Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi, 2002’de kurulmasindan bu yana failleri ve azmettirenleri adalet onun... more Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi, 2002’de kurulmasindan bu yana failleri ve azmettirenleri adalet onune getirmekte sorunlar yasamakta. Ozellikle hukuksal, usule iliskin ve ekonomik icerikli bu sorunlara yonelik pek cok cozum yontemi tartisilmis bulunmaktadir. Uzlasma kurumu da bu cozum yontemlerinden birisidir. Gerek ic hukukta gerekse uluslararasi hukukta tartismali olan bu kurum, Eski Yugoslavya Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi ve Ruanda Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi gibi diger uluslararasi mahkemeler tarafindan uygulanmaktadir. Ote yandan, uzlasma kurumunun hatali kullanimi hukukculari kuskuya sevk etmistir. Bu makalede, Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesinin uzlasma kurumunu kabul etmesi ihtimali tartisilacaktir. Bu baglamda, dunyanin en agir ihlallerine karsi magdurlara adalet sunulmasi bakimindan kurumun olumlu ve olumsuz yonleri incelenecektir
In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democrati... more In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democratic state, Turkey still struggles, however, with some remnants of its religious and socio-cultural heritage. The issue of forced marriage of children is one of those issues. Marriage is commonly defined as a union concluded by parties with their full and free consent. If consent is lacking, a forced marriage occurs. In the case of a forced marriage, consent is lacking because one of the prospective spouses does not give her/his consent freely, or sometimes because she/he is incapable of giving consent because of her/his age. As a founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey not only ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1954 and Protocol Nr. 1, but it has also ratified many of the core international documents on human rights and the rights of children, such as the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Dis...
There is growing public concern about online safety in parallel with the rapid development of tel... more There is growing public concern about online safety in parallel with the rapid development of telecommunication technologies. One of the most considerable issues regarding cyber safety is cyberbullying which affects not only school children but also people from different backgrounds. It has been stressed that cyberbullying may result in severe consequences such as depression, anxiety and even suicide. Some of the highly disturbing cyberbullying incidents around the world have given rise to discussion whether cyberbullying should be criminalised or not. In terms of criminalising cyberbullying, two main approaches have been proposed. According to an opinion, a new type of cyberbullying crime is necessary to fight cyberbullying. The opponent's idea is that modernising existing criminal law norms is an adequate solution to the problem. This paper aims to review these two arguments and arrive at a conclusion in the light of Turkish Criminal Code.
Yapıcı adalet anlayışı geçtiğimiz yıllar içerisinde büyük bir ilerleme kaydetmiştir. Söz konusu a... more Yapıcı adalet anlayışı geçtiğimiz yıllar içerisinde büyük bir ilerleme kaydetmiştir. Söz konusu anlayışın öne çıkan örneklerinden birisi de hakikat komisyonlarıdır. Özellikle iç savaş, askeri darbe ve soykırım gibi insan hakları ihlallerinin kitlesel boyutta yaşandığı ülkelerde hakikat komisyonlarının hayata geçirildiği görülür. Güney Afrika, Şili, Peru gibi ülkelerde hakikat komisyonları gerçeğe ulaşmak ve yargılamaları sağlamak adına önemli başarılar kazanmışlardır. Diğer yandan, komisyonların adalet arayışına zarar verdiği ve af yolunu açtığı da iddia edilmektedir. Bu çalışmada öncelikle hakikat komisyonlarına ilişkin genel bilgiler verilecektir. İlerleyen bölümlerde komisyonlara ilişkin olumlu ve olumsuz görüşler gösterilecek ve olası çözüm yolları belirtilecektir.
İntihal Plagiarism: Bu makale intihal programında taranmış ve en az iki hakem incelemesinden ... more İntihal Plagiarism: Bu makale intihal programında taranmış ve en az iki hakem incelemesinden geçmiştir. This article has been scanned via a plagiarism software and reviewed by at least two referees.
