IV. Audit Court
ARTICLE 160. The Audit Court shall be charged with auditing, on behalf of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, all the accounts relating to the revenue, expenditure and property of government departments financed by the general and subsidiary budgets, with taking final decisions on the acts and accounts of the responsible officials, and with exercising the functions required of it by law in matters of inquiry, auditing and judgement. Parties concerned may file a single request for reconsideration of a final decision of the Audit Court within fifteen days of the date of written notification of the decision. No applications for judicial review of such decisions shall be filed in administrative courts.
In the event of a dispute between the Council of State and the Audit Court concerning decisions on matters of taxation or similar financial obligations and duties, the decision of the Council of State shall take precedence.
The organisation, functioning and auditing procedure of the Audit Court, the qualifications, appointment, duties and powers, rights and obligations of its members, other matters relating to their personnel status, and the security of tenure of the President and members shall be regulated by law. The procedure for auditing, on behalf of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, of State property in possession of the Armed Forces shall be regulated by law in accordance with the principles of secrecy required by National Defence.

I. Budget
A. Preparation and Implementation of the Budget
ARTICLE 161. The expenditures of the State and those of public corporations other than state economic enterprises shall be determined by annual budgets.
The beginning of the fiscal year and the preparation and implementation of the general and subsidiary budgets shall be defined by law.
The law may prescribe special periods and procedures for investments relating to development plans, or for business and services expected to last more than one year.
No provisions other than those pertaining to the budget shall be included in the Budged Act.
B. Debate on the Budget
ARTICLE 162. The Council of Ministers shall submit the draft of general subsidiary budgets and the report containing the national budgetary estimates to the Turkish Grand National Assembly at least seventy-five days before the beginning of the fiscal year.
The draft budgets and the reports shall be considered by the Budget Committee, which shall be composed of forty members. In the composition of this Committee, the proportional representation of the various political party groups and independent members in the Assembly, shall be taken into consideration subject to the allocation of at least twenty-five seats to members of the party or parties in power.
The draft budget, which shall be adopted by the Budget Committee within fifty-five days, shall thereafter be considered by the Assembly and shall be decided on before the beginning of the fiscal year.
Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly shall express their opinions on ministerial, departmental and subsidiary budgets during the debates held in Plenary Session on each budget as a whole; the various headings and motions for amendments shall be read out and put to the vote without separate debate.
During debates in the plenary session on the draft Budget Act, members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly shall not make proposals which entail an increase in expenditure or a decrease in revenue.
C. Principles Governing Budgetary Amendments
ARTICLE 163. The appropriations granted under the general and subsidiary budgets shall indicate the limit of expenditure allowed. No provisions shall be included in the budget to the effect that the limit of expenditure may be exceeded in pursuance of a decision of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers shall not be empowered to amend the budget by a decree having force of law. In draft amendments entailing an increase in appropriations under the budget for the current fiscal year and, in draft laws and law proposals providing for additional financial commitments in the budgets for the current or following year, the financial resources which would meet the stated expenditure shall be indicated.
D. Final Account
ARTICLE 164. Draft final accounts shall be submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly by the Council of Ministers within seven months of the end of the relevant fiscal year, unless a shorter period is prescribed by law. The Audit Court shall submit its notice of conformity to the Turkish Grand National Assembly within seventy-five days of the submission of the draft final accounts in question.
The draft final accounts shall be placed on the agenda of the Budget Committee together with the Draft Budget Act for the new fiscal year. The budget Committee shall submit the draft Budget Act to the Plenary Assembly in conjunction with the draft final accounts; the Plenary Assembly shall consider, and decide on, the draft final accounts in conjunction with the draft Budget Act for the new fiscal year.
The submission of the draft final accounts and the notice of conformity to the Turkish Grand National Assembly shall not prelude the auditing of accounts for the relevant year which have not already been dealt with by the Audit Court and shall not indicate that a final decision has been taken on these accounts.
E. Auditing of State Economic Enterprises
ARTICLE 165. The principles governing the auditing, by the Turkish Grand National Assembly of the accounts of public establishments and partnerships in which more than half of the capital directly or indirectly belongs to the State, shall be regulated by law.

I. Planning
ARTICLE 166. The planning of economic, social and cultural development, in particular the speedy, balanced, and harmonious development of industry and agriculture throughout the country, and the efficient use of national resources on the basis of detailed analysis and assessment and the establishment of the necessary organisation for this purpose are the duty of the State.
Measures to increase national thriftiness and production, to ensure stability in prices and balance in foreign trade transactions, to promote investment and employment, shall be included in the plan; in investments, public benefit and requirements shall be taken into account; the efficient use of resources shall be aimed at. Development activities shall be realised according to this plan.
The procedure and principles governing the preparation of development plans, their approval by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, their implementation and their revision, and of the prevention of amendments liable to affect the unity of the plan shall be regulated by law.

II. Supervision of Markets and Regulation of Foreign Trade
ARTICLE 167. The State shall take measures to ensure and promote the sound, orderly functioning of the money, credit, capital, goods and services markets; and shall prevent the formation, in practice or by agreement, of monopolies and cartels in the markets.
In order to regulate foreign trade for the benefit of the economy of the country, the Council of Ministers may be empowered by law to introduce or lift additional financial impositions on imports, exports, and other foreign transactions, in addition to tax and similar impositions.

III. Exploration and Exploitation of Natural Resources
ARTICLE 168. Natural wealth and resources shall be placed under the control and at the disposal of the State. The right to explore and exploit them belongs to the State. The State may delegate this right to individuals or public corporations for specific periods. Of the natural wealth and resources, those to be explored and exploited by the State in partnership with individuals or public corporations, and those to be directly explored and exploited by individuals or public corporations shall be subject to the explicit permission of the law. The conditions to be observed in such cases by individuals and public corporations, the procedure and principles governing supervision and control by the State, and the sanctions to be applied shall be prescribed by law.

