Turkey plans to open ‘family mediation’ institutes to reduce divorce rate
ANKARA
The Justice Ministry is working on a new regulation to force couples considering divorce to apply to a “family mediation institution” in a bid to lower the divorce rate, Justice Minister Abulhamit Gül has said.
Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency on Oct. 20, Gül said spouses will have to initially go through a “reconciliation period” before the divorce process kicks off at court.
“We are working on a judicial package to have disagreements between citizens and between public institutions solved through means outside the court,” he added.
“In the case of potential divorce, instead of having citizens go the courts in a way that destroys family privacy in front of everyone there will be a process without a legal suit being filed,” Gül said, adding that the ministry aims to direct couples to “reconciliation institutions.”
“If this institution is unsuccessful we are also working [on a regulation] so they do not have to go to court or be exposed to ‘court psychology,’ instead using the skills of an expert, negotiator or referee,” the minister also said.
