Fundamentals of Law, Constitutional Framework, Sources of Law, and Legal Systems

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental legal concepts, Turkish constitutional history and framework, the hierarchy and sources of law, and comparative legal systems.

Rules of Social Order

The comprehensive body of conduct rules created by society—encompassing religion, morals, manners, and law—aimed at maintaining peaceful coexistence, normal behaviour, and mutual confidence among members.

Good Faith Principle

A fundamental moral and legal standard requiring every individual to act honestly, reasonably, and truthfully when exercising rights and fulfilling obligations.

Positive Law (De Lege Lata)

The entire body of legal rules, both written legislation and recognized unwritten customs, enforced and applicable in a given sovereign state during a specific period.

Natural Law (De Lege Ferenda)

An ideal legal doctrine positing that just laws exist in nature, defining what the law ought to be from a moral perspective rather than simply what it is.

Equity Law

A body of fairness rules, predominantly applied in the English legal system, utilized when strict legal provisions are inadequate and allowing the judge judicial discretion based on the necessities of the case.

Substantive Law

The branch of statutory or written law that governs the core rights, duties, and legal obligations of persons subject to it.

Procedural Law

The formal rules and framework governing the methods by which a court hears, investigates, and adjudicates civil or criminal proceedings.

Sanction

Coercive legal consequences and means enforced by governmental authorities to compel obedience to orders and prohibitions or to punish violations.

Forced Performance

A civil law sanction requiring the compulsory fulfillment of an obligation, such as the exact delivery of a good or an enforcement office seizing and auctioning a debtor's assets to pay a creditor.

Indemnification

A legal remedy and sanction where an injured party seeks monetary compensation to redress damages caused by an unlawful act or breach.

Void ab Initio

An invalidity status describing an act or legal transaction that is contrary to mandatory statutory provisions and is considered absolutely null and nonexistent from the outset.

Cancellation (Voidability)

A remedy allowing an injured party to nullify the legal effects of an agreement when consent was impaired by error, fraud, or threat.

Tanzimat (1839) and Islahat (1856) Edicts

The earliest constitutional documents in Ottoman legal history, through which the Sultan unilaterally guaranteed fundamental rights—such as security of life, honour, and property—with moral binding effect.

Ottoman Constitution of 1876

The first Ottoman constitution promulgated by Sultan Abdülhamit II, which introduced constitutional controls over absolute monarchical power and established a bicameral parliament (Meclis-i Umumi) consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Constitution of 1921

A revolutionary, $23$-article constitution adopted by the TGNA during the Independence War that united legislative and executive powers and proclaimed national sovereignty for the first time in Turkish history.

Judicial Review of Statutes

A constitutional mechanism introduced in Turkey under the Constitution of 1961 that empowers the Constitutional Court to examine the constitutionality of legislative statutes.

Constitutional Amendment Procedure (Art. 175)

The formal procedure requiring a written proposal by at least $\frac{1}{3}$ of the TGNA deputies ($200$ of $600$), two debates, and a minimum of $\frac{3}{5}$ affirmative votes ($360$) to adopt an amendment.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional distribution of state authority under Articles 7–9 of the Turkish Constitution, allocating legislative power to the TGNA, executive functions to the President of the Republic, and judicial power to independent courts.

Rule of Law (State of Law)

A governance principle where all governmental actions are strictly bound by law and the constitution, providing legal security for individuals, in direct contrast to an arbitrary police state.

Administrative Tutelage

The supervisory power exercised by the central administration over decentralized local administration units to safeguard the indivisibility and unity of the state.

Social State

A constitutional principle (equivalent to a welfare state) mandating that the state ensure social justice, solidarity, and socio-economic rights within the capacity of its financial resources.

Hierarchy of Norms

The strict ordering of written legal rules from superior to inferior and abstract to concrete, placing the Constitution at the top, followed by statutes, international agreements, and presidential decrees, and ending with regulations.

