The Role of the Executive and Legislative Branch in the Preparation of Bills in Türkiye Following the 2017 Constitutional Amendments
N. Betül Haliloğlu PakdilAs a result of the 2017 Constitutional Amendments, the executive branch of the government has lost the power to introduce all but budgetary bills. Consequently, the role of the executive organ in the preparation of bills has become an ambiguous topic. This paper identifies the two main services to be provided to members of Parliament in the initial stages of lawmaking before a bill is introduced as (1) assistance in obtaining information and conducting research to determine the necessity for enacting legislation and (2) the preparation of draft bills. In this regard, the paper presents the mechanisms through which Parliament can obtain information about the necessity of enacting a law as well as the assistive service in drafting provided by the administrative staff of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM). Moreover, the paper questions whether legal limitations exist regarding the sources of bills in terms of information and draft texts and examines the executive role in this regard. The study then explores the presidential power of recommendation that was added to the Constitution through the 2017 Amendments and whether this power serves as the constitutional foundation of the executive role and the assistance in preparing bills. This paper examines the legal bases for the executive drafting of legislation and whether the executive branch can communicate such drafts to the TBMM. The study identifies uncertainties and problematic issues in the aftermath of the 2017 Amendments, and within this framework examines the advantages of the executive branch in terms of the services regarding the preparation of bills, the contribution of the executive to the process, the need to clearly regulate the power of recommendation, and the limits such regulations bear. Furthermore, the article considers the problems encountered in terms of transparency and the lack of necessary checks and balances in the current governmental system. Finally, the study evaluates the sufficiency of TBMM’s institutional capacity regarding personnel infrastructure, as well as its capacity to obtain information and conduct.
2017 Anayasa Değişiklikleri Sonrasında Türkiye’de Kanun Tekliflerinin Hazırlanmasında Yasama ve Yürütmenin Rolü
N. Betül Haliloğlu Pakdil2017 Anayasa değişiklikleri neticesinde yürütme organı -bütçe ve kesin hesap kanunları hariç olmak üzere- kanun teklif etme yetkisini kaybetmiştir. Bu değişiklikle kanun tekliflerinin hazırlanmasında yürütme organının rolü belirsizleşmiştir. Bu çalışmada kanun teklifi verilmeden önceki hazırlık aşamasında iki temel faaliyet alanı olduğu tespit edilmektedir: (1) kanun ihtiyacını tespit etmeye yönelik araştırma yapılması ve bilgi edinilmesi ile (2) teklif olarak sunulacak taslak metinlerin hazırlanması. Çalışmada yasama organının kanun tekliflerinin hazırlanmasındaki rolü ve kurumsal yeterliliği ile yürütmenin rolü bu iki faaliyet çerçevesinde değerlendirilmektedir. Bu çerçevede Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi’nin (TBMM) kanun ihtiyacına yönelik olarak bilgi edinme yolları ve TBMM idari teşkilatı içerisinde kanun taslağı hazırlanmasına yönelik faaliyet ortaya konulmaktadır. Bunun ardından bilgi edinme ve taslak metinlerin kaynağı bakımından mevzuatta bir sınırlama olup olmadığı ve bu kapsamda yürütmenin rolü incelenmektedir. Bunun ardından 2017 Anayasa değişiklikleri ile Anayasa’ya eklenen mesaj yetkisi incelenmekte ve bu yetkinin kanun tekliflerinin hazırlanmasında yürütmenin rolü bakımından hukuki dayanak olarak görülüp görülmeyeceği değerlendirilmektedir. Yürütme tarafından kanun taslağı hazırlanması ve bu taslak metinlerin TBMM’ye iletilmesinin mevzuatta dayanağı olup olmadığı incelenmekte, 2017 Anayasa değişiklikleri sonrasındaki belirsiz ve sorunlu alanlar tespit edilmektedir. Çalışmada tüm bunlar çerçevesinde kanun tekliflerinin hazırlanması aşamasındaki faaliyetler bakımından yürütmenin avantajları ve sürece olan katkısı, mesaj yetkisinin açıkça düzenlemesine yönelik ihtiyaç ve bunun sınırları irdelenmekte ve ayrıca mevcut uygulamadaki şeffaflık sorunu ile hükümet sistemindeki denge ve denetim sorunları dikkate alınmaktadır. Son olarak personel altyapısı ile bilgi edinme ve araştırma kapasitesi bakımından TBMM’nin kurumsal yeterliliği değerlendirilmektedir.
The ambiguity regarding many areas of constitutional law following the 2017 Amendments to the Turkish Constitution is also apparent in lawmaking. Annulling the executive branch’s power to introduce bills has raised questions regarding the executive branch’s role in the initial stages of lawmaking. The purpose of this paper is to clarify some of these issues by presenting and discussing the role of the executive and legislative branches of government in the initial stages of lawmaking (i.e., the preparation of bills).
The paper identifies two main services in the initial stages of lawmaking: (i) assistance in obtaining information and conducting research in order to determine the necessity for enacting legislation and (ii) the preparation of draft bills that are technically accurate, that express concepts accurately, and that take into account existing enactments. The evaluation regarding the roles of the two branches of government is limited to these two services, and the study presents two sets of research questions: (i) Which mechanisms does the TBMM have access to in terms of the two services mentioned above, and is the TBMM’s institutional capacity sufficient for carrying out these services adequately? (ii) Has the executive organ been empowered to play a role in bill preparation through these two services as a result of the 2017 Constitutional Amendments, and if so, what are the legal limits to such power?
Part I of the paper focuses on the mechanisms that Parliamentarians wield through Parliament. For this purpose, the paper presents and briefly analyzes the different mechanisms through which Parliament can obtain information for determining the necessity of enacting a law under three sections: (i) the constitutional mechanisms for obtaining information, (ii) the powers of the administrative staff of the TBMM in terms of conducting research and obtaining information, and (iii) the mechanisms regarding parliamentary committees. Lastly, the paper presents information on the assistance for legislative drafting as provided by the TBMM administrative staff, along with statistical data.
Part II of the paper questions the power the executive organ has to play a role in the preparation of bills and the legal bases for this power. Firstly, the paper explores the legal limits for the sources of bills and the possibilities the executive organ has for producing information and draft legislation. The paper then examines the meaning, extent, and practice regarding the presidential power of recommendation, exploring whether this power can be interpreted as the constitutional foundation of the executive role and its assistance in preparing bills. Part III of the paper examines the regulations on executive drafting before and after the 2017 Constitutional Amendments and questions whether the regulations that are in force encompass legislative drafting in the aftermath of the amendments.
Part IV of the paper puts forth the advantages and disadvantages of the executive branch’s involvement in the preparation of bills in the aftermath of the 2017 Constitutional Amendments. The paper identifies uncertainties and problematic issues and presents recommendations. Firstly, the article puts forth the advantages that the executive branch holds and what its participation contributes to the procedure. Secondly, this section identifies the need to regulate the power of recommendation and what the legal limits to such possible regulations are. Furthermore, the article identifies and considers the problems that have been encountered in terms of transparency, as well as the lack of the necessary checks and balances in the current governmental system. Finally, the article evaluates the sufficiency of the TBMM’s institutional capacity regarding personnel infrastructure and its capacity to obtain information and conduct research.