Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 7, 1909

File No. 10044/376.

Ambassador Straus to the Secretary of State.

American Embassy,
Constantinople, November 19, 1909.

No. 41]

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith for the files of the department the copy, in duplicate, of the Ottoman Constitution, together with unofficial French and English translations of the same as such copies do not appear to have been previously transmitted by the embassy.

I have, etc.,

Oscar S. Straus.

[Inclosure.]

Constitution of the Ottoman Empire.

[As revised August 5/18, 1909.]

Art. 1. The Ottoman Empire comprises the actual countries and possessions and the privileged provinces.

It forms an indivisible whole no part of which can ever be detached for any reason whatsoever.

Art. 2. Constantinople is the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

This city possesses, to the exclusion of the other cities of the Empire, no privilege or immunity peculiar to itself.

Art. 3. The sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, which unites in the person of the Sovereign the supreme Caliphate of Islamism, belongs to the eldest of the princes of the Osman dynasty, in accordance with the rules established ab antiquo. When he ascends the throne, the Sovereign swears before the General Assembly, or, if it is not in session at its first meeting, to respect the provisions of the Constitution and to remain faithful to the fatherland and the nation.

Art. 4. His Imperial Majesty the Sultan is, in his character of supreme Caliph, the protector of the Mohammedan religion. He is the Sovereign and Padishah of all the Ottomans.

Art. 5. His Imperial Majesty the Sultan is irresponsible; his person is sacred.

Art. 6. The liberty of the members of the Imperial Ottoman dynasty, their personal goods whether movable or immovable, their civil list throughout their lives, are under the guarantee of all.

Art. 7. His Imperial Majesty counts among his sovereign prerogatives: the mention of his name in the mosques during public prayer; the coining of money; the bestowal according to special regulations of grades and decorations; the nomination to the high public offices, according to the special laws; the choice and nomination of the grand vizier and the sheik-ul-islam as well as the investiture of the members of the cabinet in their offices, which cabinet the grand vizier forms and presents for his approval, and, in case of necessity, the dismissal and change of ministers according to the rules; the sanction, the promulgation, and the putting into force of the general laws; the elaboration of the rules concerning the operations of the departments of the State and the method of enforcing the laws; the maintaining and execution of the prescriptions of the civil and religious laws; the investiture of the chiefs of the privileged provinces according to the forms which have been granted to them; the command of the land and naval forces; the declaration of war; the making of peace; the commutation or remission of the penalties imposed by the criminal courts; the proclamation of general amnesties approved by the national assembly; the opening and closing of the sessions of parliament; the convocation of the national assembly which is anticipated under extraordinary circumstances; the dissolution of the chamber of deputies, with the consent of the Senate in accordance with Article 35, but only for the purpose of proceeding to new elections and to the convocation of the new assembly within three months; the conclusion of all treaties.

However, the approval of Parliament is necessary for the conclusion of treaties which concern peace, commerce, the cession or annexation of territory, the fundamental and personal rights of Ottoman subjects, or which require an expenditure by the State. Should any change of ministers be made while Parliament is not in session, the responsibility resulting from this change shall belong to the new cabinet.

concerning ottoman public law.

Art. 8. All subjects of the Empire are called Ottomans without distinction, regardless of the religion which they may profess.

The quality of Ottoman is acquired and lost according to the rules specified by law.

Art. 9. All Ottomans enjoy individual liberty on the condition of not making attempts against the liberty of others.

Art. 10. The liberty of the individual is absolutely inviolable. No one can, under any pretext, be arrested or made to suffer any penalty except according to the forms and in the cases prescribed by the religious and civil laws.

Art. 11. Islamism is the religion of the State.

While maintaining this faith, the State protects the free exercise of all the creeds recognized in the, Empire and upholds the religious privileges granted to the different communities, subject to the condition that public order and decency are not disturbed.

Art. 12. The press is free within the limits prescribed by law. It can, in no way, be submitted to censorship previous to publication.

Art. 13. Ottoman subjects have the right to organize commercial associations, whether industrial or agricultural, within the limits set by the laws and regulations.

Art. 14. One or more persons of Ottoman nationality have the right to present petitions to the competent authorities upon the subject of infractions of the laws or regulations, committed either to their personal injury or to the prejudice of public welfare; and may likewise present to the Ottoman General Assembly, in the form of a claim, signed petitions to complain of the conduct of the officials or employes of the State.

