It was announced that in the earthquakes that occurred on February 6 and affected 11 provinces, approximately 165,000 buildings consisting of 520,000 independent units were destroyed or severely damaged. The need for the reconstruction of cities, especially Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Adıyaman, has emerged. For this reason, it is urgently necessary to provide temporary shelter for at least three million people, to plan their permanent resettlement, and to return the lives of earthquake victims to normal before it is too late.After the earthquake, the President declared a state of emergency for three months in the region covering 11 provinces and this decision was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. In this context, the President has issued many Presidential Decrees of state of emergency. Presidential Decree No. 126 on Settlement and Construction Under the State of Emergency, published in the Official Gazette dated February 24, 2023, regulates how the temporary or final resettlement areas of those affected by the disaster will be determined and how the new settlements will be built. According to this Decree, temporary and final settlement areas can be determined directly by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, without complying with the rules stipulated in the Settlement Law. If there is a pasture or forest in these areas, they can be opened to the settlement without complying with the restrictions in the relevant laws. Rights regarding mining and tourism management previously recognized in the identified areas will automatically expire, immovables belonging to public institutions will be registered directly in the name of the Ministry or TOKİ, and privately owned immovables will be expropriated immediately.The main issue that needs to be discussed here is whether a regulation regarding the determination and construction of permanent settlements can be made with a State of Emergency Presidential Decree (OHAL CBK). According to article 119/6 of the Constitution, a State of Emergency CBK may be issued "on matters necessitated by the state of emergency". However, it is not possible to say that the new city plan of a province such as Hatay, which was severely damaged in the earthquake, is a matter "necessitated by the state of emergency". This is because of the fact that OHAL CBKs cannot establish rules that exceed the duration of the state of emergency. In addition to the determination of where a city will be built, new construction efforts should be is an issue that needs to be decided through a democratic and participatory process. While a decision that will determine the future centuries of the city should be made at the end of intensive scientific examination and analysis, as well as discussion, and negotiation processes that take the demands and opinions of various actors and interest groups into consideration, it is clear that starting constructions in a hurry without the plans being announced to the public and without any demand or objection opportunity will have irreversible consequences.In addition, it is not possible to open forest and pasture areas for construction in violation of the Constitution. On the other hand, privately owned immovables will be expropriated immediately, and disputes over expropriation prices will take many years to resolve. Likewise, all previously granted rights in places designated as residential areas will automatically expire. All these regulations inevitably cause violations of property rights.However, Article 148 of the Constitution blocked the way to file an annulment action against the OHAL CBKs. While the Constitutional Court had previously ruled in the cases brought against the emergency decree laws in 1991 that it could audit whether a State of Emergency Decree was limited to the requirements of the state of emergency. Yet, in 2016 the Court reverted from this jurisprudence and decided that it could not in any way supervise the emergency decrees. The Constitutional Court will probably adhere to the same jurisprudence for the OHAL CBKs. In this case, CBKs can be subject to constitutional review only after they are approved by the parliament. According to the Constitution, the OHAL CBKs must be discussed in parliament within three months at the latest. It is not possible to predict how long the Constitutional Court will decide on cases to be filed after approval within this period. The lack of control of the state of emergency CBKs will cause serious human rights violations and irreversible social harm.

The Freedom Observer

Can the Reconstruction of Cities be Arranged with the Presidential Decree of the State of Emergency?

Reconstruction of Cities

The fact that some of the questions asked in the Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS) were the same as the questions in the exam preparation book prepared by Yediiklim Publications raised allegations that the exam questions have leaked. Thousands of candidates who took the KPSS exam reacted to the questions leakage and made their voices heard on social media and complained to CIMER.The exam has been cancelled due to the allegations.&nbsp;<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">"There is a problematic case"</h2>While the dose of reactions against the allegations that the exam questions were leaked increases with each passing hour, ÖSYM made a statement on the subject. ÖSYM stated that "The allegations made on social media platforms that some exam questions are the same as the questions of a publishing house's trial exam are unfounded as a result of our investigations." on the social media account.Moreover, it was announced in the Official Gazette that ÖSYM President Prof. Dr. Halil Aygün was dismissed by the President's decision on the same night. The ruling and opposition parties, which could not remain silent in the public outcry, made statements about the allegations one after the other.Regarding the allegations that KPSS questions were leaked, President Erdoğan said, "The data obtained as a result of the examination to be carried out by our State Supervisory Board regarding the 2022 KPSS will be meticulously evaluated, and the steps will be taken urgently. We will never allow even one of our children to be suffered." Following Erdoğan's statements, the head of the State Supervisory Board (DDK) stated that "There is a problematic case" and that an inspector was sent to ÖSYM to investigate the incident and prepare a detailed report. &nbsp;It was stated that DDK filed a criminal complaint to Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Following the criminal complaint, two addresses of Yediiklim Publishing House were searched by the police. YÖK President Prof. Dr. Erol Özvar also announced that an investigation was initiated following the criminal complaint.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Reactions from the opposition</h2>CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on his social media account, "I am not commenting on the KPSS because, aside from the shame of the exam, the interviews are already blemished, so the results are a blemish. I went to the ministry for this reason. I just laugh at the palace's show of solving its shame. Don't worry, we will solve it radically after a few months."IYI Party leader Meral Akşener also said, "You have betrayed the labor of our young people many times in exams and interviews; we will not accept it again! We will follow the allegations about KPSS and the blemish statements made in 2 hours."CHP Ankara Deputy Yıldırım Kaya and IYI Party Deputy Chairman for Legal and Justice Policies Bahadır Erdem announced that they filed a criminal complaint to Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office yesterday regarding the allegations that KPSS questions have leaked. The text of the criminal complaint reads as follows: "The fact that the questions were given to certain individuals or groups in advance is a method previously used by FETÖ; the fact that this method is still being used prejudices our state's fight against FETÖ and destroys the trust of our citizens, especially our young people, in the state; this issue will cause irreparable damage in the future."<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Statement from the UMT</h2>In its statement on the KPSS allegations, the Union of Turkish Bar Associations said: "We invite the relevant institutions to conduct an effective and transparent investigation process to satisfy the public conscience to reveal the truth about these allegations that concern the future of many young people. In addition, the allegations in question are being meticulously examined by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, and legal remedies that can be pursued institutionally, including cancellation lawsuits and criminal complaints to the prosecutor's office, are being evaluated." said that they will follow the process.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Staffing strategy</h2>Journalist Zeynep Gürcanlı wrote on her Twitter account, "It is meaningful that this year's KPSS questions have been blemish; Imagine; there is an election months later. If the opposition wins, the only concrete data available will be this year's KPSS results. Add to this Kılıçdaroğlu's promise that the interview will be abolished" and claimed that the leak of the KPSS questions was an AK Party government's recruitment strategy.

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