Territoriality of Laws

The legal principle providing that domestic statutes apply to all individuals and actions located within the geographic borders of the sovereign state, with limited exceptions such as diplomatic immunity.

Extraterritoriality of Laws

The authority of a state's laws to follow its citizens abroad, permitting domestic prosecution for crimes committed outside national territory under certain conditions.

Non-Retroactivity of Laws

The principle that newly enacted statutes do not apply to conduct committed prior to their entry into force, except for procedural rules and criminal amendments that benefit the accused.

Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution

The constitutional clause establishing that properly ratified international agreements carry the force of statute, cannot be challenged before the Constitutional Court, and take precedence over domestic laws in conflicts concerning fundamental rights.

State of Emergency Decrees (Art. 119)

Presidential decrees issued during declared states of emergency without the regular Art. 104 subject-matter limitations, carrying statutory force and requiring parliamentary deliberation within $3$ months.

Opinio Necessitatis

The essential subjective element of customary law: the shared social conviction that adhering to an established customary practice is legally binding and obligatory.

Nullum Crimen Nulla Poena Sine Lege

The foundational criminal law doctrine, incorporated in Turkish Penal Code Article 2 and Constitution Article 38, declaring that no act can be deemed a crime and no penalty can be imposed without an explicit statutory law.

Unification of Conflicting Judgments (İçtihadı Birleştirme Kararları)

Decisions rendered by the General Assemblies of the high courts (Yargıtay or Danıştay) to resolve conflicting judicial rulings, which acquire statutory force and bind lower courts upon official publication.

Legal Doctrine

The scholarly commentaries, textbooks, and treatises of distinguished jurists that serve as an auxiliary, non-binding source of law used to guide judicial interpretation.

Civil Law System

The legal tradition originating in Roman law and widespread across Continental Europe, characterized by codified statutory law as the primary source of law and an inquisitorial judicial procedure.

Common Law System

The Anglo-Saxon legal family developed in England and Commonwealth jurisdictions, where judicial decisions, court precedents, and an adversarial trial format serve as primary sources of law.

Stare Decisis

The common law doctrine mandating that judges adhere to established legal precedents and apply previous judicial rulings to subsequent cases involving similar facts.

Inquisitorial Procedure

A procedural method typical of civil law systems where the judge takes an active, leading role in investigating facts, examining evidence, and directing the trial inquiry.

Adversarial Procedure

A procedural system characteristic of common law jurisdictions where two opposing parties compete to present evidence and legal arguments before an impartial judge or jury.

Rules of Social Order

A body of conduct rules created by society to establish acceptable behavior among its members and maintain social peace and confidence.

Good Faith Principle

A general moral and legal category requiring every person to act truthfully, reasonably, and honestly when exercising rights and fulfilling obligations.

Positive Law (De Lege Lata)

The entire body of legal rules, including enacted written legislation and unwritten customs or judicial opinions, actively enforced in a particular state during a given period.

Natural Law (De Lege Ferenda)

An ideal doctrine of law based on reason and morality that seeks to define rules not simply as they exist, but as they ought to be.

Equity Law

A body of rules applied predominantly in the English legal system allowing a judge judicial discretion to decide a dispute according to fairness when strict statutory law cannot be applied.

Substantive Law

The branch of statutory or written law that governs the actual rights and obligations of persons subject to it.

Procedural Law

The legal framework comprising rules by which a court hears, conducts, and determines civil or criminal proceedings.

Forced Performance

A legal sanction requiring exact delivery or payment of value through court and enforcement office intervention, including selling a debtor's assets to satisfy claims.

Void ab initio

The legal invalidity of an act or transaction that violates statutory provisions, rendering it absolutely null and devoid of legal effect from its very beginning.

Constitutional Law

The branch of public law that defines and delineates the structure of the State, governs the exercise of sovereign power, distributes governmental functions, and safeguards fundamental rights and freedoms.

Tanzimat (1839) and Islahat (1856) Fermanı

The first Ottoman constitutional edicts wherein the Sultan unilaterally recognized basic rights such as life, honor, and property, possessing only moral binding force due to the lack of judicial enforcement mechanisms.

