Join custony

Custody is the totality of the rights and authorities of the parents over the child's person and property arising from the law. The scope of parental authority generally consists of the child's personal rights, representation, management of property and protection of the child. According to the Turkish Civil Code, parents exercise parental authority together as long as the marriage union continues. According to the Turkish Civil Code, joint custody is not accepted except in cases where the marriage union continues. In recent years, the question of whether joint custody can be exercised by the mother and father in cases where the marriage union has ended and in extra-marital relationships has come to the agenda. In 2016, with the entry into force of Article 5 of Additional Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights titled 'equality between spouses' in terms of Turkish Law, the discussions on whether joint custody is possible in terms of the effect of the Protocol on domestic law has gained a new dimension. In terms of the Turkish Civil Code, the provisions of Article 182 and Article 336 of the Turkish Civil Code are the articles that cause the discussion of joint custody in the doctrine. Although the current regulations in our country do not prohibit joint custody, they seem to be insufficient to serve the applicability of joint custody. The principles of 'best interests of the child', 'respect for family life', 'non-discrimination', 'equality between spouses' are emphasised in international documents, particularly the ECHR, CRC and ECtHR Judgments. From these documents, it can be concluded that joint custody decisions can be made regardless of the marital status of the parents if the best interest of the child is required. Various revisions made in comparative law, particularly in Switzerland and Germany, also show that the implementation of joint custody is in the best interests of the child. In terms of our legal system, joint custody decision should be made in cases of dissolution of the marriage and extramarital relationships, provided that the characteristics of the concrete case are taken into consideration and the current interest of the child is given priority. However, since the implementation of joint custody with the current regulations will not be in accordance with the best interests of the child, more comprehensive and qualified regulations are needed. Keywords:Join Custony, Custony, Family Law, Divorce, Best İnterests of the Child