Art. 15. Education is free.

Every Ottoman subject may pursue public or private courses of instruction, upon the condition that he conform to the laws.

Art. 16. All schools are placed under the supervision of the State. It will endeavor, in the proper ways, to unify and systematize the education given to all Ottoman subjects, but there shall be no infringement upon the religious education of the various communities.

Art. 17. All Ottoman subjects are equal before the law. They possess the same rights and owe the same duties toward the country, without distinction of religion.

Art. 18. Admission to the public service is upon the condition of a knowledge of Turkish, which is the official language of the State.

Art. 19. All Ottoman subjects are admitted to the public service in accordance to their ability, merit and capacity.

Art. 20. The assessment and apportionment of taxes are determined, conformably to the law and special enactments, in proportion to the wealth of each taxable.

Art. 21. The right of ownership in real and personal property, when regularly established, is guaranteed.

No condemnation may take place except for duly established reasons of public utility and upon a previous payment, according to law, of the value of the property to be condemned.

Art. 22. Domicile is inviolate.

The authorities may not forcibly enter the domicile of any person except in cases determined by law.

Art. 23. No one may be compelled to appear before any other than the competent tribunal, following the law of procedure which may be imposed.

Art. 24. The confiscation of property, forced labor, and the “djéroemé” (extortion under the form of a pecuniary penalty) are prohibtied.

However, the contributions legally levied in time of war and the measures necessitated by a state of war are exempted from this provision.

Art. 25. No sum of money may be collected under the name of impost or tax, or under any other denomination, except by virtue of a law.

Art. 26. Torture and examination by torture, in all forms, are entirely and absolutely forbidden.

concerning ministers.

Art. 27. Just as His Imperial Majesty the Sultan invests the persons whom his high confidence calls to them with the offices of Grand Vizier and Sheik-ul-Islam, so also he confirms in their functions by Imperial iradé the other ministers whom the Grand Vizier, charged with the formation of the cabinet, chooses and proposes.

Art. 28. The Council of Ministers meets under the presidency of the Grand Vizier, and has among its attributes the important interior and foreign affairs of the state. Those of its decisions which must be submitted to the sanction of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan are rendered executory by imperial iradé.

Art. 29. Each chief of a ministerial department, within the limits of his functions, administers the affairs which fall within the province of his department, and those which lie beyond this limit are referred to the Grand Vizier. The Grand Vizier acts upon the reports which are sent to him by the heads of the various departments, either in submitting them, if there is occasion, to the Council of Ministers and then in presenting them for the imperial sanction, or, in the opposite case, in confirming them himself or submitting them to the decision of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan. A special law will determine these different categories for each ministerial department. The Sheik-ul-Islam submits directly to the Sultan for his approval such matters as do not require ministerial consideration.

Art. 30. The ministers are collectively responsible to the Chamber of Deputies for the general policy of the government, and individually for their individual acts. Decisions which require imperial approval are effective only if they bear the signature of the Sultan and are countersigned by the Grand Vizier as well as by the proper minister, who thus assumes the responsibility for them. The decisions taken by the Council of Ministers shall bear the signatures of all the Ministers, and should these decisions require imperial approval they shall be preceded by the signature of the sovereign.

Art. 31. If one or more members of the Chamber of Deputies desire to bring complaint against a minister, because of his responsibility and on the ground of acts which the Chamber has the right to know, the demand containing the complaint is given to the president, who returns it, within three days, to the bureau empowered, in virtue of an internal regulation, to examine the complaint and to decide whether there is occasion to submit it to the deliberations of the Chamber.

The decision of the bureau is by a majority vote, after the necessary information has been secured and explanations furnished by the Minister concerned.

If the bureau is of the opinion that the complaint should be submitted to the Chamber, the report containing this decision is read in a public session, and the Chamber, after having heard the explanations of the Minister concerned, summoned to be present at the session, or his delegate, votes by an absolute majority of two-thirds upon the findings of this report.

In case of the adoption of these findings, an address, demanding the trial of the Minister concerned, is transmitted to the Grand Vizier, who submits it to the sanction of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, and its return before the High Court is by virtue of imperial iradé.

Art. 32. A special law will determine the procedure to be followed in the trial of ministers.

Art. 33. There is no difference between Ministers and private persons as far as suits which are of a private nature and separate from their official functions are concerned.

Suits of this kind are prosecuted before the usual courts.

