A high Turkish court has upheld a woman’s right to use her maiden surname after marriage in a recent binding ruling by the Constitutional Court, which the government must now implement through a law to be voted on in parliament. The ruling, which came into force on 28 January, overturns a clause introduced last year in Art. 187 of the Turkish Civil Code that made it compulsory for a woman to adopt her husband’s surname.
In its new ruling, however, the Turkish Constitutional Court now points out that this provision is unconstitutional as it violates the principle of equality. Thus, upon marriage, a woman will be able to choose to use only her own maiden surname without the need to initiate a legal proceeding. It’s now up to the Turkish parliament to adapt the legislation to the Constitutional ruling, for which it has 9 months to do so.
The legislation ratifying a woman’s right to use only her surname is expected to be part of a new package of judicial reforms being prepared by the government. In a televised interview a few days ago, Turkey’s Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç confirmed that the reform package will be submitted to the Turkish National Assembly for debate and vote in late February or early March. Prior to this Constitutional ruling, a woman could continue to use her maiden surname after marriage as long as she asked civil registry officials to do so, but had to adopt her husband’s surname as well; now, however, she will be able to use only her own surname without being obliged to add her spouse’s surname.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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