ABSTRACT
One of the classic powers of the president and heads of state is the power of amnesty. The limits and use of this authority differ from country to country. While the general amnesty eliminates all the consequences of conviction, the special amnesty is only a matter for the execution regime. In the Turkish constitutional system, the President has the authority to commute or remit the sentences imposed on persons, on grounds of chronic illness, disability or old age. When evaluated in the context of its definitions, it can be stated that the President’s power of amnesty included in the 1924, 1961 and 1982 constitutions is special amnesty. The special amnesty power of the President has a multidisciplinary nature that is within the scope of political science, public administration, constitutional law, administrative law, penal law and forensic medicine. The intense execution of the amnesty process for those convicted of terrorist crimes during the President Ahmet Necdet Sezer period drew the attention of the public to this area. The President’s special amnesty practices attract the attention of the public in cases where this process is run for people who are well known by the public. However, probably due to the multidisciplinary nature mentioned above, the subject remained in an area of relatively little academic interest. In the study, firstly, the the- oretical foundations and infrastructure of the special amnesty granted to the President are discussed. Afterwards, the constitutional basis of the issue, the shape, nature and limits of the President’s power of pardon were examined in the light of the special amnesty decrees.