Özet Ana akım kriminolojinin kabullerini sorgulayan eleştirel kriminoloji, pek çok kriminolojik p... more Özet Ana akım kriminolojinin kabullerini sorgulayan eleştirel kriminoloji, pek çok kriminolojik perspektifi içeren bir çatı kavramdır. Her ne kadar Marx özellikle suçluluğa ilişkin çalışmamış olsa da eleştirel kriminolojinin kökleri onun yazdıklarına dayanır. Eleştirel kriminologlara göre; ceza adaleti sistemi üst sınıfların pozisyonlarını korumada ideolojik bir rol oynar. Öyle ki, kimi akademisyenler ceza adaleti sisteminin esasen yoksul insanları kontrol etmek amacıyla tasarlandığını savunurlar. İlk olarak, alt sınıftan bireylerin gerçekleştirdiği eylemlerin suç olarak etiketlenmesi ihtimali yüksektir. İkinci olarak, aynı suçu işlemelerine karşın, ceza adaleti sisteminin üst sınıfa mensup bireylere kıyasla yoksul bireyleri soruşturması, yargılaması ve cezalandırması daha muhtemeldir. Bu makalede, Marksist kriminologların argümanları Türkçe ve İngilizce çalışmalar ışığında irdelenecektir.
Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dati... more Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dating back a century. After the birth of the concept, international criminal law has covered a long distance by courtesy of international tribunals. The defi nition of the crime has evolved and the practice has been modifi ed. On the other hand, Turkish Criminal Code system has fallen outside the developments in the international area. Although, including of international crimes in the Code is an admirable enterprise, the defi nition of crimes against humanity must be restructured in the light of international standards. Firstly, the list of prohibited acts must be enhanced. Secondly, discriminatory intent and requirement for systematic attack must be excluded from the text
In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democrati... more In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democratic state, Turkey still struggles, however, with some remnants of its religious and socio-cultural heritage. The issue of forced marriage of children is one of those issues. Marriage is commonly defined as a union concluded by parties with their full and free consent. If consent is lacking, a forced marriage occurs. In the case of a forced marriage, consent is lacking because one of the prospective spouses does not give her/his consent freely, or sometimes because she/he is incapable of giving consent because of her/his age. As a founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey not only ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1954 and Protocol Nr. 1, but it has also ratified many of the core international documents on human rights and the rights of children, such as the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Nevertheless, the forced marriage of children is still a prevalent social problem in Turkey, and in the majority of cases, girls are the victims of such practices. This article examines the factors behind the forced marriage of children in Turkey, while exploring the current legal background and Turkey’s international legal commitments to fight against such practices. Finally, the article suggests the reinforcement of available legal remedies in order to prevent the forced marriage of children.
Özet: Cinsel şiddet, insanlığın yerleşik bir problemi olagelmiştir. Ulusal hukuk sistemleri, cins... more Özet: Cinsel şiddet, insanlığın yerleşik bir problemi olagelmiştir. Ulusal hukuk sistemleri, cinsel şiddete vücut veren fiillerin cezalandı-rılmasını uzun yıllardır öngörmektedir. Diğer yandan, bu fiillerin ulus-lararası hukukta yasaklanmaları sadece bir asırlık geçmişe sahiptir. Başlangıçta, cinsel şiddet fiilleri ordu disiplinine karşı gerçekleştirilen ihlaller olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Ancak II. Dünya Savaşı'ndan sonra cinsel şiddetin uluslararası hukukça yasaklanmasının gerekliliği daha net görülmüştür. Bugün cinsel şiddet fiillerinin insanlığa karşı suçları ve soykırım suçunu oluşturabileceği genel olarak kabul edilmekte-dir. Bu bağlamda, çalışmamız söz konusu suçlar altında yasaklanmış olan cinsel şiddet eylemlerine ilişkin açıklamalarda bulunmayı amaç-lamaktadır. Ayrıca çalışmada, görmezden gelinen kimi cinsel şiddet hallerinin de uluslararası metinlerde tanınmasının gerekliliği tartışı-lacaktır. Abstract: Sexual violence has been an inveterate problem of humanity. National law systems have ensured that acts of sexual violence are punishable for long time. On the other hand, the prohibition of these acts under international law only goes back to a century. At the beginning, acts of sexual violence were considered as breaches against military discipline. However, after World War II, the need to proscribe sexual violence under international law has been unreservedly observed. Today, it is generally accepted that acts of sexual violence will consitute crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide. In this regard, this paper aims to explain the prohibited sexual acts under these type of crimes. Moreover, the paper will also argue that some of the omitted acts regarding sexual nature must be codified under international instruments.