Art. 34. The Minister whose trial has been authorized by the High Court is suspended from his functions until such time as he may be discharged from the accusation against him.

Art. 35. In case of disagreement between the Ministers and the Chamber of Deputies, if the Ministers persist in their proposal and if the Chamber opposes to it a formal and repeated refusal the ministry is obliged to submit to the decision of the Chamber or to resign. In case of such resignation, if the new ministry persists in the project of the former one, and if the Chamber again rejects it by a statement of its reasons duly voted, H. I. M. the Sultan can dissolve the Chamber of Deputies in order to cause new elections to be held, according to the rules stated in Art. 7. But if the new Chamber persists in the decision taken by the former one, the acceptance of this decision becomes obligatory.

Art. 36. In case of urgent necessity, if the General Assembly is not in session, and if there is not time enough to convoke the Chamber that it may pass a law destined to guard the State against a danger or to maintain public security, the ministry may adopt measures which have the force of a provisional law until the convocation of Parliament, provided that these are not contrary to the provisions of the Constitution, and provided that they are sanctioned by imperial, iradé and submitted to the General Assembly as soon as the latter is assembled.

Art. 37. Each Minister has the right to be present at the sessions of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies, or to be represented by one of the higher officials of his department.

He has also the right to be heard before any member of the Chamber who has asked permission to speak.

Art. 38. Whenever he is requested, by a majority, to appear before the Chamber of Deputies to furnish explanations, he is obliged to answer the questions addressed to him, either in person or by delegating the duty to a superior official of his department. Nevertheless he has the right to postpone his answer if he considers it necessary, taking upon himself the responsibility for this postponement. Every vote of lack of confidence passed by the majority of the deputies, following the interpellation of a minister, compells his fall; just as, if this vote of lack of confidence is passed against the president of the Council, it causes the fall of the entire ministry.

concerning public officials.

Art. 39. All nominations to the different branches of the public service shall be made in accordance with the regulations which will determine the qualifications of merit and ability required for admission to the service of the State.

No official appointed under these conditions may be dismissed or changed unless it be proved that his conduct legally justifies his dismissal; unless he has presented his resignation; or unles his dismissal be considered indispensable by the government.

Officials who may have given evidence of good conduct and of honesty, as well as those whom the government considers it indispensable to place on the unattached list, will be entitled, either to promotion, to a retirement pension, or to the salary allowed to those on the unattached list, conformably to the provisions which may be determined by special enactment.

Art. 40. The duties of the different positions shall be fixed by special laws. Every official is responsible within the scope of his duties.

Art. 41. Every official is required to obey his superior; but obedience is due only to orders given within the limits prescribed by law.

For acts contrary to law, the fact that he has obeyed a superior will not remove responsibility from the official who has executed them.

concerning the general assembly.

Art. 42. The General Assembly is composed of two houses, the Chamber of Lords or Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 43. The two chambers composing the Assembly will convene upon November 1st of each year without being called. The opening will take place by imperial iradé. The closing, set for the first of the following March, will also be made by virtue of an imperial iradé. Neither of the two chambers may assemble outside of the period of session of the other chamber.

Art. 44. According to circumstances H. I. M. the Sultan may, either on his own initiative or on the written demand of the absolute majority of the Deputies, advance the date of opening of the General Assembly, or he may extend the length of the session, either of his own accord or on the decision of the Assembly itself.

Art. 45. The ceremony of opening takes place in the presence of H. I. M the Sultan, either in person or represented by the Grand Vizier, and in the presence of the ministers and members of the two chambers.

An imperial address is read, showing the domestic condition of the Empire and the state of its foreign relations, in the course of the preceding year, and suggesting the measures the adoption of which is considered necessary for the following year.

Art. 46. All the members of the General Assembly take oath to be faithful to H. I. M. the Sultan and to the country, to observe the Constitution, to fulfill the obligation resting upon them, and to refrain from all acts contrary to their duties.

The administration of the oath takes place, in the case of new members, at the opening of the session, in the presence of the Grand Vizier; and, after the opening, in the presence of the respective presiding officers, and in public session of the Chamber to which they belong.

Art. 47. The members of the General Assembly are free in the expression of their opinions and in their votes.

None of them may be bound by instructions or promises, nor influenced by threats.

