Top court’s alimony decision published in Official Gazette

ANKARA

Constitutional Court of Türkiye (AA Photo)

Türkiye’s Constitutional Court has formally annulled a provision allowing alimony to be paid indefinitely following divorce, with the ruling published in the Official Gazette and set to take effect in nine months.

The court ruled by majority that the phrase “indefinitely” in Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code, which regulates alimony for spouses who fall into poverty after divorce, violates Articles 2, 5 and 17 of the Constitution.

The case was brought by a court in Antalya, which asked the Constitutional Court to review the provision during a divorce case. Under the current system, a spouse who becomes unable to support themselves financially following divorce can receive alimony from the other spouse, without a general statutory limit on how long payments may continue.

The Constitutional Court said providing financial support to prevent a divorced spouse from falling into poverty serves a legitimate purpose. However, it found that the existing provision did not give judges sufficient discretion to determine the duration of payments based on the circumstances of individual cases or legitimate grounds.

The court said requiring alimony to continue indefinitely without clear criteria could place an excessive burden on the person responsible for making the payments. It called for legislation establishing clear and predictable criteria that would allow alimony to be limited to a specific period in some cases while allowing it to continue for life under exceptional circumstances.

The annulment will take effect nine months after publication in the Official Gazette to allow lawmakers time to establish a new legal framework.

A proposed replacement system, reported by local media, would link the duration of alimony primarily to the length of the marriage. Under the reported draft, couples married for three years could receive alimony for up to five years, while five-year marriages could qualify for payments lasting seven years. Courts could extend payments where the recipient is unable to work or is elderly.

The proposal could also allow courts to convert monthly payments into a lump-sum payment. Existing alimony awards would not be immediately terminated, with the reported draft providing for current recipients to continue receiving payments for another year.