Since its establishment in 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has faced many obstacles ... more Since its establishment in 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has faced many obstacles in bringing the instigators and perpetrators of crimes to justice. Many solutions have been offered on solving these difficulties which are mainly legal, procedural and economical. One suggestion which has been made is the issue of plea bargaining. This procedure, which is controversial both in national and international level, has already been applied by other international criminal tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). However, there is a danger that the misuse of plea bargaining by these international tribunals plants since of doubt on lawyers' minds. In this article, the author discusses the possibility of the ICC adopting plea bargaining system and its proceedings. In this regard, it will also consider the pros and cons of adopting a plea bargaining system in achieving justice for the victims of the world's most heinous atrocities.
Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dati... more Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dating back a century. After the birth of the concept, international criminal law has covered a long distance by courtesy of international tribunals. The defi nition of the crime has evolved and the practice has been modifi ed. On the other hand, Turkish Criminal Code system has fallen outside the developments in the international area. Although, including of international crimes in the Code is an admirable enterprise, the defi nition of crimes against humanity must be restructured in the light of international standards. Firstly, the list of prohibited acts must be enhanced. Secondly, discriminatory intent and requirement for systematic attack must be excluded from the text. TÜRK CEZA KANUNU'NDA İNSANLIĞA KARŞI SUÇLAR: ULUSLARARASI MEKANİZMALAR IŞIĞINDA ELEŞTİREL BİR İNCELEME ÖZET İnsanlığa karşı suçlar, insanlığın kendisi kadar eski bir olgudur. Oysa ki, kavram ancak yüz yıllık bir tarihe sahiptir. Konseptin doğumundan bu yana uluslararası ceza hukuku, uluslararası mahkemelerin katkılarıyla uzun bir yol kat etmiştir. Suçun tanımı evrim geçirmiş ve uygulama değişim göstermiştir. Öte yandan, Türk Ceza Kanunu uluslararası alandaki bu gelişmelerin gerisinde kalmıştır. Her ne kadar kanunun uluslararası suçlara yer vermesi önemli bir gelişme olsa da insanlığa karşı suç tanımının uluslararası standartlar ışığında yeniden düzenlenmesi gerekmektedir. Öncelikle suç tanımındaki yasaklanmış fiillerin sayısı arttırılmalıdır. İkinci olarak, fiilin ayrımcılık saikiyle ve sistemli olarak işlenmesi şartları madde metninden çıkarılmalıdır. Anahtar Kelimeler: insanlığa karşı suçlar, uluslararası ceza mahkemesi, ayrımcılık saiki, zorla kaybetme, sürgün
Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi, 2002’de kurulmasindan bu yana failleri ve azmettirenleri adalet onun... more Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi, 2002’de kurulmasindan bu yana failleri ve azmettirenleri adalet onune getirmekte sorunlar yasamakta. Ozellikle hukuksal, usule iliskin ve ekonomik icerikli bu sorunlara yonelik pek cok cozum yontemi tartisilmis bulunmaktadir. Uzlasma kurumu da bu cozum yontemlerinden birisidir. Gerek ic hukukta gerekse uluslararasi hukukta tartismali olan bu kurum, Eski Yugoslavya Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi ve Ruanda Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi gibi diger uluslararasi mahkemeler tarafindan uygulanmaktadir. Ote yandan, uzlasma kurumunun hatali kullanimi hukukculari kuskuya sevk etmistir. Bu makalede, Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesinin uzlasma kurumunu kabul etmesi ihtimali tartisilacaktir. Bu baglamda, dunyanin en agir ihlallerine karsi magdurlara adalet sunulmasi bakimindan kurumun olumlu ve olumsuz yonleri incelenecektir
In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democrati... more In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democratic state, Turkey still struggles, however, with some remnants of its religious and socio-cultural heritage. The issue of forced marriage of children is one of those issues. Marriage is commonly defined as a union concluded by parties with their full and free consent. If consent is lacking, a forced marriage occurs. In the case of a forced marriage, consent is lacking because one of the prospective spouses does not give her/his consent freely, or sometimes because she/he is incapable of giving consent because of her/his age. As a founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey not only ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1954 and Protocol Nr. 1, but it has also ratified many of the core international documents on human rights and the rights of children, such as the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Dis...
