Article 175 of Turkish Civil Code, No. 4721: Assessment of Debate on the Duration of the Poverty Alimony

Abstract

Even after the dissolution of marriage, as a reflection of solidarity obligation, Turkish law grants the party who will fall into poverty due to divorce the right to request alimony from the other spouse. Article 175 of Turkish Civil Code (TCC), no. 4721, titled “poverty alimony,” states that the party “may request alimony indefinitely”. It is the phrase indefinitely that has led to heavy discussions. The constitutionality of this provision was also challenged before the Turkish Constitutional Court, and in 2012, the Court had declared that the phrase indefinitely is not unconstitutional. Still, the debate on the duration of the poverty alimony is on the agenda. Even though Article 175 TCC grants the right to request poverty alimony to both of the spouses, without making any distinction in terms of male or female, this alimony is generally granted to women who are de facto at home and are economically weaker. The debate results from the situation of unemployed married women who suffer economically after the divorce. This study aims to examine poverty alimony under Turkish law with respect to its duration, evaluate the different doctrinal opinions in the literature, and, as a proposed solution, present an alternative way to interpret Article 175 TCC.