The Turkish Civil Code

We are in the 99th year since the Civil Code came into effect.

Following the proclamation of the Republic, three significant revolutionary laws, known as the “March 3rd Revolution Laws,” were adopted in 1924.

Law No. 429 on the Abolition of the Ministries of Sharia and Evkaf [Foundations] and the General Staff,

Law No. 430 on the Unification of Education,

Law No. 431 on the Abolition of the Caliphate and the Expulsion of the Ottoman Dynasty from the Territory of the Republic of Turkey.

I like to compare these revolutionary laws to the famous “Three Beauties” fairy chimneys in Cappadocia. I believe they are among the most important laws of the Republican revolution.

We can find the fundamental principles of the Republican revolution in these three revolutionary laws.

It was declared that sovereignty belongs solely to the Turkish Nation and that the Republic can only exist on the basis of secular, science-driven thought. While the principle of secularism was not yet explicitly in the Constitution, the path was very clearly set. Along with these, the unitary state structure also relies on the unification of education.

The Great Atatürk had this goal in mind: to establish a new Turkish state in an Anatolia to be liberated from occupation. The state to be established had to be independent first and foremost. Independence required making one's own decisions on political, economic, and military matters without being dependent on others.

For the Turkish Nation, which had escaped the captivity of the Ottoman Dynasty—which had usurped the right of sovereignty—and the bayonets of the enemy that had occupied the homeland, to live independently was only possible by becoming a secular, science-driven, and contemporary society composed of free individuals.

Independence, the establishment of a new state, the liquidation of institutions belonging to the old order, and perhaps most importantly, the stages of creating citizens were at stake. While building a nation, the Republic was simultaneously creating individuals and citizens.

We can call it the ideal of a Turkish Nation composed of free individuals.

“The Republic of Turkey cannot be a land of sheikhs, dervishes, disciples, and followers,” said Atatürk. Of this statement, the word that interests me most is “followers” (mensuplar). I do not like the figures mentioned before it either, but I think the word “follower” covers all of them and more.

Anyone who has not been able to become an individual and has tied their will and future to someone else is a “follower.” Being a follower is not a concept unique to religious structures. It encompasses every kind of affiliation that cripples or destroys an individual's will. Inequalities within society or the family make individuals destitute.

The Republic exists so that people do not become followers, but rather free individuals. Independence and secularism are also for this purpose. An independent republic composed of free individuals can only exist in this way.

The Civil Code, the subject of this article, was adopted so that citizens would not become followers or destitute.

Where the rights of men and women, the right to divorce, and the right to inheritance are not equal, there is “followership.”

The Civil Code would appear two years later to prevent this.

After the adoption of the Revolution Laws, it was time for the Civil Code, which we can call the fundamental law of citizens.

On October 4, 1926, the Civil Code came into effect.

The “Esbab-ı Mucibe,” or the preamble, located at the beginning of the law, was written by the Minister of Justice of the time, Mahmut Esat Bozkurt. Reading this text is extremely useful for grasping the essence and spirit of the Turkish Revolution and the worldview of the pioneering cadres who founded the Republic.

I consider it a shortcoming that this text by Bozkurt was not included when the new Turkish Civil Code came into effect in 2002. This revolutionary text, which explains the spirit and purpose of the Civil Code, should have been included.

The Civil Code is a secular, contemporary, and rational law that regulates the rights of citizens. Even after nearly 100 years, it remains current.

In my opinion, the greatest of Atatürk's revolutions is the adoption of the Civil Code. Liquidating a system that had relied heavily on religious principles for centuries and was simultaneously multi-legal is a great and magnificent revolution.

Today, defending the Civil Code and its achievements means defending both the Republic and the individual who deserves to live in a way worthy of human dignity.