With provision made in the new system that the President will not propose laws apart from

the budget and that laws may only be proposed by members of parliament, the AKP is

planning to solve the difficulty being experienced over the process for enacting international

treaties in parliament by creating a “de-facto unconstitutional situation.” Article 90 of the

Constitution provides that, “The ratification of treaties concluded with foreign states and

international organisations on behalf of the Republic of Turkey shall be subject to adoption

by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey by a law approving the ratification.” In the new

system introduced under the constitutional amendment adopted on 16 April, apart from the

budget, only members of parliament may propose laws. Under the amendment made to

Article 88 of the Constitution, “Deputies are empowered to introduce bills. The procedure

and principles regarding the deliberation of bills in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

shall be regulated by the Rules of Procedure.” The provision made by amended Article 161 of

the Constitution is, “The President will submit the budget bill to the Grand National

Assembly of Turkey at least 75 days prior to the start of the financial year.”

Oddity

Since, under the amendments made to the Constitution, the President has only been

empowered to propose laws relating to the budget, bills concerning the ratification of

international treaties that have been approved by the President and presented to Parliament

must be submitted by members of parliament. However, the thinking within the AKP is that

leaving the initiative for the submission of bills concerning a procedure conducted by the

President to members of parliament will give rise to an odd situation. AKP administrators

who are discussing how the problem can be surmounted point out that a constitutional

amendment on this matter cannot be made without the opposition’s support. Certain AKP

administrators who, due to the difficulty in amending the Constitution, think that the problem

can be solved by President Tayyip Erdoğan submitting bills to Parliament on international

treaties, as with the budget, express the view, “If there is alleged to be an unconstitutional

situation, the institution that will rule on this is the Constitutional Court.”

“Annulment ruling will not be the outcome”

However, Article 90 of the Constitution provides, “International agreements duly put into

effect have the force of law. No appeal to the Constitutional Court shall be made with regard

to these agreements on the grounds that they are unconstitutional.” It is stated that, if the AKP

enacts by these means a law ratifying international treaties, the opposition can apply to the

Constitutional Court for annulment on formal grounds. However, the view being expressed in

the AKP is that an annulment ruling will not be the outcome. It is noted that, if, conversely,

the court issues an annulment, constitutional amendment may come onto the agenda.

Yeni sistem garabeti: ‘Biz yapalım AYM uğraşsın’