No member may be held accountable for the opinions expressed or the votes given by him in the course of the deliberations of the Chamber to which he belongs, unless he has transgressed the rules and regulations of that chamber; in which case the provisions contained in its rules and regulations are applicable.

Art. 48. Every member of the General Assembly, who is accused, by an absolute majority of two-thirds of the Chamber to which he belongs, of treason, of an attempt to violate the constitution, of extortion, or who has been legally sentenced to imprisonment or exile, is deprived of his office of senator or deputy.

The judgment and the application of the penalty lies with a competent tribunal.

Art. 49. Each member of the General Assembly votes in person. He may absent himself at the time of a vote.

Art. 50. No one may be a member of both chambers at the same time.

Art. 51. No session may be held in either chamber unless a majority of the members be present.

Except in cases where a majority of two-thirds is required, all resolutions are taken by an absolute majority of the members present.

In case of equal division, the president casts the deciding vote.

Art. 52. All petitions relating to matters of private interest, presented to either chamber, are rejected, if the investigations to which they give rise result in establishing that the petitioner did not address himself in the first place to the public officials concerned, or to the authority represented by these officials.

Art. 53. The initiative in the proposition of a law or in the modification of an existing law lies with the ministry, the Senators and the Deputies. Every new law and every change of a law by one of the two chambers is sent to the other, whence after approval it is presented to H. I. M. the Sultan for his sanction.

Art. 54. Proposed laws are first submitted to the discussion and decision of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate; but they have the force of law only if after having been adopted by the two chambers they are sanctioned by imperial iradé. Every law presented to the sovereign must be sanctioned by him within two months or be returned for reconsideration. A law returned to Parliament for reconsideration must receive there a majority of two-thirds. Laws whose urgency has been declared are sanctioned or returned to Parliament within ten days.

Art. 55. A bill is not considered as passed unless it has been voted successively by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate by a majority vote, article by article, and unless the complete bill has received a majority in each of the two chambers.

Art. 56. With the exception of the Ministers, their representatives and officials summoned by special invitation, no one may be introduced into either chamber nor be permitted to make any communication, whether he presents himself in his own name or as the representative of a group of individuals.

Art. 57. The deliberations of the Chambers are conducted in the Turkish language.

The bills are printed and distributed before the day set for their discussion.

Art. 58. Votes are expressed (1) by roll call, (2) by outward signs, or (3) by secret ballot. The taking of a vote by secret ballot is subject to the decision of the Chamber, requiring a majority of the members present.

Art. 59. The function of maintaining order within each chamber is exercised by its presiding officer.

concerning the senate.

Art. 60. The president and the members of the Senate are directly appointed by H. I. M. the Sultan.

The number of Senators may not exceed one-third of the number of the members of the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 61. To be eligible for the office of Senator it is necessary to have shown oneself, by one’s acts, worthy of public confidence, or to have rendered signal services to the State; and to be at least forty years of age.

Art. 62. Senators are appointed for life.

The office of Senator may be conferred upon persons unattached but having exercised the functions of minister, governor general (vali), commander of an army corps, cazasker (superior judge), ambassador or minister plenipotentiary, patriarch, khakhambashi (grand rabbi), generals of a division of the land and naval forces, and, in general, upon persons possessing the necessary qualifications.

The members of the Senate appointed, upon their own request, to other positions, lose their quality of senator.

Art. 63. The compensation of a Senator is fixed at the monthly sum of ten thousand piasters ($390.00).

A Senator who receives from the Treasury a salary or emoluments on other grounds has a right to the difference only, if their amount is less than ten thousand piasters.

If this sum total is equal or superior to the compensation of a Senator, he will continue to receive the amount.

Art. 64. The Senate considers the bills or the budget transmitted to it by the Chamber of Deputies.

If, in the course of the consideration of a bill, the Senate discovers a provision prejudicial to the sovereign rights of His Majesty the Sultan, to liberty, to the Constitution, to the territorial integrity of the Empire, to the domestic security of the country, to the public defense, to good morals, it will reject this provision by a direct vote, or it will return it, together with its comments, to the Chamber of Deputies, demanding amendment or modification in the line of these suggestions.

The bills adopted by the Senate are invested with its approval and transmitted to the Grand Vizier.

The Senate considers the petitions which are presented to it; it transmits to the Grand Vizier those petitions which it finds worthy of such transmission, adding its own recommendations.

concerning the chamber of deputies.

