One of the oldest pieces of press legislation still in force in Turkey: Law No. 1117 of 21/6/1927 on the Protection of Minors from Harmful Publications. It took its present form through the amendments of 1986, 1988 and 2018.
The Identity of the Law
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Law number | 1117 |
| Date of adoption | 21/6/1927 |
| Official Gazette | 7/7/1927 - No. 627 |
| Düstur | Series 3, Volume 8, Page 899 |
| Principal amendments | No. 3266 (6/3/1986), No. 3445 (11/5/1988), Decree-Law No. 703 (2/7/2018) |
The Definition of a Harmful Publication - Art. 1
Article 1 (Amended: 6/3/1986-3266/1) - Periodicals and other printed works not falling within the definition of a periodical which are found to have a harmful effect on the morals of those under 18 years of age are subjected to the limitations shown in the following articles.
Scope: "Periodical" and "Printed Work"
The Law uses two categories:
- Periodical - a publication appearing at intervals (newspaper, magazine).
- Other printed works not falling within the definition of a periodical - books and similar non-periodicals.
How Does a Limitation Arise?
A work cannot be treated as "harmful" of its own accord. Article 2: for the works in question to be subjected to a limitation, the competent board must give a decision that they are harmful to those under 18 years of age.
The Criterion of Examination
Art. 2/2: in the examination it makes as to whether printed works are harmful to minors, the Board is obliged to have regard to the general aims and basic principles in Basic Law of National Education No. 1739.
Outside the Scope: Art. 6
Article 6 - Works possessing intellectual, social, scientific and aesthetic value are outside the scope of this law.
That is the most important exception in the Law. We cover the detail in the science and art exception guide.
The Constitutional Ground
The constitutional basis of the Law is Art. 41 of the Constitution: the State takes measures protecting children against all kinds of abuse and violence (the paragraph added in 2010 by Law No. 5982). On the press freedom side, Art. 26/2 treats the protection of the reputation or rights and the private and family life of others as a ground of limitation.
We cover the detail in the Art. 41 guide.
The 2018 Amendment
By Art. 38 of Decree-Law No. 703 the authority to which the Board is attached changed: the phrase "Prime Ministry" in the text was changed to "the Ministry of Labour, Social Services and Family", the composition of the Board was rewritten, and by provisional Art. 1 the membership of the existing Board members was terminated.
Summary
Law No. 1117 subjects periodicals and other printed works found to have a harmful effect on the morals of those under 18 to limitations. For a limitation to arise a decision of the competent board is required; in its examination the Board is obliged to have regard to the general aims and basic principles in Basic Law of National Education No. 1739. Works possessing intellectual, social, scientific and aesthetic value are outside the scope of the Law.