The 13th Judicial Package is expected to be presented to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in October: New model instead of indefinite alimony

Ayşegül Kahvecioğlu - The 13th Judicial Package, which is expected to consist of approximately 30 articles for which the AK Party is currently preparing, is expected to be submitted to the Presidency of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in October. The most striking topic of the regulation is the indefinite poverty alimony, which has been discussed in public for a long time.

3 year requirement is on the agenda

In the new model prepared after the Constitutional Court annulled the phrase regarding indefinite alimony in Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code, it is envisaged to impose a certain time limit on alimony payments, but to grant the judge the authority to decide on longer-term alimony in special cases. In the final draft being worked on, it is planned that the alimony period will be at least 3 years, and as a general rule, it will not exceed half of the period from the beginning of the marriage to the date of filing of the divorce case.

While the initial preparations focused on the formula of paying alimony for 5 years for marriages lasting up to 10 years, and half of the marriage period for longer marriages, a different model that expands the judge's discretion has come to the fore in recent studies. Accordingly, when determining the alimony period, not only the number of years of marriage will be taken into consideration. The alimony payee's age, education and health status, ability to support himself, and the economic conditions of the alimony payer after the divorce will also be evaluated.

Duration may be extended

The new regulation also aims to ensure that the alimony period is not applied the same for everyone. If the other spouse becomes unable to work due to the wrongful act of the person obliged to pay alimony, or if the alimony payee who has become older due to long years of marriage does not have a regular income, the judge may order longer-term alimony. Thus, while the aim is to prevent people who need economic protection from suffering after the divorce, the conditions of the alimony obligor will also be taken into account.

recalculation

One of the most discussed topics of the regulation is that it will also cover alimony decisions finalized before the effective date. According to the transition provisions in the draft, existing alimony obligations will be compared with the period calculated in the new system. If the period for which alimony was previously paid exceeds the period determined according to the new regulation, the payment obligation will not end immediately. It is envisaged that alimony will automatically terminate after one more year of payment. In the new calculation, if the remaining alimony period is one year or less, a one-year transition period will be applied. If the remaining period is more than one year, the obligation will end upon completion of the period calculated according to the new system.

The appeal process in divorce cases is changing

According to the draft of the 13th Judicial Package, if the decision of the first instance court regarding divorce is found to be appropriate on the merits by the regional court of justice, no appeal can be filed against this decision. However, the right to appeal will be preserved in case the first instance court and the regional court of justice give different decisions. This change aims to finalize divorce cases in a shorter time and prevent the parties from remaining in legal uncertainty for many years. In the studies carried out on the package, arrangements to ensure that the processes related to property division do not delay the finalization of the divorce are also evaluated. In the planned system, the emphasis is on the legal termination of marriage and the finalization of disputes arising from the division of property in separate processes. In addition, the option of reducing the 10-year statute of limitations to 5 years for claims arising from property sharing is also on the agenda.

Authentication for social media is on the agenda

One of the discussed topics of the judicial package is identity verification on social media platforms. According to the model being worked on, it is evaluated that users can access their social media accounts through e-government connection or authentication system. The regulation aims to prevent the use of social media platforms in crimes such as illegal betting, drug dealing and prostitution.

Time target for rent and eviction cases

New targets for rent disputes are also on the agenda in order to speed up judicial processes. The aim of the regulation is to finalize rent determination cases within 9 months and eviction cases within 18 months. Changes that will enable family law cases to be heard during the judicial recess and the rearrangement of some statutes of limitations are also among the topics under consideration.