Temporary post-spousal alimony approaches in Turkish law

The history of alimony which is one of the financial consequences of divorce, dates back to ancient times. Looking at the history of Mesopotamia, in the Sumerian, Babylonian and Hittite civilizations, it was regulated in laws that men used to pay alimony to their spouses after divorce. Likewise, it is seen that the ruler of Rome, August made a decision by evaluating alimony demands. After the establishment of modern states, states continued their alimony practices. However, over the time, some limitations about duration have been made in the provisions of alimony. The phrase "can request indefinitely" is included in the poverty alimony regulated in Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code. In its decisions, the Supreme Court stated that the law does not give discretion to the judge in term of the duration of the poverty alimony. The Turkish doctrine on the other hand, differs in terms of the alimony. In the society, almost all of the men, who are responsible for alimony, come together to make a press statement and define themselves as "alimony victims". Upon these discussions, the government announced that the law would be amended. However, the Ministry of Justice has not yet taken any concrete steps to change the law. In this study, the regulations made by modern states in term of duration of alimony and the regulation of indefinite alimony in Art. 175 of the TMK will be discussed. In addition, in term of the duration of alimony, its history development in the Turkish law, the decision of the Constitutional Court, the decisions of the Supreme Court, current developments made and doctrinal opinions are examined.