The historical process in the preparation of the 1982 Constitution

In the political history of Turkey, many political and legal processes have been experienced until the preparation of the 1982 Constitution. With the onset of the Democratic Party's rule at the end of the 1950s, Turkey entered a new era in political matters. After the military coup in 1960, Turkey was governed by the National Unity Committee and a constituent assembly was formed. The 1961 Constitution was prepared by this assembly and adopted after the referendum process. However, in the period between 1960 and 1970, an atmosphere of chaos occurred in Turkey and after the March 12, 1971 memorandum, amendments were made to the 1961 Constitution. During this period, there was a period of coalition governments. After the military coup of September 12, 1980, a new political environment has emerged in Turkey under the management of the National Security Council. Discussions about the structure and work of the new government, the declarations of the National Security Council and the new constitution were brought to the agenda. The 1982 Constitution was accepted after the referendum process and a new president was elected at the same time. The basic principles of the constitution included sovereignty and political power, the electoral system and the structure of the government, and the understanding of a democratic and secular state. The principle of separation of powers, namely the legislative, executive and judicial powers, has been adopted. Fundamental rights and freedoms are also comprehensively included in the Constitution. The constitution, which was prepared after the military coup of 12 September 1980, determined the basic principles for the administration of Turkey within the framework of a democratic and secular state understanding. The Constitution determined the functions of the legislative, executive and judicial organs in line with the principle of separation of powers, and also guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms. The new constitution in question was the last constitution of the Republic and is still in force. However, changes have been made on the effect of the political structure and changing world conditions until today. The aim of the study named "Historical Process in the Preparation of 1982 Constitution"; The aim of this study is to reveal how the political tensions created by the chaos and blockages in the political arena since the 1961 Constitution contributed to the preparation of the constitution in the process until the 1982 Constitution. The contributions of the 1961 Constitution to this process in the name of democratization in Turkey's political life and the determination of the effects of the political tension and blockages on democracy that continued after the 1961 Constitution, and how the 1980 Military Coup eliminated this political tension, the 1982 Constitution in this process. It is aimed to reveal the effects of the referendum process with documents with the contribution of the preparation of the referendum to the democratization process. In the context of the explanations above, this study deals with the effects of the political developments in the preparation process of the 1982 Constitution on the preparation of the constitution and what events led to the preparation of the constitution. The main problem and aim of the thesis is to reveal how the constitution in question contributed to democracy after this process. While examining the preparation process of the 1982 Constitution, books, articles, graduate theses, doctoral theses, periodicals, court decisions and the minutes of the Turkish Grand National Assembly were examined. Finally, this thesis is a qualitative study; The data in the research were obtained using the document analysis technique.