Development of the Law in Turkey: Historical and Comparative Analysis

This essay provides an overview of the development of law in Turkey, focusing on the significant transformation from Islamic religious law to a secular, Western-style legal system. It highlights the unique nature of this reform, particularly in the context of European private law convergence. The essay examines the adoption of the Turkish Civil Code, its historical context, and the challenges faced during the transition. It discusses the influence of the Swiss Civil Code and the impact on Turkish society, emphasizing the importance of adapting legal frameworks to cultural and social realities. The essay also touches upon the role of external influences, such as the Lausanne Peace Treaty, and the rapid implementation of new legislation. The essay concludes by emphasizing the successful establishment of a new legal identity that is compatible with Turkish culture and traditions.

Running head: HOW THE LAW IS DEVELOPED IN TURKEY
HOW THE LAW IS DEVELOPED IN TURKEY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note

1HOW THE LAW IS DEVELOPED IN TURKEY
The revolutionary transformation from Islamic religious law to a secular form of Western
justice under Turkish civil law is special and should be given international recognition. This
transformation is more interesting as private law convergence is widely on Europe’s agenda.
Although the change from Islamic to secular legislation has placed the Turkish Civil Code on the
West, it has also provided a fine illustration of the immense obstacles in the adoption of
international justice aspects. Only in recent decades have many civil codes come into force in
Europe. On the other hand, Turkey has been in existence since the 1920s with a westernized civil
rule (Rumelili and Boşnak 2015). Such a reform is the only instance of this kind in Europe’s
modern history. The legislature rejected all Islamic practices and rules and adopted civil law,
planned and built for a society with diverse social, religious and financial backgrounds, to
fundamentally modernize the civic ties of the Turkish. A clear example of replacing the Islamic
justice system with a personal one is the progressive reform of Turkey’s civil law. Nonetheless,
the new Turkish members voted for the human rights system and the justice system since
becoming a republic. The religious sector has not always looked favourably at the transition.
Family law only, for instance, has significant dissimilarities between the Islamic system and the
Western system. Another significant factor in Turkey’s performance is the pace of progress at
which this transition has taken place (Yilmaz 2015).
It’s generally a long process to abolish a judicial structure and replace it with a new one.
Quick improvements and modifications can only be made possible by external intervention or
colonial relations. The French colonial movement, for instance, has influenced the French Civil
Code (Civil Code) on the North African countries. Nevertheless, such a colonial trend was not
contained in Turkey. Although the Lausanne Peace Treaty mandated the nation to pass new Civil
Law, a deliberate decision was made by the Turkish lawmakers themselves to update Turkish

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legislation, leading to an achievement rapidly and unified act. Turkey is a good example in
Europe alone, where a country has acquired and implemented legislation in an entirely different
social system from a foreign nation (Watkin 2017). The true achievement was that of changing
and developing a new identity for the structure which would be compatible with culture, tradition
and social truth. The Swiss Code has not therefore been treated as an adaptation, but rather as the
Turkish Code. More than just its law code, the Turkish Code is based on Switzerland’s legal
concepts, values and viewpoints. In this case, a continuous living social cycle from the point of
implementation should be related to this specific implementation. The rule of obligations, trade
law, rules, and laws of judgment and execution were implemented shortly after the introduction
of the Swiss Code and Turkey was a part of the western legal family. It took time to recognize
the legislation written by the legislature as the country’s law (Özer 2016). The Turkish society
needed to practice, adapt and accept the new Code.

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Reference
Özer, Y., 2016. Turkey and the European Union: processes of Europeanisation. Routledge.
Rumelili, B. and Boşnak, B., 2015. Taking stock of the Europeanization of civil society in
Turkey. The Europeanization of Turkey: Polity and Politics, 1, pp.127-144.
Watkin, T.G., 2017. An historical introduction to modern civil law. Taylor & Francis.
Yilmaz, I., 2015. Semi-official Turkish Muslim Legal Pluralism: Encounters Between Secular
Official Law and Unofficial Shari’a. In The Sociology of Shari’a: Case Studies from around the
World (pp. 51-65). Springer, Cham.