Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (TMK)

General Principles and Preliminary Provisions

The Turkish Civil Code (TMK) entered into force on January 1, 2002, completely replacing the old code of 1926.
According to Article 1 of the Code, if there is no applicable statutory provision, the judge decides according to customary law; in its absence, the judge decides according to the rule they would have enacted had they been the legislator.
The Rule of Objective Good Faith (TMK Art. 2): Everyone must act in accordance with the rules of honesty and good faith when exercising their rights and performing their obligations; the legal order does not protect the manifest abuse of a right.
Subjective Good Faith (TMK Art. 3): In cases where the law attaches a legal consequence to subjective good faith, its existence is presumed as a rule; however, a person who fails to exercise the diligence required by the circumstances cannot claim good faith.
Judicial Discretion (TMK Art. 4): In matters where the law grants discretionary power to the judge or directs them to consider the circumstances or justified grounds, the judge decides according to law and equity.
Unless there is a statutory provision to the contrary, each party bears the burden of proof regarding the existence of the facts on which they base their alleged right.

Legal capacity (capacity to hold rights) begins from the moment the fetus is conceived in the mother's womb, provided that it is subsequently born alive and completely, and every human being possesses legal capacity.
Capacity to act is a person's power to acquire rights and incur obligations through their own legal actions.
Every person who is of full age (major), possesses the faculty of judgment, and is not restricted (interdicted) has full capacity to act.
As a rule in Turkish law, majority (adulthood) begins upon the completion of 18 years of age; however, majority can also be acquired through marriage or by a court decree (kazai rüşt / judicial emancipation).
Personality begins at the moment the child is completely born alive and terminates upon death or a judicial declaration of absence (gaiplik).
If a person has disappeared under circumstances that make death highly probable, or if no news has been received from them for a prolonged period, the court may issue a declaration of absence.
Civil status registers (population registries) are official registries kept by public officials and are deemed valid until proven otherwise.
According to the TMK, associations (as combinations of persons) and foundations (as property allocations) are the primary legal entities (corporate bodies) under private law.

A marriage contract can only be concluded if the applicants possess the capacity to marry and there is no legal impediment to their marriage.
According to the TMK, performing a religious marriage ceremony without first concluding an official civil marriage is legally impossible and invalid.
Divorce lawsuits must be based on the general grounds (irretrievable breakdown of marriage / severe incompatibility) or specific grounds (adultery, attempt on life, desertion, etc.) limitedly enumerated in the law.
Unless an alternative matrimonial property agreement is signed, the "Participation in Acquired Property Regime"—which is the statutory matrimonial property regime—applies between the spouses.
Custody (velayet) is the entirety of legal rights and obligations vested in the mother and father over their non-emancipated (minor) children.
Lineage (paternity/filiation) is established through birth within a valid marriage, adoption, acknowledgment, or by a court judgment of paternity.

The opening of the succession and the acquisition of the status of an heir legally take place at the exact moment of the deceased's (muris) death.
Statutory heirs are the blood relatives of the deceased (their descendants, parents, grandparents), the surviving spouse, and the adopted child.
If the deceased dies without leaving any heirs, the inheritance escheats directly to the State (the Treasury).
Reserved portion (statutory share / saklı pay): This is the minimum portion of the inheritance belonging to statutory heirs, which the deceased cannot eliminate or deprive them of, even by a will.
Heirs are jointly and severally liable with their entire personal assets for all the debts of the deceased.
A disclaimer of inheritance (redd-i miras) must be declared by the heirs to the Civil Court of Peace within 3 months from the date they became aware of the deceased's death.

The law of property regulates the direct rights of dominion and control that persons hold over movable or immovable property.
The right of ownership (proprietorship): This grants the owner the authority to use, enjoy, and dispose of the thing they own as they wish, within the boundaries drawn by the law.
Registration in the Land Registry (Tapu Sicili) is mandatory for the acquisition of immovable property ownership or for the establishment of an in rem right (real right) upon it.
Possession (zilyetlik): This refers to the state of having actual physical control or de facto dominion over a thing, and it constitutes a presumption of right in property law.