The 2nd Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals made a remarkable decision regarding the recognition in Türkiye of divorce decisions made abroad. In the case of a divorced couple in Belgium, presenting the foreign court decision with QR coded documents was not deemed sufficient. The local court's decision to reject the case was approved by the Supreme Court.
The decision is important for citizens who, after getting divorced abroad, want this decision to be legally recognized in Türkiye.
D.O. lives in Belgium. and E.O. The couple was divorced by the decision of the court in the country. E.O. filed a lawsuit for recognition at the Eskişehir 5th Family Court in order for the divorce decision to be valid in Türkiye.
Within the scope of the case, the divorce decision of the Belgian court and the documents showing that the decision was finalized were submitted to the court as documents with QR codes. However, the court ruled that these documents did not meet the approved document requirement stipulated in the relevant legislation.
It was decided to reject the case as the original of the internationally approved document was not submitted to the file.
Following the objection to the local court's decision, the file was first appealed and then moved to the Supreme Court.
The 2nd Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which reviewed the file, approved the rejection decision of the Eskişehir 5th Family Court. Thus, in the case in question, the decision became final that the QR coded documents did not meet the procedural requirements for the recognition of the foreign court decision in Türkiye.
D.O.'s lawyer, Aslıcan Özgür İleli, said in a statement to Anadolu Agency that the decision is important for Turkish citizens who divorced abroad.
İleli stated that in accordance with Article 53 of the Law No. 5718 on Private International Law and Procedural Law, the duly approved original of the foreign court decision or its court-approved copy and its approved translation must be submitted.
Stating that they argued that these conditions were not met in the case, İleli said:
"In our response petition, we stated that the documents were not submitted in accordance with the procedure, citing Article 53 of the Law on Private International Law and Procedural Law. Upon the objection of the other party, the file was first appealed and then moved to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court also approved the decision of the local court. It was decided that digital and QR code applications will not eliminate the certified document requirement required by the law."
Reminding that official transactions abroad are largely carried out electronically, İleli stated that in some countries, documents with QR codes and electronic signatures are used instead of physical documents. Stating that there were examples where QR coded documents were accepted in similar cases before, İleli pointed out that a different evaluation was made in this file.
İleli said, "In the cases we have seen before, documents with QR codes were accepted, but in this case, documents with QR codes were not deemed sufficient. Therefore, we think that the decision is a precedent."
Following the decision, the importance of properly preparing the documents to be submitted for the recognition of divorce decisions taken in foreign countries in Türkiye came to the fore once again. According to lawyer Ileli's statement, the original of the foreign court decision approved by the relevant country authorities or a copy approved by the court that gave the decision and its certified translation must be submitted.
Therefore, merely having a document with a QR code does not necessarily mean that the legal document requirements in Türkiye are met. The decision approved by the Supreme Court stands out as a concrete example where QR code documents alone are not considered sufficient.