Art. 65. The number of Deputies is fixed at the rate of one representative for 50,000 male inhabitants of Ottoman nationality.

Art. 66. Elections take place by secret ballot. The rules regulating elections will be determined by special enactment.

Art. 67. The commission of a deputy is incompatible with other public offices, except that of minister.

Every public official, elected as a deputy, is free to accept or to refuse, but in case of acceptance he must resign his office.

Art. 68. The following persons may not be elected to the office of deputy.

1. Those who are not of Ottoman nationality.

2. Those who, by virtue of a special rule in effect, enjoy the immunities attached to the foreign service with which they are connected.

3. Those who cannot speak and understand Turkish.

4. Those who are not over 30 years of age.

5. Those attached to the service of a private individual.

6. Bankrupts who have not been reinstated.

7. Those who are disbarred by reason of their notorious conduct.

8. Those who have received a judicial sentence, as long as this sentence has not been cancelled.

9. Those who do not enjoy their civil rights.

10. Those who claim to belong to a foreign nation.

After the expiration of the first period of four years, one of the conditions of eligibility for the position of deputy will be the ability to read, and as much as possible, to write Turkish.

Art. 69. The general election of deputies takes place every four years.

The commission of each deputy continues in force for four years only, but he is eligible to reelection.

Art. 70. The general elections commence, at the latest, four months before the first of November, which is the date fixed for the meeting of the Chamber.

Art. 71. Each member of the Chamber of Deputies represents the Ottoman nation in its entirety, and not only the district which has elected him.

Art. 72. The electors are restricted in the choice of their deputies to the inhabitants of the province to which they belong.

Art. 73. In case of the dissolution of the Chamber by Imperial iradé, the general elections must begin in sufficient time for the Chamber to be able to reassemble, at the latest, within six months after the date of dissolution.

Art. 74. In case of death, of judicial interdiction, of prolonged absence, of the loss of the position of deputy by a legal sentence or through the acceptance of a public office, a new deputy is chosen, in accordance with the prescriptions of the electoral law, and within such a period that at the latest he may make use of his commission in the following session.

Art. 75. The commission of a deputy elected to fill a vacancy is valid only until the next general election.

Art. 76. Each deputy will he allowed thirty thousand piasters ($1,290.00) per session by the Treasury, as well as travelling expenses determined comformably to the provisions of the law regulating the civil officials of the State, and calculated on the basis of a monthly salary of five thousand piasters. Each deputy will also be allowed a compensation of five thousand piasters [$215.00] per month when the session exceeds its legal duration.

Art. 77. In every session the Chamber of Deputies elects by a majority vote a president and two vice-presidents, whose names it submits to the imperial approval.

Art. 78. The sessions of the Chamber of Deputies are public.

The Chamber may, however, hold a secret session if the question is raised by the Ministers, by the president, or by fifteen members, and if this proposition is voted in secret session.

Art. 79. Except for flagrant offences, during the time of session, a deputy may be arrested or prosecuted only after a decision granting permission to prosecute has been adopted by the majority of the Chamber.

Art. 80. The Chamber examines in detail the general expenses of the government and fixes their sum in the presence of the Ministers, in the same manner as it also determines in their presence the nature and amount of the revenues to be imposed to meet these expenses, their mode of division and of collection.

concerning the judicial power.

Art. 81. Judges named in conformity with the special law on the subject and provided with the commission of office (Bérat), are irremovable; but they may resign.

The advancement of the judges in their hierarchical order, their transference, their retirement, their recall in case of legal conviction, are subject to the provisions of the same law.

This law shall determine the conditions and qualifications necessary for the exercise of the functions of judge or the other functions of a judicial order.

Art. 82. The sittings of all the tribunals are public.

The publication of the judgments is authorized.

However, in the cases specified by law, tribunals may hold their sittings in private.

Art. 83. For the purposes of his own defence any person may make use before a tribunal of the means permitted by law.

Art. 84. No tribunal may refuse, under any pretext whatsoever, to hear a case which lies within its jurisdiction.

Neither may it stop or postpone the trial, after it has started the process of examination or of questioning, unless there is renunciation of the suit upon the part of the plaintiff.

However, in penal matters, the action for the public shall be continued in accordance with law, even in the case where the plaintiff has abandoned the suit.

Art. 85. Each case is heard by the tribunal within whose jurisdiction it lies. Suits between private individuals and the State lie within the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts.

Art. 86. No undue influence may be exercised upon the courts.

