LAWSUIT FOR DETERMINATION OF BEING THE SAME PERSON

Individuals may sometimes suffer grievances due to discrepancies in official records — such as population (civil registry) or land registry records — or because they hold citizenship of another country. In some cases, Population Directorates may be insufficient or unauthorized to resolve such issues. In these situations, individuals must apply to the courts to obtain a determination decision in order to eliminate the grievance.

In Turkish law, a lawsuit for the determination of being the same person may arise in two main circumstances:

When there are discrepancies or inconsistencies in population or land registry records;

When the person holds citizenship of another country and it becomes necessary to determine that they are the same individual.

According to Article 36(1) of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, a person’s civil status is determined by the official register kept for this purpose. Pursuant to Articles 39 of the same Code and Article 35(1) of the Population Services Law No. 5490, no entry in the population register may be corrected or annotated in a way that changes its meaning or the information it contains unless there is a final court judgment. However, material errors made during the registration of events in the family register may be corrected by the population directorate in accordance with the supporting document.

Correction of a record means the amendment or modification of a part of an entry recorded in the family register. Therefore, a court decision is required to correct inaccurate entries in the population register.

1. WHO MAY FILE THIS LAWSUIT?

A lawsuit for the determination of being the same person may be filed by the individual themselves or by another person who has a legitimate interest in the matter.

For example, if a discrepancy in population records causes a person to be deprived of their inheritance rights, a lawsuit may be filed to determine that the deceased and the person in question are the same individual.

The judgment rendered as a result of such a lawsuit cannot be enforced until it becomes final.

 IS THIS LAWSUIT SUBJECT TO ANY STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS OR PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD?

Lawsuuits concerning the correction of population records or the determination of matters related to the population registry are not subject to any statute of limitations or prescriptive period.

 

• Competent Court: Civil Court of First Instance
• Venue: The court of the plaintiff’s place of residence
• Defendant: The relevant Population Directorate
• Type of Case: Lawsuit for the correction of population or other official records
• Special Power of Attorney: The attorney must be authorized to file lawsuits for age correction, name correction, correction of population records, and identification determination.
• Subject Matter: Determination of being the same person, correction of name, parent’s name, or date of birth, etc.

 

CASE LAW EXAMPLES

 

Court of Cassation, 8th Civil Chamber, 2017/2322 E., 2017/7775 K., Decision dated 25.05.2017

In the petition, the plaintiffs stated that there were discrepancies between the population records of the Republic of Turkey and those of another country in respect of a child under their custody who holds dual nationality, and they requested a determination that the children recorded in both countries’ registries are the same person.

The court dismissed the case on procedural grounds, holding that the plaintiffs had no legal interest in filing the lawsuit.

Upon appeal, the Court of Cassation held that, since the dual citizens could not exercise the rights granted by dual nationality due to the discrepancies between the two records, they did indeed have a legal interest in seeking the removal of these obstacles. Therefore, the court should have examined the merits of the case and determined whether the persons in both registries were the same individual. The procedural dismissal without sufficient examination was found to be improper.

 

Court of Cassation, 8th Civil Chamber, 2018/11926 E., 2021/2400 K., Decision dated 17.03.2021

 

According to the petition, the lawsuit concerns the determination that the person registered in the Syrian Arab Republic’s population records—where almost all civil events such as marriage and the registration of children took place—is the same person as the individual registered in the Republic of Turkey’s records, which contain no civil events other than a basic registration entry.

Since lawsuits related to the correction or determination of population records are closely connected to public order, courts are obliged to establish accurate and reliable records without any doubt.

Therefore, under the principle of ex officio investigation, the judge has the authority to collect evidence on their own initiative.

The purpose of the lawsuit is to enable the Turkish citizen to benefit from rights related to citizenship for their children registered in Syria and to ensure that future civil events (such as marriage, spouse, and children) can be properly registered in Turkey.

By determining that the persons in both countries’ population records are the same, the individual would also be able to exercise property and social rights in both countries.

Accordingly, the Regional Court of Appeal should have recognized the plaintiff’s legal interest and rendered a decision in line with the principles governing lawsuits for the correction or determination of population records.

 

CONCLUSION

 

The lawsuit for the determination of being the same person plays a crucial role both in correcting material errors in population records and in resolving identity inconsistencies arising between different citizenships.

Through such lawsuits, individuals can overcome barriers to exercising their inheritance, citizenship, land registry, or social rights, thereby safeguarding legal certainty and personal rights.

Since these cases involve matters closely related to public order, courts act under the principle of ex officio investigation to establish the most accurate and truthful record possible.

Therefore, individuals experiencing discrepancies in official records or identity-related issues should seek legal assistance from an experienced attorney and file a determination lawsuit to prevent potential injustices.

 

STJ. ATTORNEY ECENUR ÖZALP
U&T Law - U&T Law and Consulting