What Is a Divorce? | Divorce According to Turkish Law

Divorce According to Turkish Law | First of all, it should be stated that in Turkish/Switzerland laws, there are more than one reasons to end a marriage relationship. These are, ending a marriage that is not valid in normal conditions called nullity, cancellation of the marriage in conditions when one or more of the marriage vows are invalid and end of a marriage that is valid by divorcing. Additionally, death, presumption of death, declaration of absence or one of them having a gender changing surgery. But as our topic is divorcing, we should mention other ways of ending a marriage as well.

Divorcing in Turkish Civil Law

1) Special Reasons to Get Divorced

a) Adultery (Cheating)

Adultery, as stated in Turkish civil law article 161, is an absolute reason for divorce. It is a state of one of the partners having a sexual intercourse with another person of opposite gender. This should be done deliberately and consciously by the partner. Proving adultery is not possible most of the time. To make proving adultery easier to other partner, situations like one of the partners spending a night, flirting, having an unusual intimacy with a foreigner is accepted as presumption. The partner who is willing to have a divorce suit should sue the other partner before the foreclosure (6 months and 5 years in all cases) and should not have stated declaration of remission before.

It should be stated that one of the partners committing adultery is a valid reason to get divorced.

b) Attempt Against Life, Maltreatment, Indignity

Generally, we see that crimes like fraud, theft, bribery, embezzlement are considered as humiliating or disgraceful offenses and they can be a ground for divorce. But this is valid only if these crimes are committed after the marriage.

Having a disreputable life is a condition that is subject to a partner that lives a life against values of society and ethics. These are: operating a house of ill fame, alcoholism, working as a sex worker. These crimes can be a ground for divorce only if they are done CONTINUOUSLY.

c) Abandonment

One of the partners leaving the home to quit the responsibilities of marriage at least for 6 months and refusing to return after the warning from the notary is a ground for divorce for the other partner. The partner that is abandoned, should go to a notary and appeal to a notary after the fourth month. If the partner that abandoned the home does not return after 2 more months, this is an absolute ground for a divorce.

d) Mental Illness

If one of the partner’s mental illness makes the other partner’s life difficult, after it’s proved with a medical report as incurable, this is a valid ground for a divorce. | Divorce According to Turkish Law

 2) General ground for Divorce: Breakdown of Marriage, incompatibility of temperament

Breakdown of marriage and incompatibility of temperament can be used as a ground for divorce by one or both partners. The situation when partners lose the happiness they have thanks to their marriage and feel that they can no longer live together is called incompatibility of temperament. In this cases, the judge assesses whether the breakdown of marriage happened. In some cases, the judge grants separation of partners rather than divorce. It should be underlined that the incompatibility between partners can stem for more than one reason.

If one of the partners (Or both) in a marriage for at least one year appeals to the court, and if the other partner acknowledges the case, this means the case is an uncontested divorce. Uncontested divorce cases result in a very short amount of time. In this case, both of the partners have made an agreement about the results of the divorce.

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