Development regarding population registration for married and divorced women: Decision at the Constitutional Court

A significant development has occurred in Turkey regarding the long-debated practice of transferring a woman's population registration to her husband's household after marriage.

An application has been made to the Constitutional Court for the cancellation of the practice where women are "moved" to their husband's registry upon marriage and "returned" to their father's registry upon divorce.

Following a years-long legal battle, the case has reached a critical stage in the civil court of first instance. According to a report by Rengin Temoçin from Cumhuriyet, the court has decided to apply to the Constitutional Court (AYM) for the cancellation of this regulation. All eyes are now on the decision to be made by the AYM.

Lawyer Süreyya Kardelen Yarlı stated the following:

“The requirement for a woman's population registration to be automatically moved to her husband's household after marriage is not merely a technical administrative procedure; it is a symbolic practice where gender inequality is institutionalized. The decision by the Istanbul 14th Civil Court of First Instance to apply for a concrete norm review regarding the 2nd paragraph of Article 23 of the Population Services Law is an important point of resistance against the legal erasure of women's individual identity, spatial belonging, and civil status. The principle of equality in Article 10 of the Constitution, the right to privacy and protection of personal data guaranteed in Article 20, and the freedom to choose one's place of residence regulated in Article 23 provide a constitutional basis against such gender-based automatic practices.”

Yarlı summarized her words as follows:

“The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) also adopts an approach in its established case law that centers on individual autonomy and identity in matters concerning changes in civil status (for example, Burghartz v. Switzerland, 1994). In this regard, it is clear that the practice in Turkey is neither respectful of individual rights nor compatible with international standards.

This decision is about much more than where a woman will be ‘registered’ after marriage.

This is a legal test regarding whether a woman's household can be a matter of her own will. This courageous decision by the court is not just a norm review to be brought before the Constitutional Court; it is an important threshold on the path toward recognizing women as legal subjects.”