1. Introduction
For those who are married to a national of their own country, a divorce in that country brings the marriage to an end.
However, if you have a Turkish spouse, a divorce in a foreign country will not have any legal effect in Turkey unless the divorce decree is recognised by the Turkish Courts. In such cases, rather than having to go through divorce proceedings in Turkey, Turkish law allows foreign divorce decrees to be recognised in Turkish courts provided that certain conditions are met.
The issue of recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and arbitration awards in Turkey is one of the most vital final key points in international transactions in case the object of the transaction (i.e. marriage, debtor assets, goods)
2. Required Documentation
For the application of a recognition and enforcement procedure in Turkey, the following documents are required:
- Foreign decree that shall be subject to the recognition and enforcement procedure with certificate of no appeal by the court and the date of finalization on the original copy of decree
- Apostille on the foreign decree
- Notarized translation of the decree and the certificate of no appeal into Turkish
- Notarized power of attorney in case of representation by an attorney at law.
The certificate of no appeal means that the decree is absolute and comes into effect. The apostille is a certification under the Hague Convention for authenticating documents for use in other States that are also signatories to the Convention. Most states have signed this Convention, including the UK and the US.
The apostilled decree has to be translated into Turkish and then notarized. Translation and notarization can be carried-out at the relevant Turkish Consulate abroad.
3. Power of Attorney
In case of representation by a lawyer, the power of attorney has to be in Turkish and notarized. Turkish nationals can arrange the power of attorney at the nearest Turkish Consulate abroad. Foreign nationals have to arrange the power of attorney either at the Turkish Consulate or at the notary in their home country. However, if the power of attorney is not issued at the Turkish Consulate, an apostille from the competent authority in the notary’s district is required for its use in Turkey.
It is important that the power of attorney relates to recognition and enforcement procedures (In Turkish: Tanıma ve Tenfiz Davası). At least two passport pictures are also required for the power of attorney. Advocate Abroad can help you to arrange this power of attorney and to represent you in Turkey to have the divorce decree from your country recognised by the Turkish Courts.
