Constitutionality Review

Contested Provision

The contested provision stipulates that the departments such as the Presidency of State Archives, the Presidency of Communication, the Presidency of the National Palaces Administration and the Presidency of Strategy and Budget, which were established with Presidential Decrees, shall be added to Schedule (1) annexed to Law no. 5018, and thus, the principles governing the budgeting and supervision processes of the mentioned departments shall be evaluated within the scope of the general budget.

Ground for the Request for Annulment

It was maintained in brief that the impugned amendment by the relevant Presidential Decree was related to an issue that had in fact been regulated by law. In this regard, the contested provision was claimed to be unconstitutional.

The Court’s Assessment

Article 104 of the Constitution provides that the issues except for those related to executive power shall not be regulated by a presidential decree. Enactment, amendment and annulment of laws are among the duties and powers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (“the GNAT”), and thus fall within the scope of legislative powers.

The contested provision sets forth that certain amendments be made to Law no. 5018 by making some additions to the Schedule (1) annexed thereof. Considering that any amendment to laws shall be made by the GNAT and that the constitutional amendment made by Law no. 6771 provides no regulation to the contrary, it is clear that the contested provision is related to the legislative power rather than the executive power. Accordingly, the said provision does not comply with Article 104 § 17 of the Constitution.

Consequently, the contested provision has been found unconstitutional on the ground of incompetence ratione materiae, and therefore it has been annulled.