The commission on human rights inquiry: Turkey as a case study within the context of recent discussions on constitutionalism

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1606877 (Table of Contents)

The legitimacy of judicial review seems recently to be under serious critique both empirically and theoretically. It seems as if that currently a struggle has been started on the part of the legislature in order to reclaim parliaments‟ share in ensuring the superiority of the constitution, a role which has been delegated exclusively to the judiciary for a long period of time. The intention of this thesis is to understand the location of Turkey within the context of the recent struggle which has been started on the part of the legislature to reclaim its share in ensuring the superiority of the constitution and constitutional rights. This thesis specifically focuses on the Commission on Human Rights Inquiry (CoHRI) as it is the first national human rights protection mechanism established in Turkey operating at the parliamentary level. In this regard, a descriptive analysis of the CoHRI‟s performance of its functions that are related to providing a pre-emptive right review is made. The descriptive analysis suggests that both the legal status of the CoHRI, which results from the formal rules and regulations on legislative commissions generally and on CoHRI particularly; and the functioning of TBMM as a plenary body form of legislature decrease the level of influence CoHRI has in terms of providing a preemptive right review mechanism.