REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

MINISTER TUNÇ: "WE HAVE RENEWED ALL OF OUR FUNDAMENTAL LAWS IN THE LAST 21 YEARS”

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç noted that they enacted the significant reforms limiting the tutelary spirit of the coup constitution, thanks to the support of the nation and expressed “We have renewed all of our fundamental laws in the last 21 years.”

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç attended the Workshop on Turkish Civil Code in the 100th Anniversary of the Republic which was held in Istanbul. Minister Tunç articulated in his speech that civil law is the most comprehensive branch of law, which covers all private law relations from birth to death of persons and the consequences related to their assets even after death. Stating that the fundamental laws are of great importance for shaping the legal structure of the societies, Minister Tunç told that the Turkish Civil Code constitutes the core of the fundamental laws in this sense. Minister Tunç noted that this is not only limited to the civil law, but is applicable to the private law as a whole and in all areas of the law as to the extent that it is appropriate to its structure and added that the Turkish Civil Code plays a decisive role in shaping the law with the basic principles and procedures it governs.

Expressing that all important issues in the social life constitute the regulation scope of the civil codes in the modern legal systems, Minister Tunç reflected that the family law is one of the most important areas of the civil law.

“STRONG FAMILY MEANS STRONG SOCIETY, AND STRONG SOCIETY BRINGS ABOUT STRONG STATE”

Minister Tunç said that according to both tradition, religion and law, the family is the cornerstone of society.

Drawing attention to the inevitability of the destruction of societies where family ties weaken and lose their strength, Minister Tunç remarked that “Any attempt to undermine the family which constitutes the core of society would eventually undermine the society. Strong family means strong society, and strong society brings about strong state. Indeed, some Western societies not attributing sufficient importance to the family have started, upon the emergence of destructive results, to look for ways to strengthen the families.”

Minister Tunç noted that in the last 21 years, significant changes have been carried out at the constitutional level in favour of women and children.

Minister Tunç expressed that in 2004, they enacted the provision in the Constitution that “the women and men are vested with the equal rights, and the State has the obligation to ensure the implementation of this equality” and added:

“We also introduced in 2010 that ‘The measures to be taken by the State for this purpose shall not be interpreted in contradiction to the equality principle’. We enacted a regulation that we call ‘positive discrimination’ stating that regulations and practices for women and children, families of martyrs and veterans shall not be interpreted contrary to the principle of equality.”

Remarking that they submitted the Constitutional amendment proposal to the GNAT covering the regulation providing the constitutional guarantee to the headscarf to protect freedoms and the regulation on protection of family, Minister Tunç told that the Constitutional proposal includes the issues that the marriage union can only be established by the marriage of a man and a woman and it will be based on equality between the spouses. Minister Tunç stated that they are determined to bring the proposal forward.

Referring the greatest recent threat against the family as the gender-neutrality policies encouraged by the global power groups, Minister Tunç stated that they reject the global economic, political and diplomatic suppression of those who defend human nature and family values.

“WE HAVE SUCCEEDED THE GREAT NOVELTIES NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED THANKS TO THE APPROVAL OF OUR NATION”

Minister Tunç mentioned that they carried out historic steps in Constitutional level in the last 21 years to strengthen the democratic state of law, ensure the judicial independency and impartiality, extend the fundamental rights and freedoms, and he continued:

“We have succeeded the great novelties thanks to the approval of our nation. We have not only renewed our fundamental laws, but have also enacted important reforms that reduced the tutelary spirit of the coup constitution with the support of our nation. We have renewed all of our fundamental laws in the last 21 years. Our Civil Code of 1926 was renewed in 2001. A significant work was conducted to bring the Code to meet the needs of the era and our society. Besides, since 2002, all of our fundamental laws and fundamental legislation such as law of obligations, commercial code, criminal code, criminal procedure code, law on execution of penalties, civil procedure code have been renewed to meet the needs of the era. In other words, today we can say that we have the newest fundamental laws of Europe and the world.”

Noting that they have enacted really important amendments to decrease and eliminate the tutelary spirit on the Constitution drafted by the coup plotters, Minister Tunç explained that “We tried to bring the structures of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors and the Constitutional Court, the structure of the National Security Council and the Supreme Military Council to a level which is more compatible with the principles of democratic state of law. Significant reforms have been introduced to abolish the military courts, the Military Court of Cassation and the Military Supreme Administrative Court, and to ensure the unity of the judiciary in the country.”

“WE NEED TO ENACT A CIVILIAN CONSTITUTION WHICH IS DEMOCRATIC, INCLUSIVE AND PRIORITIZES THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS”

Stating that eliminating the tutelary understanding completely is only possible through a new Constitution, Minister Tunç expressed that:

“We need to enact a civilian constitution which is democratic, inclusive and prioritizes the fundamental rights and freedoms. We are living the Century of Türkiye. We have just left behind hundred years of our Republic. We have started the second century. At the beginning of the second century, we need to continue on our progress at the beginning of the Century of Türkiye, not with a Constitution drafted by the coup plotters, but with a Constitution that was put into effect by the representatives of the nation in the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye with comprehensive participation and with the approval of the nation.”