RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TURKISH LAW REGARDING THE SURNAME OF A MARRIED WOMAN (original) (raw)
Related papers
THE MYTH OF GENDER EQUALITY IN TURKEY: HER NAME OR SIR-NAME
Gender equality is one of the most contentious matters in the contemporary Turkish society. Unlike in many other parts of the developed world, Turkish women still struggle to use their maiden name, as well as to pass it on to their children upon marriage. A woman's surname is of crucial importance to her identity. Despite the fact that Turkey is a part of the European Civil Law tradition and the Turkish Civil Code has a specific provision regarding women's surnames, Turkey has failed to grant its female population a choice in relation to their surname after marriage. The European Court of Human Rights has, in the past, censured Turkey on this very issue. The censure prompted Turkish lawmakers to accept an individual application mechanism before the Turkish Constitutional Court. This mechanism, however, does not guarantee gender equality or a choice for women to maintain their maiden name after marriage in Turkey. This article examines gender equality in Turkey through the problem of lack of right for wives to choose their marital surname upon marriage and exposes a gap between Turkey's domestic law practice and its international commitments by analyzing the case law of the Turkish judiciary and the European Court of Human Rights.
Wolters Kluwer , 2020
Introduction to Turkish Law reflects major changes in Turkish law that had happened after the publication of the sixth edition. This edition covers the most significant of these changes, including the constitutional amendment of 2017 leading to a radical change of the system of government and introduction of new versions of three major codes: Turkish Code of Obligations, Turkish Commercial Code and Code of Civil Procedure. Encompassing all the major fields of legal practice, this edition provides an essential understanding of the Turkish legal system to enable users to become familiar with the law and legal processes in Turkey. What’s in this book: Twelve chapters, written by Turkish experts and scholars in their areas of specialty, focus on particular fields and provide the Turkish equivalents of the English terminology. The book covers the following topics: sources of Turkish law; constitutional law; administrative law; legal persons and business associations; family law; law of succession; law of property; law of obligations; penal law; and laws of civil and penal procedures.
Building the Nation with Ancient Names: The Surname Law in Turkey (1934)
Prof. Dr. Bige Sükan’a Armağan Cumhuriyet Tarihi Yazıları / Essays on History of Turkish Republic in Honour of Professor Bige Sükan, 2022
This chapter aims to address the Surname Law (Soyadı Kanunu) adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 21June 1934. The law was one of the last Kemalist reforms initiated after the political revolution led by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha against the Ottoman rule. It came to the fore to put an end to the identity confusion both in the relations among individuals and their relations with the modern state, which was in the process of formation since the beginning of the nineteenth century. All modern states, by definition, require clear and intelligible personal identities for meticulous taxation and conscription. However, among Turks, there was no tradition of using surnames to distinguish individuals from one another.
Ankara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 2024
On 27 June 2023, the ECtHR held unanimously in Nurcan Bayraktar judgment that there has been a violation of Article 8 and Article 14 in conjunction with Article 12 of the ECHR. The violation arose from the application of Article 132 of the TCC which imposes a 300-day waiting period on divorced women to remarry, unless they lodge an application to a Family Court to lift the waiting period by proving with a medical report that they are not pregnant. The Court concludes that obligation to produce medical evidence to prove that the applicant was not pregnant -which can only be obtained by means of medical examination- constituted an interference with the applicant’s exercise of her right to respect for her private life, considering that it was not necessary in a democratic society. This study aims to summarise and review this judgment, which was delivered in French, in English for a wider audience1, by providing a background information on Article 132 of the TCC.
Aftermath of a Revolution: A Case Study of Turkish Family Law
Pace Int'l L. Rev., 2005
In this paper, I challenge the conventional wisdom that secular laws of the Turkish Republic have constituted a clear and absolute break from the Islamic laws of the country’s predecessor, the Ottoman Empire. Specifically, I discuss in detail the adoption of and amendments to the Turkish Civil Codes of 1926 and 2002, which govern various matters including family relations, marriage and divorce. A detailed analysis of family law provisions contained in both these Turkish Civil Codes demonstrates that although significant progress has been made toward gender equality, certain Islamic laws dealing with female sexuality survive in their entirety, and in contradiction to the general spirit of gender egalitarianism of the codes. I argue that this is not anomalous considering that revolutions are often built upon inherited politico-legal and social foundations, and thus often fail to completely eradicate the past.