Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Political Science and International Relations (English)

POLI212

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Course Code
POLI212
Semester
Fourth Term (Spring)
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
6
Course TypeCompulsory Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study2
SemesterFourth Term (Spring)
ECTS6
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Learn about Constitution and Constitutionalism.
  2. Explain Constituent and Constituted Powers.
  3. Learn About State and Types of State
  4. Explain the Governmental Systems
  5. Learn About the Democracy Theories
  6. Explain Basic Principles in Constitution of the Republic of Turkey
  7. Explain the Role of Legislative Power in Turkey.Explain the Role of Executive Power in Turkey. Explain the Role of Judicial Power in Turkey.
  8. Explain Human Rights and Fundamental Rights and Duties in Constitution of the Republic of Turkey
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo recommended optional programme components.
Course DescriptionThe principle aim of this course is to introduce students to the basic elements of the constitutional law in general and Turkish constitutional law in particular. To this end, the course begins with an elaboration of normative aspects of constitutional state focusing especially on the principles of rule of law, separation of powers, political neutrality, and human rights. The Turkish Constitution will be explained in its social, political and historical context. The course also takes up the general characteristics of the Turkish constitutional justice by exploring the structure and functions of the constitutional court. Finally, Constitutional Law dwells on the European Convention on Human Rights to which Turkey has been a party since 1954. Bearing in mind the fact that the European Convention plays an incresing role in Turkish domestic law, the Course will inform students on the conflicts and incompatibilities between the jurisprudences of the European Court of Human Rights and the Turkish Constitutional Court.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction
2nd Week Constitutionalism: Limiting Power, Producing Order
3rd Week Sovereignty and Founding: Constituent Power
4th Week Courts, Politics, Democracy
5th Week When the Constitution?s Limits Collapse
6th Week The US: Founding, Federalism, Judicial Power
7th Week Midterm Exam
8th Week France: Revolution, Regime Cycles, Executive Stability
9th Week Ottoman Constitutionalism: Reform, Crisis, Survival
10th Week From War to Nation-Making
11th Week Pluralist Republic and Its Limits
12th Week Authoritarian Re-founding after the Military Coup
13th Week Managed Reform and the EU as Anchor
14th Week Executive Centering in the AKP Period
Recommended or Required ReadingAltuğ, Yılmaz (1984). The Development of Constitutional Thought. In Ahmet Evin (Ed.), Modern Turkey Continuity and Change (pp. 131-150). Leske Verlag.
Arato, Andrew (2016). Post Sovereign Constitution Making: Learning and Legitimacy. Oxford University Press.
Barber, N. W. (2018). The Principles of Constitutionalism. Oxford University Press.
Bellamy, Richard (2007). Political Constitutionalism: A Republican Defence of the Constitutionality of Democracy. Cambridge University Press.
Boyron, Sophie (2013). The Constitution of France: A Contextual Analysis. Bloomsbury.
Gençkaya, Ömer Faruk & Dunbay, Seda (2024). A Flawless Constitutional Engineering Project in Turkey: Regime Transformation through constitutional amendments of 2007, 2010, and 2017. The Theory and Practice of Legislation, 12(2), 135-154.
Grimm, Dieter (2012). Types of Constitutions. In Michel Rosenfeld & Andras Sajo (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law (pp. 98-133). Oxford University Press.
Loughlin, Martin (2010). Foundations of Public Law. Oxford University Press.
Mueller, Sascha (2016), Turning emergency powers inside out: are extraordinary powers creeping into ordinary legislation?, Flinders Law Journal, 18, 295-319.
Özbudun, Ergun (2011). The Constitutional System of Turkey: 1876 to Present. Palgrave Macmillan.
Tushnet, Mark (2015). The Constitution of the United States of America: A Contextual Analysis. Bloomsbury.
Zürcher, Erik Jan (2001). Turkey: A Modern History. I.B. Tauris.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 40
Total(%) 40
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 40
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 60
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 1 1
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 3 42
Preparation for Final exam 1 45 45
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 20 20
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 1.15 1.15
Homework
Total Work Load151.15
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5.03
ECTS Credit of the Course6
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8
K1 X X
K2
K3 X
K4
K5 X X
K6 X X
K7 X X
K8
K9 X
K10 X
K11 X X
K12
K13