Millî Korunma Kanunu’nun Ceza Hükümleri ve Demokrat Parti Döneminde Uygulanması
İkinci Dünya Savaşı yıllarında savaş ekonomisini yürütmek amacıyla çıkarılan Millî Korunma Kanunu, 1960 yılına dek kesintiye uğramadan uygulanmaya devam etmiştir. Millî Korunma Kanunu ile ekonominin her alanıyla ilgili çeşitli düzenlemeler yapılmasının yanında özellikle karaborsanın önlenmesine yönelik uygulamalara girişilmiştir. Demokrat Parti dönemindeki yeni düzenleme ile kanuna aykırı davrananlara ağır cezalar getirilmiştir. Buna karşın ekonomide yokluklar ve darlıklar önlenememiştir. Bu çalışmada, Millî Korunma Kanunu’na aykırılığın hukuki dayanakları ve bu kanunun ceza hükümlerinin uygulanması ele alınmıştır. Bu çalışmanın ana kaynaklarını arşiv belgeleri, TBMM Zabıt Cerideleri, Demokrat Parti Meclis Grubu Gizli Müzakere Zabıtları, T.C. Resmî Gazete ile dönemin ulusal gazeteleri ve dergileri gibi birinci el kaynaklar oluşturmaktadır. Bunların yanı sıra çalışmayı destekleyecek ikinci el kaynaklar incelenmiştir.
Penal Provisions of the National Protection Law and Its Implementation During the Democratic Party Period
The National Protection Law, which was enacted to guide the war economy during the Second World War, was continuously implemented until 1960. With this law, various regulations were made in every field of the economy and practices were initiated especially for the prevention of the black market. With a new regulation implemented during the Democratic Party period, heavy penalties were imposed on those who acted against the law. However, preventing shortages and hardships in the economy was impossible. Thus, the study discussed the legal basis of violations of the National Protection Law and its implementation of penal provisions. Along with secondary ones, the primary data sources were archival documents, Minutes of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Confidential Minutes of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey, and national newspapers and magazines published during this period.
Turkey initially followed the neutrality policy during the Second World War. After the defeats of the Axis powers, it pursued a policy in favor of the allies to delay participation in the war as much as possible. Turkey implemented a war economy due to the constant threat from countries that joined the war and with which it engaged in foreign trade. For this reason, the National Protection Law was enacted on January 18, 1940, which was implemented without interruption within the Democratic Party (DP) period. With this law, various regulations were made regarding the industry, mining, employment, agriculture, animal husbandry, and trade sectors, as well as practices that aim to ensure rent control and prevent the establishment of the black market.
After approximately 27 years, the single-party era, named the DP, came to power in Turkey. During the first few years of the DP period, the economy of the country experienced short-term improvements due to the formulation of economic policies based on agriculture and foreign trade. However, this “success” period failed to prevent the emergence of economic difficulties. Conversely, long-term economic policies were not established at this point.
After this period, the DP government realized the importance of public investments and implemented a mixed economy similar to statism. However, its scheme provided more support to the private sector. As of 1954, instead of the liberal economy and plans of abolishing statism, the country enhanced interventionism.
In fact, with the adoption of the National Protection Law in 1956, important regulations were made in the economy, whereas punishments afforded to those who acted against the law were increased. In this manner, the government gained new powers. As the restrictions imposed by the National Protection Law increased with the objective of preventing the black market, increases were observed in poverty, strictures, and prices. Thus, the economy became strained and the law eventually lost its effect. In addition to price controls made by the government on the basis of the National Protection Law, economic policies led to inflation despite restrictions on loans and increased interest rates. Although the National Protection Law was actively implemented with the effects of economic necessities, difficulties in the production structure and irregularities in the implementation of the law prevented efficient results.
By 1958, imported goods were not brought to Turkey and the country entered a bottleneck. For this reason, the DP government, which applied economic measures known as the August 4 Decisions, lowered the value of Turkish money and obtained new loans from foreign countries. During this period, efforts began for the abolition of the National Protection Law. However, the implementation of the law continued.
After the DP period, which ended with a military coup on May 27, 1960, the control of the market was appointed to municipalities, and the National Protection Law was abolished in September 1960. In addition, another law was enacted to provide amnesty for crimes committed under the National Protection Law.
Despite the claim of implementing the requirements of the liberal economy, the DP applied an interventionist regulation to the National Protection Law due to economic necessities and problems. In this respect, the law enacted an important economic regulation that remained in force without interruption from 1940 to 1960.
Although many important decisions were made by applying the National Protection Law in nearly every aspect of the economy during the DP period, the law was only partially beneficial because it failed to eliminate basic problems in production and to avoid irregularities in decisions.
This study collected data from primary sources, such as the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey, Official Records of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and Confidential Minutes of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group. In addition, newspapers, such as Cumhuriyet, Zafer, Milliyet, and Akşam, and magazines of the 1950s were examined. Secondary sources that contribute to the topic were also evaluated and included in the study.
