State and Classes in the Debates on articles 141 and 142 of the Turkish Penal Code

The controversial articles 141 and 142 of the Turkish Penal Code, which were introduced as part of a package of penal-reform in 1936, were criticized for violating the right of organization and freedom of speech by prohibiting class based organizations and propaganda. This study examines the articles in regard to stateclass relations in Turkey. The logic behind each amendment and jurisprudence are interpreted in the context of social and political circumstances of the time by particularly focusing on the repercussions of those circumstances on state-class relations. It is argued that “classless society” approach of the Early Republican years was replaced by, first, a ban on politics aiming at constructing a “classless society”. Eventually capitalism was accepted as the “fundamental order” of the state and granted immunity by law authorities against anti-capitalist politics. The historical pattern, which is scrutinized in the light of the role of law in class societies, exhibits that in Turkey the law mechanism in case of class politics can be considered as part of the oppressive apparatus.