Practice of Turkish local self-government according to European charter of local self-government

When we need to make a universal description, the most distinguishing feature of local government, local self-government means that it is to serve local community living in the same region considering what they need most and the local community can choose their decision-makers and has their own duties, clearance, private incomes, budgets and personnels and local community can found their own organizational system. Today, self-government can be applied construing new meanings. The aims of the self-government which is put an emphasis in the European Charter of Local Self-Government are those increasing the quality of service and making the service simple, cheap, fast and preventing to use unnecessary personnel and goods. Even though it is in the operation that local governments have administrative and financial self-government, it is always argued whether this sovereignty meets The Charter of Local Self-Goverment and the other countries' administration of local self-government. Our study that is prepared in accordiance with this discussion aims to examine the practice of Turkish local self-government according to European Charter of Self-Government. Attitude of Turkey towards this condition is also one of the important issuses that determine the aim of the last part and this study. In the first part of our study, we explain what the local government and local self-government means and refer the weaknesses and strengths of local governments. In the second part of the study, we examine the historical development of Turkish local government and the administration of local self-government in other countries. Thanks to this we enable the readers to argue from analogy looking for local governments' history in Turkey and examining the administration of local self-government in other countries. In the last part, we examine European Local Charter of Local self-government in detailed and the supporting laws of local governments in Turkey. Turkey's attitude is another issue determining the way of our study. Keywords: Decentralisation, Self-Government, Local Self-Government, Provincial Special Administration, Municipalities, Metropolitan Mnicipalities.