Art. 87. Matters concerning the Cheri (Sacred Law) are judged by the tribunals of the Cheri; the trial of civil cases belong to the civil tribunals.

Art. 88. The different categories of the tribunals, their competence, their jurisdiction and the emoluments of the judges are regulated by the laws.

Art. 89. Outside of the ordinary courts, there may not be instituted under any name whatsoever extraordinary tribunals or commissions to judge certain special matters.

However, arbitration (takkin) and the nomination of muvella (delegate judge or special commissioner) are permitted within the forms determined by law.

Art. 90. No judge may combine his functions with other functions remunerated by the State.

Art. 91. Imperial attorneys shall be appointed, charged with the prosecution of actions on behalf of the State.

Their duties and their order (hierarchy) are fixed by law.

concerning the high court.

Art. 92. The High Court is composed of thirty members, of whom ten are senators, ten councillors of State, and ten chosen among the presidents and members of the Court of Cassation and of the Court of Appeals.

All members are selected by lot.

The High Court is called, when there is occasion, by imperial iradé and meets in the Senate building. Its duties consist of trying Ministers;

The president and members of the Court of Cassation;

And all other persons accused of the crime of “lésé-majesé” or rebellion.

Art. 93. The High Court is composed of two Chambers: the Chamber of Accusation and the Chamber of Judgment.

The Chamber of Accusation is composed of nine members chosen by lot among the members of the High Court, of whom three are Senators, three Councillors of State, and three members of the Court of Cassation or of the Court of Appeal.

Art. 94. A case may be sent to the Chamber of Judgment by the Chamber of Accusation upon the vote of a majority of two-thirds of its members.

Members of the Chamber of Accusation cannot take part in the deliberations of the Chamber of Judgment.

Art. 95. The Chamber of Judgment is composed of twenty-one members, of whom seven are Senators, seven Councillors of State, and seven members of the Court of Cassation or of the Court of Appeals.

It gives judgment by a majority of two-thirds of its members and in conformity with the laws in force, upon the cases which are submitted to it by the Chamber of Accusation.

Its verdicts are not subject to appeal or to review by the courts.

concerning finances.

Art. 96. No tax for the profit of the State may be established, assessed or collected except by virtue of a law.

Art. 97. The budget contains the provisions regulating the revenues and expenses of the government.

The taxes for the profit of the State are governed by this law, as to their assessment, their division and their collection.

Art. 98. The consideration of and voting upon the law of the budget shall be by articles.

The annexed tables, showing in detail the revenues and expenses, are divided into sections, chapters and articles, in accordance with the model prescribed by law.

These tables are voted upon by chapters.

Art. 99. The proposed budget law is submitted to the Chamber of Deputies immediately after the opening of the session, in order to render possible its execution by the beginning of the period with which it is concerned.

Art. 100. No extra budgetary disbursement may be made from the government funds except by virtue of a law.

Art. 101. In a case of urgency resulting from extraordinary circumstances the ministers may, during the recess of the General Assembly, set aside the required funds and may effect a disbursement not provided for in the budget, provided that at the beginning of its next session they give notice of the fact to the General Assembly by the proposition of a law.

Art. 102. The budget is voted for the period of one year; it remains in force as a law only for the year with which it is concerned.

However, if by reason of exceptional circumstances the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved before taking a vote on the budget, the ministers may apply, through a measure authorized by imperial iradé the budget of the preceding year until the time of the next session; but the provisional application of this budget may not exceed one year’s duration.

Art. 103. The law confirming the budget shows the amount of the actual receipts and the payments effected upon the revenues, and the expenditures of the year with which it is concerned.

Its form and divisions must be the same as those of the budget.

Art. 104. A proposed law definitely confirming a budget is submitted to the Chamber of Deputies within a period of four years at the latest, beginning from the end of the year with which it was concerned.

Art. 105. There shall be Instituted a Court of Accounts, charged with the examination of the operations of the financial accountants as well as with the annual statements presented by the various ministerial departments.

Each year it shall submit to the Chamber of Deputies a special report comprising the results of its labors, accompanied by its remarks.

At the end of every three years it shall present to His Majesty the Sultan, through the Grand Vizier, a report showing the financial situation.

Art. 106. The Court of Accounts shall be composed of twelve irremovable members, named by Imperial iradé.

