Spouse's consent in the surety agreement

Historically, with the increasing engagement of individuals in commercial activities, suretyship agreements have emerged as one of the most significant forms of personal security. Under the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO), a suretyship agreement is defined as a contract concluded between the surety and the creditor, whereby the surety undertakes personal liability for the debtor's obligations in the event of non-performance. In order for a suretyship agreement to be considered valid, certain conditions must be met collectively: the existence of a valid and current principal obligation, the surety's legal capacity to enter into a suretyship contract, and the requirement that the agreement be executed in a qualified written form. Among these conditions, the spousal consent requirement—sought as a condition of legal capacity—constitutes the core subject of this thesis. Within the scope of our study, the suretyship agreement is first examined in terms of its definition, validity requirements, parties, subject matter, cause, and characteristics. Subsequently, the issue of spousal consent—which constitutes the main focus of this study—is analyzed in detail. In the final section, the legal consequences of non-compliance with the spousal consent requirement are evaluated.