An Easier Way to get the Divorce Decisions Recognized in Turkey:
It is never easy to break a marriage. The procedure to finalize the divorce can be also very stressful for parties. Here below are some basic information about Turkish divorces, we hope this information makes the procedure easier for couples who need this advice.
If you are married to a Turkish citizen or registered your marriage that took place in another county in Turkey, you should bear in mind that Absolute Decree from a foreign court is not going to be automatically acknowledged in Turkey.
But this does not mean that you have to go through the same and stressful divorce procedures again in Turkey.
The International Private and Civil Procedure Law was published in 2007 and have not been changed since then. This law suggests that the decisions of a foreign court’s regarding the divorce is needed to be recognized with a lawsuit in Turkey. The stressed lawsuit is ‘Recognition and Enforcement Lawsuit’ which intends to make a foreign court’s decision valid in Turkey as well as the outcomes of it.
Early 2017, on 29th April 2017, a KHK (which is a decree-law) numbered 609 was published regarding the divorce, annulment of wedding and avoidance of wedding. This law has introduced an easier and relatively quicker way.
To use this way to get the divorce recognized in Turkey, there are certain conditions needed to be fulfilled. These conditions are:
- The decision of the foreign court must be absolute in the terms of that country’s laws.
2. Both parties in the relation to the decision must either apply personally or with their lawyers to the competent authority determined by the Turkish authorities.
3. The decision made by the foreign court must not be against the Turkish Law.
If the parties are not able to apply together to specified authorities or the given decision is somehow against the Turkish Law, the only way for this decision to be acknowledged in Turkey is to file a ‘recognition and enforcement lawsuit’.
