Name Change – Recognition Of A Person By Another Name
T.C.
COURT OF APPEALS
18th CIVIL CHAMBER
E. 2011/9929
K. 2011/12617
Date: 12.12.2011
• REQUEST TO CHANGE THE NAME OF A CHILD UNDER CUSTODY TO DERSİM (The plaintiff claims that her daughter is known by this name – The request is justified and should be granted)
• REQUEST TO CHANGE THE NAME (The plaintiff stated that the child under his custody is known by the name Dersim – The request is justified and should be accepted)
4721/m.27
SUMMARY: In their complaint, the plaintiffs claimed that their daughter under their custody is known by the name “Dersim” and requested that the name ‘Dilan’ recorded in the population register be changed to “Dersim.” A person may request the court to change their name based on valid reasons. Since it is evident from the file contents that the plaintiffs’ daughter is known by the name “Dersim,” the request for a name change is justified, and the request should be granted.
CASE: In their complaint, the plaintiffs requested that their daughter’s name be changed from “Dilan” to “Dersim.” The court dismissed the case, and the plaintiffs appealed the decision.
After determining that the appeal was filed within the time limit, all the documents in the file were read and the necessary considerations were made:
DECISION: In their petition, the plaintiffs claimed that their daughter, who is under their custody, is known as “Dersim” and requested that her name ‘Dilan’ in the population registry be changed to “Dersim.”
Pursuant to Article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, a person may request the court to change their name based on valid reasons. According to the Supreme Court’s case law, a person may use the name by which they are known in their social circle and request its registration in the population registry, provided that this does not conflict with the mandatory provisions of the law. In the present case, since it is evident from the file contents that the plaintiffs’ daughters are known by the name “Dersim,” and since there are valid reasons for changing their names, the request should have been granted. However, the decision to dismiss the case on unfounded grounds is deemed incorrect.
CONCLUSION: For the reasons stated above, the decision rendered in writing without considering the aforementioned principles is incorrect, and the appeals are well-founded for these reasons. Therefore, the decision is reversed in accordance with Article 428 of the Code of Civil Procedure, If the appeal fee is requested, it shall be refunded to the appellant. The decision was made unanimously on December 12, 2011.