None of them may be recalled unless the proposition for his recall be approved by a majority vote of the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 107. The conditions and qualifications demanded of the members of the Court of Accounts, the details of their functions, the rules applicable in case of their resignation, replacement, promotion and retirement, as well as the organization of the bureaus of the Court, shall be determined by a special law.

concerning the provincial administration.

Art. 108. The administration of the provinces shall be based upon the principle of decentralization.

The details of the organization shall be determined by a law.

Art. 109. A special law will regulate upon a broader basis the election of the administrative council of a province (vilayet), of a district (sandjak), and of a canton (kaza), as well as of a general council, which meets annually at the capital of each province.

Art. 110. The functions of the general provincial council shall be fixed by the same special law, and will comprise:—

The right to consider projects of public utility, such as the establishment of means of communication, the organization of agricultural banks, the development of industry, of commerce and of agriculture, and the propagation of public instruction;

The right to bring complaint before the proper authorities in order to obtain redress for acts committed contrary to law, either in the division or collection of taxes or in any other matter.

Art. 111. In every canton (kaza) there shall be a council for each of the different communities. This council shall be charged with the control of

1. The Administration of the revenues from immovable (real) property or religious foundations (fonds vakoufs) whose special use is fixed by the express disposition of the founders or by custom.

2. The management of funds or property set aside by testamentary disposition for acts of charity or benevolence.

3. The administration of the property of orphans, in conformity with the special law on the subject.

Each council shall be composed of members elected by the community which it represents, in accordance with rules to be established.

These councils shall be responsible to the local authorities and to the general provincial councils.

Art. 112. Municipal affairs, at Constantinople and in the provinces, shall be administered by elected municipal councils.

The organization of municipal councils, their functions, and the mode of election of their members shall be determined by a special law.

miscellaneous provisions.

Art. 113. In case of a state of affairs or indications of such a nature as to render disturbances probable at some point in the territory of the Empire, the Imperial Government has the right to proclaim a state of siege.

The effect of a state of siege is the temporary suspension of the civil laws.

The manner of administration of localities declared in a state of siege shall be regulated by a special law.

Art. 114. Primary instruction is obligatory upon all Ottomans. The details of its administration will be fixed by a special law.

Art. 115. No provision of the Constitution may be suspended or left dormant under any pretext whatsoever.

Art. 116. In case of necessity, duly established, the Constitution may be amended in certain of its provisions. This amendment is subject to the following conditions:

Every proposed amendment, presented either by the ministry or by one or the other chamber, must be submitted in the first place to the consideration of the Chamber of Deputies.

If the proposition is approved by a majority of two-thirds of the members of this chamber, it is transmitted to the Senate.

Should the Senate likewise adopt the proposed amendment by a majority of two thirds of the Senators, it shall be submitted to the sanction of H. I. M. the Sultan.

If it is sanctioned by Imperial iradé, it shall have the force of law.

Every provision of the constitution which is made the object of a proposed change remains in force until the time when the amendment, after having been submitted to the consideration of both chambers, has been sanctioned by imperial iradé.

Art. 117. The interpretation of the laws belongs to

1. The Court of Cassation, for civil and penal laws;

2. The Council of State, for administrative laws;

3. The Senate, for the provisions of the Constitution.

Art. 118. Laws, enactments, usages and customs actually in force shall continue to be applied in so far as they have not been abrogated or modified by other laws and enactments. In the elaboration of laws and enactments, their basis shall be the religious, civil, and moral prescriptions conformable to the needs of humanity and of the times.

Three other articles have been added to the Constitution, which have received the numbers 119, 120 and 121, in the expectation of their being placed under their special headings at the time of the final examination of the constitutional revision.

These three articles are as follows:

Art. 119. Documents and letters delivered to post offices may be opened without an order from an investigating magistrate or from a court.

Art. 120. Ottoman subjects have the right to assemble in meeting provided they respect the provisions of the law ad hoc. The formation of organizations prejudicial to good morals or having as their object an attempt against the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire, a change in the form of the Constitution and of the government, an agitation against the provisions of the constitutional law, or the political separation of the different Ottoman peoples is forbidden. The formation of secret societies is also absolutely forbidden.

Art. 121. The deliberations of the Senate are public. However, upon the proposal of the ministers or of five Senators to deliberate behind closed doors upon an important question, the session hall is cleared except of members of the Assembly, and the acceptance or rejection of the proposition is submitted to a majority vote.