Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
XXVII Annual Forum of Young Legal Historians: Meeting of Legal Cultures, Sarajevo, Bosna-Hersek, 21 - 23 Eylül 2023, ss.34, (Özet Bildiri)
This paper aims to uncover a debate on the legal system of Turkey that took place in the early years of the Turkish Republic. The central figure was the prominent Jewish lawyer, Gad Franko, and his journal Hukuki Bilgiler Mecmuası, which started publishing in 1926. In its first issue, Gad Franko stated the two main goals of the journal: to advocate for the constitutional compliance mechanism and the abolishment of the Council of State with the reception of a monist legal structure in Turkey. Franko defended his position throughout the years and tried to kindle a discussion on these issues. The debate he started continued in several different journals and included many important names in the field. The debate’s significance might only be appreciated when put in its historical context. When Franko started to write on the matter, the Republic’s first constitution (1924) stated that there shall be a Council of State. However, the Council wasn’t established until 1927. The memory of the fierce debates in the National Assembly years prior over the necessity of the Council was still fresh. Franko, writing a couple of years later, made the existence of the Council a legal problem instead of a political one. For a moment in history, it might have seemed that modern Turkey could leave the dual system behind, but that did not happen. However, examining the debates on the issue might give us a better understanding of Turkey’s legal system’s evolution.