An important dimension of the amendments in the field of defense is the limitation of the powers of the Chief of General Staff. All laws introducing legal changes in defense include articles contributing to the said legislation, but the major changes were made in the Law no. 926 on Turkish Armed Forces Personnel and Law no. 1324 on the Duties and Powers of the Chief of General Staff. Accordingly, one no longer has to have served as Force Commander to become Chief of General Staff. The Chief of General Staff is from now on the commander of the Armed Forces only during war, but not in peace. The General Staff’s organization, structure and positions have been redefined. Chief of General Staff’s duties, powers and responsibilities have first been radically restricted, and then some of these were restored to legislation although the powers of the Minister of National Defense remain in place. Comprehensive changes to the Law no. 926 brought a wide array of limitations to the powers of the Chief of General Staff, ranging from the appointment of force commanders to the overseas leaves of commissioned and noncommissioned officers. The same goes for the powers of force commanders.
Executive Decree 703 abrogated Law no. 1324 on the Duties and Powers of the Chief of General Staff. It was stated that the provisions of the Law would apply until the issuance of a presidential executive decree on the matter. The said executive decree was issued on July 15, 2018, bringing the General Staff under the authority of the Ministry of National Defense.
Firstly, due to an amendment to the Law no. 926, it is no longer necessary to have served as Army, Navy, Air Force Commander to become Chief of General Staff (Executive Decree 669 Article 27). Later, it was realized that the same amendment had to be made in the Law no. 1324, and this law has also been revised. Furthermore, the Chief of General Staff will be appointed from among four-star generals and admirals (it used to be generals and admirals), as previously, upon the nomination of the Council of Ministers and the final decision of the President (Executive Decree 671 Article 8).
While the previous legislation talked about the organization, structure and positions of the Armed Forces, the new amendment restricted this definition by replacing it with General Staff, and indicated that in peace time, the force commands will stay outside this organization and will be featured among the positions and structure of the Ministry of National Defense. While previously the Chief of General Staff was the Commander of the Armed Forces during both peace and war, the new executive decrees first removed the expression “during peace and war” (Executive Decree 669 Article 33) but then restored the word “during war” (Executive Decree 671 Article 9).
As for the Law no. 1324, the article defining the Chief of General Staff’s duties, powers and responsibilities, initially, an executive decree removed the statement that functions such as intelligence, operations, organization, training, education and logistic services -except procurement- are to be performed by bodies that report to the Army, Navy and Air Force Commands and General Staff. A new stipulation stated that the Chief of General Staff had to communicate her / his suggestions on training and education services in military schools to the Ministry of National Defense, which will be in charge of the said services. (Executive Decree 669 Article 34). Later this article was again amended in a way that restored many of these duties and powers. “The Chief of General Staff decides on the staffing, intelligence, operations, organization and training principles and priorities, as well as the basic programs for preparing the Armed Forces for war, with the powers of the Ministry of National Defense remaining in place” (Executive Decree 671 Article 7).
The Law no. 926 has been amended a number of times, replacing the expressions Chief of General Staff / General Staff with Minister / Ministry of National Defense. Likewise, Gendarmerie General Command and Coast Guard Command have been separated from the Turkish Armed Forces and subordinated to the Ministry of Interior, and the necessary amendments were made in the said law. Furthermore, since military high schools were closed down and the National Defense University and Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy have been established, the Chief of General Staff’s previous prominent role in military education policies has been reduced (Executive Decree 681 Article 12-52).
With an amendment to the Law no. 926, the Minister of National Defense is now in charge of appointments to commissioned officer positions. Now the Minister of Interior and Minister of National Defense -instead of the force commanders as before- are to approve the promotions of sub-lieutenants, colonels and noncommissioned officers. As such, the force commanders have been deprived of their promotion powers, and the General Staff has been completely left out of the process (Executive Decree 681 Article 17).
The old text of the Law no. 926 read “The generals and admirals are promoted to higher positions upon the demand of force commanders, the suggestion of the Chief of General Staff, an official letter by the Minister of National Defense, the signature of the Prime Minister and approval of the President”, while the new text states that promotions to the rank of brigadier general /commodore, and promotions of generals and admirals to the next rank shall take place upon an executive decree signed by the Minister of National Defense (or the Minister of Interior for officers in the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard) and Prime Minister, and approved by the President (Executive Decree 681 Article 17).
While the Law no. 926 previously stipulated that general and admiral positions in the Turkish Armed Forces are determined by the Chief of General Staff, it now states that these positions will be regulated by the Minister of National Defense after consultation with the Chief of General Staff (Executive Decree 681 Article 21).
The same law used to state that a four-star general’s two-year stint as Force Commander could be extended for additional one-year terms (until the age limit), upon the suggestion of the Chief of General Staff and an official letter of the Minister of National Defense, through an executive decree signed by the Prime Minister and approved by the President. The new text left out the part that read “suggestion of the Chief of General Staff”, thereby bypassing her / him in the extension of the term of office of force commanders (Executive Decree 681 Article 21).
Following another amendment to the law, it is now the Minister of National Defense, and not the Chief of General Staff as before, who determines which faculties, colleges and vocational colleges candidates must graduate from in order to become regular noncommissioned officers (Executive Decree 669 Article 28).
Executive Decree 703 amended certain articles of Law no. 926 on Turkish Armed Forces Personnel, transferring certain powers and functions from the Council of Ministers and Ministries to the President’s Office.