Turkish civil code (1926)

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Turkish civil code (

Turkish reforms
.

Background

During the

Muslim
and the other for the non Muslim subjects of the empire. After the proclamation of Turkish Republic on 29 October 1923, Turkey began to adopt modern laws.

Preparation

The

Swiss civil code as a model for the Turkish civil code.[2] The Turkish Civil Code was enacted on 17 February 1926. The preamble to the Code was written by Mahmut Esat Bozkurt, the minister of justice in the 4th government of Turkey.[3]

Women's rights

Although the code addressed many areas of modern life, the most important articles dealt with women’s rights. For the first time, women and men were acknowledged to be equal. Under the prior legal system, women’s share in inheritance and the weight of women’s testimony in court were half that of men. Under the code, men and women were made equal with regard to inheritance and testimony.

Furthermore, civil marriage was made compulsory, and polygamy was banned. Women were given the right to choose any profession.[4] Universal women's suffrage, however, was not established until 5 December 1934.

See also

References

  1. ^ Civil code page (in Turkish)
  2. ^ Zweigert, Konrad, Professor of Law, University of Hamburg; Director, Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Private Law; Kötz, Hein, M.C.L. (Mich.); Professor of Law, University of Konstanz (1977). An Introduction to Comparative Law; Translated from the German by Tony Weir, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Vol. I: The Framework. Amsterdam, New York, Oxford: North Holland Publishing Company. pp. 176–177.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Parliament page (in Turkish)
  4. ^ Atatürk’s reforms page