Understanding of the Turkish Constitutional Court Regarding Unitary State

Year 2014, Issue: 45, 1 - 22, 01.05.2014

Deniz Polat

https://doi.org/10.1501/Intrel_0000000292

Abstract

Understanding of the Turkish Constitutional Court Regarding Unitary State

Abstract

The jurisprudence of the Turkish Constitutional Court on the concept of the unitary state has been a controversial issue in Turkey for a long time. The 1982 Constitution does not refer to the concept of „unitary‟ or „unitary state‟. Instead, it refers to the principle of the „indivisible integrity of the state with its territory and nation‟ in many articles. The Turkish Constitutional Court interprets this principle of the territorial and national integrity of the state in a manner to protect the unitary nature of the state as well. Since the references to the principle of the unitary state may frequently be seen in political party dissolution cases and some other annulment actions, these cases will be the scope of this article. Accordingly, the understanding of the Court regarding this issue will be considered within the principles that set forth by the European Court of Human Rights, the Venice Commission, and the European Charter of Local Self-Government

Keywords

Understanding of the Turkish, Constitutional Court, Unitary State