republic of Turkey and the unity of the Turkish nation. The President is elected by popular vote among the Turkish Grand National Assembly members who are over 40 years of age and have completed higher education or among ordinary Turkish citizens who fulfill these requirements and are eligible to be deputies. The President's term of office is five years and one can be elected for two terms at most.
 
The President of the Republic has duties and power related to the legislative, executive and judicial branches, and is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Constitution, and the regular and harmonious functioning of the organs of state.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers (Cabinet) consists of the Prime Minister, designated by the President of the Republic from members of the TGNA, and various ministers nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President of the Republic. Ministers can be dismissed from their duties by the President or upon the proposal of the Prime Minister when deemed necessary.
 
The fundamental duty of the Council of Ministers is to formulate and implement the internal and foreign policies of the state. The Council of Ministers is accountable to the Parliament in the execution of this duty.
Government type: 

republican parliamentary democracy

Administrative divisions: 

81 provinces (iller, singular - ili); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna), Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin (Icel), Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak

Independence: 

29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: 

Republic Day, 29 October (1923)

Constitution: 

7 November 1982; amended 17 May 1987, 1995, 2001, and 2007; note - amendment passed by referendum concerning presidential elections on 21 October 2007

Legal system: 

civil law system derived from various European continental legal systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European Convention on Human Rights; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 

18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: 

unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 22 July 2007 (next to be held in November 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 46.7%, CHP 20.8%, MHP 14.3%, independents 5.2%, and other 13.0%; seats by party - AKP 341, CHP 112, MHP 71, independents 26

Judicial branch: 

Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court

Political parties and leaders : 

Democratic Party or DP [Husamettin CINDORUK]; Democratic Left Party or DSP [Masum TURKER]; Felicity Party or SP [Numan KURTULMUS] (sometimes translated as Contentment Party); Freedom and Solidarity Party or ODP [Alper TAS]; Grand Unity Party or BBP[Yalcin TOPCU]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN]; Nationalist Movement Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI] (sometimes translated as Nationalist Action Party); Peace and Democracy Party or BDP [Selahattin DEMIRTAS]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; Social Democratic People's Party or SHP [Huseyin ERGUN]; Turkey Party [Abdullatif SENER]; Young Party or GP [Cem Cengiz UZAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: 

Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Omer Cihad VARDAN]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Tugurl KUDATGOBILIK]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Mustafa KUMLU]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Arzuhan Dogan YALCINDAG]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU]

International organization participation: 

ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECO, EU (applicant), FAO, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SECI, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Flag description: 

red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening