SOURCES OF TURKISH LAW;

Turkey has followed continental pattern and with the reception and codification of many European laws, legislation has become the most important source of law. To a lesser extent, customary law and case law or judicial precedent are sources; finally books of authority or doctrine are a subsidiary source of Turkish law.

Customary Law :

In primitive communities customary observances supported by supernatural sanctions played an immensely important role in regulating social life. With the evolution of them, the impotance of custom as a source of law has increasingly diminished.
In the modern world, the legislature may, by statute, deprive a customary rule of its legal status and custom has become a subordinate source of law. This is especially true for Turkish law where legislation is consciously designed to change or restrain trends in the community’s behaviour. In Turkey some laws are directly set against customs in order to develop and westernize the country according to European patterns.

Legislation :

The Turkish Constitution provides that the Grand National Assembly has sole authority to enact laws for application throughout Turkey. The 7th Article of the Turkish Constitution states that “legislative power shall not be delegated.” The Grand National Assembly can only delegate under certain terms the power of legislation to the Council of Ministers.
The hierarchy of enacted or written laws is as follows:

1- The Constitution
2- Codes and Statues
3- International Treaties
4- Statutory Decrees
5- Regulations
6- By-Laws

Court Desicions :

Contrary to the Anglo-American legal system, in Continental countries judicial precedents are not in theory regarded as a source of law, due to the view that the legislature is the sole sorce of new law, and the only law-maker as such. According to this prevailing point of view, although prior desicions may assist a judge in arriving at a conclusion, they are not binding upon him and he must decide a case as he himself thinks right. Notwithstanding this theory, in practise it is generally accepted on the Continent that to secure certainly and uniformity, as suggested above, among court decisions the previous decisions of superior courts, especially of a country’s supreme court, are to be as binding as statutory law.
The Higher Courts In Turkey : Court Of Cassation, The Council Of State, The Court Of Accounts, The Military Court Of Cassation, Court Of Conflicts.

Doctrine (Books Of Authority) :

Juristic works are not independent “source of law”, although in some cases juristic opinion leads to the formation of law. Especially where the positive law is silent, juristic opinion may be resorted to. Though the views of academicians are rarely quoted by the Turkish courts, nevertheless, it may confidently be stated that professional opinion is going to play an increasingly important role in the Turkish legal system.