100. Yılında “1921 Anayasası’nın Ruhu”: 20 Ocak 1921 Tarihli Teşkilat-I Esasiye Kanunu’nun Öngördüğü Sistem ile Cumhurbaşkanlığı Hükûmet Sisteminin Mukayesesi (Mümkün Mü?

The first constitution of the Republic of Turkey was “Teşkilât-ı Esasiye Kanunu” (The Constitution of 1921) and it was adopted on 20.01.1921. Although a century has passed and three more constitutions were entered into force after the Constitution of 1921, the first constitution of Republic of Turkey remains its importance. In this framework, “the spirit of the Constitution of 1921” is still one of the most controversial issues. The main motives which create this specific spirit are the extraordinary period of time that the Constitution was prepared under and the discussions between the members of the Parliament who came from different regions of country and had different point of views, beliefs, and ideologies. Accordingly, the spirit of the Constitution of 1921 is based on national will, pluralism, and deliberation. This spirit has also had a vital effect on the assembly government system that was provided by the Constitution. This system is based on the supremacy of the parliament. Even though that system started to alter with the Constitution of 1924, the importance of the parliament has continued. However, after the constitutional amendment in 2017, because of the new presidential government system, the role and the position of the Parliament have been criticised. In this context, this paper will examine the spirit of the Constitution of 1921, which is started to discuss again because of “a new constitution” idea, and try to make a comparison between the system of the government provided by the Constitution of 1921 and the presidential government system.