Top court’s ruling on married women’s surnames takes effect

ANKARA

With a landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court entering into force on Jan. 28, married women are now able to use their maiden surname without resorting to court proceedings.

The country’s top court had nullified the provision in Article 187 of the Turkish Civil Code last year, which mandated that a married woman should adopt her husband's surname. The court had cited a violation of the principle of equality regarding the article.

With the decision now in force, attention turns to the parliament, which has a nine-month period provided by the Constitutional Court to enact a new regulation and avoid legal gaps. The issue is expected to be addressed in the new judicial reforms, the details of which will be discussed in the upcoming period in the parliament.

If the new judicial package incorporates changes in line with the Constitutional Court's annulment decision, women will continue to have the right to use their birth surnames without the need to file a lawsuit after marriage.

Prior to this, women in Türkiye already had the right to use both their own and their husbands' surname by simply notifying the civil registry officials without applying to the court.

Last April, The Constitutional Court had announced the decision, saying, "It has been concluded that the differential treatment between women and men in terms of using the maiden name before and after marriage violates the principle of equality."

In a televised interview last week, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç stated that the judicial reforms will be presented to the parliament by the end of February or the beginning of March, initiating discussions among members of parliament.

He highlighted that one of the main aims of the reforms, encompassing overhauls ranging from the civil to the penal code, is to address “the perception impunity for certain crimes in society due to the implementation of probation.”