The Question of Whether it is Possible to Appeal for the Sake of Law Against the Decision of the Council of State

Following the amendment of the 51st article of the Turkish Code of the Administrative Judicial Procedure No. 2577 by the Code No. 6545, the question of whether it is possible to file an appeal for the sake of law against the decisions of the Council of State as a court of first instance arose, and two opposing viewpoints were advanced. This study attempted to answer this question using the interpretation methods in legal rules. The textual and teleological interpretation of the rule regulating the subject demonstrates that an appeal for the sake of law can be made in opposition to such judicial decisions. The systematic interpretation method cannot be used to reach a conclusion on this subject. On the other hand, using the historical interpretation method, some findings can be reached that support the view that no appeal for the sake of law can be made against decisions provided by the Council of State as a court of first instance and which are finalized without the appeal examination. It is not possible to use the historical interpretation method as a basis by ignoring other interpretation methods in this regard. Because in circumstances where the textual interpretation method can be used to interpret a norm, the other interpretation methods cannot be applied and the historical interpretation method is the last interpretation method. Accordingly, it should be accepted that an appeal for the sake of law can be filed against the decisions issued by the Council of State as a court of first instance and that are finalized without going through the appeal examination.