Ottoman Constitution of 1876

The initial Ottoman constitution promulgated by Sultan Abdülhamit II that established a bicameral parliament (Meclis-i Umumi) composed of a Senate (Heyet-i Âyan) and a House of Representatives (Heyet-i Mebusan).

Constitution of 1921

A concise, revolutionary document of only $23$ articles adopted during the Independence War that concentrated legislative and executive powers in the TGNA and declared national sovereignty for the first time.

Judicial Review of Constitutionality

An institutional innovation introduced in the 1961 Turkish Constitution establishing the Constitutional Court to review statutes for conformity with the Constitution.

Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution

A constitutional provision dictating that in cases where domestic legislation conflicts with an international treaty relating to fundamental rights and freedoms, the international treaty shall prevail.

Constitutional Amendment Procedure (Cons. Art. 175)

The process requiring a proposal by at least $\frac{1}{3}$ of total deputies ($600$), two commission debates, and a minimum of $\frac{3}{5}$ votes to pass, triggering a mandatory referendum if votes fall between $\frac{3}{5}$ and $\frac{2}{3}$.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional principle dividing state power into the legislative (TGNA), executive (the President of the Republic), and judicial (independent courts) branches under Cons. Art. 7–9.

Rule of Law (State of Law)

A foundational constitutional characteristic wherein all state acts strictly conform to law and the Constitution to guarantee legal security for individuals, operating in contrast to a Police State.

Power of Tutelage

The administrative control exercised by the central government over local administrative units to guarantee the unity and indivisibility of public administration under Cons. Art. 123.

Hierarchy of Norms

The ordering of written legal rules from most abstract and binding to most specific: Constitution at the apex, followed by Statutes, Presidential Decrees, and International Treaties, and lastly Regulations.

Territoriality of Statutes

The legal principle providing that domestic statutes apply across the entire territory of the enacting state to every person within its borders, subject to diplomatic immunity exceptions.

Extraterritoriality of Statutes

The legal principle allowing domestic statutes to follow citizens abroad, permitting prosecution for criminal offenses committed outside national borders.

Non-Retroactivity of Laws

The general principle barring statutes from punishing acts committed prior to their enactment, protecting individual liberties from arbitrary state intervention.

TGNA Decision Quorum (Cons. Art. 96)

The constitutional rule that the TGNA convenes with at least $\frac{1}{3}$ of total members and decides by simple majority of attendees, with an absolute minimum affirmative vote of $\frac{1}{4} + 1$ of total members.

Opinio Necessitatis

The essential customary law element consisting of a widespread social belief and conviction that a given customary practice is legally binding, fair, and just.

Nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege

A core penal doctrine set forth in TCK Art. 2 and Cons. Art. 38 stating that no crime or punishment can exist without an express written statutory law.

Decisions on the Unification of Judgments (İçtihadı birleştirme kararları)

Binding decisions rendered by the general assemblies of high courts (Yargıtay or Danıştay) to reconcile conflicting judicial rulings, obtaining statutory force upon official publication.

Civil Law System

A legal system originating from the Romano-Germanic tradition that is primarily based on enacted, codified written statutes rather than binding judicial precedents.

Common Law System

An Anglo-Saxon legal tradition developed in England that relies primarily on unwritten customary methods, judicial decisions, and binding precedents.

Stare Decisis

The foundational doctrine of common law systems mandating that courts adhere to established judicial precedents when deciding subsequent cases with similar facts.

Adversarial Procedure

A common law trial method where opposing parties present evidence and legal arguments before a detached, neutral judge or jury who determines the verdict.

Inquisitorial Procedure

A civil law trial method where the judge takes an active, primary role in investigating facts, examining evidence, and questioning parties to ascertain the truth.

Codification

The systematic statutory collection and enactment of legal rules and principles into an organized, comprehensive code by a legislature.

Legal Reception

The formal adoption and integration of foreign legal codes, concepts, and structures into a domestic legal system.