The Turkish Constitutional Court has annulled the provision in the Turkish Penal Code (TPC) that is used to prosecute those who carry out and officiate at religious wedding ceremonies prior to the official wedding ceremony, which is compulsory. The Constitutional Court found the provision in violation of the Constitution. Lawyer Canan Uçar condemned the decision, saying that it was unacceptable that legal support for women had been taken away by this decision.

The Erzurum Pasinler Court of Peace applied to the Constitutional Court last year asking for paragraphs 5 and 6 of article 230 of the TPC concerning multiple marriages, fraudulent marriages and religious ceremonies, to be annulled. The Court has now annulled these two paragraphs of the aforementioned article in the TPC.  The Court justified its decision on the grounds that the provision imposed restrictions on a person's private life, the right to respect for family life and freedom of belief and conscience.

The Constitutional Court referred to cohabiting couples in its decision, saying that to prosecute those who carried out religious ceremonies on account of their firmly held religious beliefs while not prosecuting those who lived together and had children, indicated the lack of proportionality of the provision.

‘Women will suffer’

Lawyer Canan Uçar condemned the Court's decision, saying it would increase the existing problems for women who separated from their partners. "This will affect alimony, personal relationships with children and compensation in the event of divorce.".

Uçar added that at least prior to the decision women had some legal rights to fall back on. She said that this decision had also legitimised the practice of child marriages.