V. Promotion of Cooperatives
ARTICLE 171. The State shall take measures, in keeping with national and economic interests, to promote the development of cooperatives, which shall be primarily designed to increase production and protect consumers.
Cooperatives shall be subject in all respects to the supervision and inspection of the State, and shall not engage in political activities and shall not cooperate with political parties.

VI. Protection of Consumers, Small Traders, and Craftsmen
A. Protection of Consumers
ARTICLE 172. The State shall take measures to protect and inform consumers; shall encourage their initiatives to protect themselves.
B. Protection of Small Traders and Craftsmen
ARTICLE 173. The State shall take measures to protect and support small traders and craftsmen.

I. Preservation of Reform Laws
ARTICLE 174. No provision of the Constitution shall be construed or interpreted as rendering unconstitutional the Reform Laws indicated below, which aim to raise Turkish society above the level of contemporary civilisation and to safeguard the secular character of the Republic, and which were in force on the date of the adoption by referendum of the Constitution of Turkey.
1. Act No. 430 of 3 March 1340 (1924) on the Unification of the Educational System;
2. Act No. 671 of 25 November 1341 (1925) on the Wearing of Hats;
3. Act No. 677 of 30 November 1341 (1925) on the Closure of Dervish Convents and Tombs, the Abolition of the Office of Keeper of Tombs and the Abolition and Prohibition of Certain Titles;
4. The principle of civil marriage according to which the marriage act shall be concluded in the presence of the competent official, adopted with the Turkish Civil Code No. 743 of 17 February 1926, and Article 110 of the Code;
5. Act No. 1288 of 20 May 1928 on the Adoption of International Numerals;
6. Act No. 1353 of 1 November 1928 on the Adoption and Application of the Turkish Alphabet;
7. Act No. 2590 of 26 November 1934 on the Abolition of Titles and Appellations such as Efendi, Bey or Pasa;
8. Act No. 2596 of 3 December 1934 on the Prohibition of the Wearing of Certain Garments.

PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 1. On the proclamation, under lawful procedure, of the adoption by referendum of the Constitution as the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, the Chairman of the Council of National Security and Head of State at the time of the referendum, shall assume the title of President of the Republic and shall exercise the constitutional functions and powers of the President of the Republic for a period of seven years. The oath he took as Head of State on 18 September 1980 shall remain valid. At the end of the period of seven years the election for the Presidency of the Republic shall be held in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Constitution.
The President of the Republic shall also hold the chairmanship of the Council of National Security formed on 12 December 1980 under Act No. 2356, until the convening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the formation of the Bureau of the Assembly following the first general elections.
If the Presidency of the Republic falls vacant for any reason before the Turkish Grand National Assembly convenes and assumes its functions at the end of the first general elections, the most senior member of the Council of National Security shall act as President of the Republic and shall exercise all his constitutional functions and powers until the convening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and its election of a new President of the Republic in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 2. The Council of National Security formed on 12 December 1980 under Act No. 2356 shall continue to exercise its functions under Act No. 2324 on the Constitutional Order and Act No. 2485 on the Constituent Assembly until the convening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the formation of the Bureau of the Assembly following the first general elections held under the Political Parties Act and the Elections Act prepared in accordance with the Constitution.
After the adoption of the Constitution, Article 3 of Act No. 2356 relating to the procedure for filling a seat on the Council of National Security which falls vacant for any reason, shall cease to apply.
After the Turkish Grand National Assembly has convened and assumed its functions, the Council of National Security shall become the Presidential Council for a period of six years, and the members of the Council of National Security shall acquire the title of members of the Presidential Council. The oath they took on 18 September 1980 as members of the Council of National Security shall remain valid. Members of the Presidential Council shall enjoy the rights and immunity conferred by the Constitution on members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The legal existence of the Presidential Council shall terminate on the expiry of the period of six years.

I. Amendment of the Constitution, Participation in Election and Referendum:
ARTICLE 175. The constitutional amendment shall be proposed in writing by at lest one-third of the total number of members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Proposals to amend the Constitution shall be debated twice in the plenary session. The adoption of a proposal for an amendment shall require a three-fifths majority of the total number of members of the Assembly by a secret ballot.
The consideration and adopting of proposals for the amendment of the Constitution shall be subject to the provisions governing the consideration and adoption of legislation, with the exception of the conditions set forth in this article.
The President of the Republic may refer the laws related to the Constitutional amendments for further consideration. If the Assembly adopts the draft law referred by the President by a two-thirds majority, the President may submit the law to referendum.
If a law is adopted by a three-fifths or less than two-thirds majority of the total number of votes of the Assembly and is not referred by the President for further consideration, it will be published in the Official Gazette and shall be submitted to referendum.
A law on the Constitutional amendment adopted by a two-thirds majority of the total number of members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly directly or if referred by the President for further consideration, or its articles as considered necessary may be submitted to a referendum by the President. Laws or related articles of the Constitutional amendment not submitted to referendum shall be promulgated in the Official Gazette.
Laws related to Constitutional amendment which are submitted for referendum shall require the approval of more than half of the valid votes casted.
The Turkish Grand National Assembly, in adopting the laws related to the Constitutional amendment, shall also decide on which provisions shall be submitted to referendum together and which shall be submitted individually.
Every measure including fines shall be taken to secure participation in referenda, general, by- and local elections.

II. Preamble and Headings of Articles
ARTICLE 176. The Preamble, which states the basic views and principles underlying the Constitution, shall form an integral part of the Constitution.
The headings of articles merely indicate the subject matter of the articles, their order, and the connections between them. These headings shall not be regarded as a part of the text of the Constitution.

THE END