The Supreme Court approved the fact that QR coded documents are not sufficient for the recognition of divorce decisions abroad.

Expatriate D.O. and E.O. The couple was divorced by court decision in Belgium, where they lived.

E.O filed a lawsuit at the Eskişehir 5th Family Court for the decision to be valid in Türkiye.

The court concluded that the presentation of the foreign court decision and finalization annotation with QR coded documents did not meet the certified document requirement specified in the relevant law.

Since the original of the internationally approved document was not submitted to the file, Eskişehir 5th Family Court decided to reject the case.

The decision of the local court, which was first appealed to the appeal and then to the Supreme Court of Appeals upon the objection of the plaintiff party, was approved by the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

"Our citizens need to prepare their documents properly"

D.O.'s lawyer, Aslıcan Özgür İleli, told the AA correspondent that the decision is important for citizens who got divorced abroad and want their court decisions to be recognized in Türkiye.

Stating that the case was filed against his client with the request for recognition of a divorce decision made abroad in Türkiye, İleli explained that the plaintiff party submitted the foreign court decision and the finalization annotation to the court as documents with QR codes.

İleli stated that in accordance with Article 53 of the Law No. 5718 on Private International Law and Procedural Law, the original of the foreign court decision, duly approved by the authorities of the country that made the decision, or its copy and approved translation approved by the judicial body that made the decision, must be submitted.

Stating that the local court did not find the submitted QR code documents sufficient, İleli continued as follows:

"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 requirement of certified documents required by the law."

İleli stated that the Supreme Court decision is especially important for the legal proceedings of Turkish citizens divorced abroad in Türkiye, and that documents received from foreign courts should be submitted in accordance with the legal conditions in Türkiye, and continued his words as follows:

"We are in the age of digitalization. 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. Our citizens who divorced abroad and want to have recognition in Türkiye must prepare their documents in accordance with the procedure."

Pointing out that official transactions abroad are largely carried out electronically, İleli added that in some countries, documents with QR codes and electronic signatures are used instead of physical documents.