Recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey, carries great importance for the divorced couples with a divorce decree rendered by foreign courts. In order for the divorce decrees given by the foreign country courts to cause legal consequences in Turkey, the divorced couples should apply to Turkish courts for recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey or the foreign divorce decrees should be registered to the Turkish Civil Log.
After a married couple divorced with a foreign divorce decree, in order for this divorce decree to be considered valid by the Turkish administrative and legal organizations, the divorced couples apply for recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey. Because, besides having some financial consequences for the termination of the marriage union of the couples by the divorce decree, there are also some effects regarding the legal status of the children, the spouses and the inheritance law, and the Turkish administrative and legal organizations could only accept all these new legal conditions caused by the foreign divorce decree with recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey.
Through the divorce decree there can be obligation to pay alimony (debt of providing living expenses and care), or obligation to pay material or immaterial damages placed on one of the spouses, and also the custody rights of the children can be given to one of the parties. How and under what procedures the properties of the spouses shall be distributed among parties are also given in the divorce decree. In case of a divorce, the prevention of marriage due to a present marriage is lifted for the parties and the women may use their surnames before marriage. In addition, the right of inheritance of the spouses granted by marriage is terminated with the divorce.
In order for all these new legal conditions caused by the foreign divorce decree to be considered valid by the Turkish administrative and legal organizations and for transactions to be conducted in these institutions in accordance with the divorce decree, there must be a recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey or the related foreign divorce decree must be registered in the Turkish Civil Log.
If one of the parties desires to marry again or if the women wants to reuse their surnames before marriage, they should resort to recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey. If one of the parties desires to start an enforcement procedure for the alimony or damage collectables, conduct the transactions related to distribution of the properties or regarding the right of custody and conduct similar necessary transactions, he/she should resort to recognition and enforcement of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey.
In case of a divorced person claiming that he/she is the inheritor of his/her ex-spouse and thus requesting right of inheritance or filing a new divorce case in Turkey, for proving the divorce of the parties the recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey have utmost importance.
Against the Turkish administrative and legal authorities, in order to realize the transactions explained above via using the foreign divorce decree, considering the extent of the transaction requested, either foreign divorce decree is presented for recognition and enforcement or it is chosen to be registered in the Turkish Civil Log. In case of choosing the method of recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey, after the decree of recognition and enforcement is given, this decree should also be registered to the Turkish Civil Log.
Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decrees in Turkey – The Application Process
Recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey is possible by applying to the Turkish courts with a petition. The documents to be added to the petition during the application are explained in the Turkish International Private and Civil Procedure Law. According to the Turkish International Private and Civil Procedure Law, the documents to be attached to the petition for application of recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey are;
- The original of the foreign court decree approved by the authorities of the country it is given by or an confirmed sample given by the foreign court,
- Translation of the foreign court decree approved by the consulate or notary public,
- A letter approved by the authorities of the country where the decree is given that shows the decree is finalized and translation of such letter approved by the consulate or notary public,
- Apostil stamp given for the foreign court decree and the finalization letter, and the translation of the apostil stamp approved by the consulate or notary public.
Apostil stamp provides for the determination of the validity of the decree and other documents, and for use of them in a foreign country.
The legal procedure fees and expenses for recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey should also be deposited to the court cash desk while filing the case. The money collected against the service rendered by the court is called the litigation fee and all the expenses the parties undertook for the case to be processed are called the litigation expenses.
The foreign persons who file a case in Turkey and the Turkish citizens who have no residential addresses in Turkey should deposit as security during filing a case the litigation expenses that shall arise in case they lose a case they filed and the damages and losses of the opposite party. The amount of such security to be deposited shall be determined by the judge of the case considering the conditions of the case.
In case the foreign persons and Turkish citizens who do not residential addresses in Turkey have sufficient immovable assets in Turkey to meet the requested security or have collectables that are under warranty with an immovable asset security from one of their debtors present in Turkey, then there shall be no need for the security to be paid. Also, in case there is a bilateral or multilateral contract that removes the obligation to provide security mutually between the state the plaintiff is connected to and Turkey, the security shall not be requested to be deposited.
Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decrees in Turkey via Turkish Civil Log – The Application Process
Recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey via Turkish Civil Log is explained in the Regulation on the Registration of the Decisions Made by the Judicial or Administrative Authorities of Foreign Countries in Turkish Civil Log.
Documents required in the application for recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey in Turkish Civil Log are explained in the Regulation on the Registration of the Decisions Made by the Judicial or Administrative Authorities of Foreign Countries in Turkish Civil Log. According to this regulation, in the application;
- The original of the foreign court decree and its translation approved by the notary public,
- Identification card or passport photocopies of the parties of the divorce, if one of the parties is a foreigner the Turkish translation of the identification or passport of that party approved by the notary public are required.
The applications are done to the Republic of Turkey Consulate Generals or Republic of Turkey Embassy consulate branches at the country where the decree is given, or domestically to the Province Civil Registry and Citizenship Directorates.
In case there is a continuing or rejected legal case filed in Turkey related to the decrees given by the administrative or legal authorities of the foreign country, then the application shall be rejected. Also, in case that the decree given is decided to be contradictory to the Turkish public order, than the application shall be rejected.
In case the application is rejected, the Turkish courts are applied to for recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey.
Conclusion
In order for the divorce to be effective against the Turkish administrative and legal authorities, divorced couples should apply for recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey or the divorce decrees should be registered to the Turkish Civil Log. These transactions can be realized and followed by the aid of Turkish attorneys who shall be authorized with a power of attorney containing special authorities even if the parties are not present in Turkey.
The power of attorneys can be issued at the Republic of Turkey Consulate Generals or notaries present in the foreign countries. In case the power of attorneys are issued by the notary publics of the foreign country, these power of attorneys should be given apostil stamp and their notary or consulate approved translations shall be required.
As the lawyers of the Çoba & Çelik Law Firm, we can fulfill in proxy in the name of our clients the recognition of foreign divorce decrees in Turkey and their registration in the Turkish Civil Log. In case you want to discuss the matter or need more information you may contact us anytime.