The study of the changes in the local administration laws in terms of the process of Turkey's democratic becoming

Local administrations appeared and grew up after the 19th centuryalthough their traces are found in the earlier periods. Together with being apublic foundation which gives local services, they also develop as a civilsociety foundation. In addition, local administrations, being one of thefoundations which entered Turkey together with the modernization processand partly as a sequel to inevitabilities, has become one of the indispensablefoundations Turkey?s democratic lives at the end of a process which hastaken approximately 150 years.The development and the present structures of the localadministrations in England, France and Germany partly differ from eachother. However, the common matter that can be said about the threecountries is that the development of the cities and their winning rights againstthe central government forms the basis of the local administrations.Especially the French influence is a point at issue in the modern foundationsof Turkey. The same influence is also a point at issue for the localadministrations. Even the arrangement made in the law of Special ProvincialAdministration which was arranged again in 2005 contains the effects of thereforms made in France in 1982. Today, the local administrations whichappeared in these three countries have a vital role in forming the localadministration system in the European countries and European LocalAdministration Self-Administration Condition.When the development process of the Local authorities is taken intoconsideration, there also emerges a mechanism which constantly takes theroles of the central bureaucracy. From this point, the Local authorities, whilecarrying the identity of a formal institution in which some of the public utilitiesare fulfilled, act as a set against the broadening of the state on the otherhand. With this characteristic it is perceived as a civil public organization.In Turkey, the process which is mentioned above has just started tobe experienced. Even tough the necessity of performing the arrangementsrelated to the Local Authorities has been discussed for a long time; it wasonly in the year 2005 that a broadened arrangement could have been done.The most important reason for this, in my opinion is that, politicalmechanisms have as much a central structure as the central bureaucracyhas a resistance. Besides, another important reason is that the urbanizationand industrialization which was experienced in the west, has not beenexperienced in Turkey. In 2005 in Turkey, except the Village Act, in the lawsrelated to the Local Authorities radical changes were done. With theperformed changes such subjects as the decreasing of guardianship over theLocal authorities, the flexibility in the selections of the agencies and in theduties, which are the demands of the European Local Authorities Conditionand which are also especially demanded in our politic life constantly, havebeen arranged.In the new arrangements, the most important matter on the Localauthorities is the authorization of the municipalities over the subjects whichare not ascribed to any other institution by laws. Thus, thanks to the circulararrangement or imperatives, the substitution of the Local authorities withcentral administration or with any institution is avoided. One of the mostimportant changes in the laws of the Local authorities has been experiencedin the Special Provincial Administrations. In the Special ProvincialAdministrations, bringing end to the Governor's chairmanship to provincialcouncil, it has been secured that Local authorities should consist of the votedpeople in all its agencies for decision as decreed by the Constitution.However, in the process before , as the statute of Governor's superiority inProvincial Council continues, the General Council Presidency Institution,which has newly emerged in this foundation, may give birth to some conflicts.I am in the opinion that, even these arguments will influence democratic wayof life in a positive way. Again, with the law of Local AdministrationAssociations, though at an insufficient level at present, the Association ofConveyance of Service to Villages has been legally settled on a basis.However, again, it is unquestionable that the changes will strengthen theLocal authorities and this will also have its reflections in our democratic life.