On 22 May, 2004, Law No 5170, which amends 10 articles of the Turkish constitution, came into force. These amendments have chiefly been made in reaction to Turkey’s new international commitments and its efforts towards accession to the European Union. The law provides, among other things, for the removal of the expression of ‘death sentence’ from the constitution, the abolition of the State Security Courts, an expression regarding gender equality and the inspection of the accounts of the Turkish Military Forces. From the perspective of business law, however, the most important amendment made relates to the position of international agreements vis-a-vis domestic laws.
Article 90 of the constitution, entitled ‘Ratification of International Treaties’, currently provides that “international agreements duly put into effect carry the force of law. No appeal to the constitutional court can be made with regard to these agreements on the grounds that they are unconstitutional.” The new law added another sentence to Article 90 of the constitution which ensures that, in the case of contradiction between the provisions of duly ratified international agreements on fundamental rights and freedoms and the provisions of the domestic laws, the former shall prevail, and that the judiciary will consequently refer to the provisions of such international agreements directly by ignoring the provisions of domestic laws.