There is growing public concern about online safety in parallel with the rapid development of tel... more There is growing public concern about online safety in parallel with the rapid development of telecommunication technologies. One of the most considerable issues regarding cyber safety is cyberbullying which affects not only school children but also people from different backgrounds. It has been stressed that cyberbullying may result in severe consequences such as depression, anxiety and even suicide. Some of the highly disturbing cyberbullying incidents around the world have given rise to discussion whether cyberbullying should be criminalised or not. In terms of criminalising cyberbullying, two main approaches have been proposed. According to an opinion, a new type of cyberbullying crime is necessary to fight cyberbullying. The opponent's idea is that modernising existing criminal law norms is an adequate solution to the problem. This paper aims to review these two arguments and arrive at a conclusion in the light of Turkish Criminal Code.
Yapıcı adalet anlayışı geçtiğimiz yıllar içerisinde büyük bir ilerleme kaydetmiştir. Söz konusu a... more Yapıcı adalet anlayışı geçtiğimiz yıllar içerisinde büyük bir ilerleme kaydetmiştir. Söz konusu anlayışın öne çıkan örneklerinden birisi de hakikat komisyonlarıdır. Özellikle iç savaş, askeri darbe ve soykırım gibi insan hakları ihlallerinin kitlesel boyutta yaşandığı ülkelerde hakikat komisyonlarının hayata geçirildiği görülür. Güney Afrika, Şili, Peru gibi ülkelerde hakikat komisyonları gerçeğe ulaşmak ve yargılamaları sağlamak adına önemli başarılar kazanmışlardır. Diğer yandan, komisyonların adalet arayışına zarar verdiği ve af yolunu açtığı da iddia edilmektedir. Bu çalışmada öncelikle hakikat komisyonlarına ilişkin genel bilgiler verilecektir. İlerleyen bölümlerde komisyonlara ilişkin olumlu ve olumsuz görüşler gösterilecek ve olası çözüm yolları belirtilecektir.
İntihal Plagiarism: Bu makale intihal programında taranmış ve en az iki hakem incelemesinden ... more İntihal Plagiarism: Bu makale intihal programında taranmış ve en az iki hakem incelemesinden geçmiştir. This article has been scanned via a plagiarism software and reviewed by at least two referees.
Özet Ana akım kriminolojinin kabullerini sorgulayan eleştirel kriminoloji, pek çok kriminolojik p... more Özet Ana akım kriminolojinin kabullerini sorgulayan eleştirel kriminoloji, pek çok kriminolojik perspektifi içeren bir çatı kavramdır. Her ne kadar Marx özellikle suçluluğa ilişkin çalışmamış olsa da eleştirel kriminolojinin kökleri onun yazdıklarına dayanır. Eleştirel kriminologlara göre; ceza adaleti sistemi üst sınıfların pozisyonlarını korumada ideolojik bir rol oynar. Öyle ki, kimi akademisyenler ceza adaleti sisteminin esasen yoksul insanları kontrol etmek amacıyla tasarlandığını savunurlar. İlk olarak, alt sınıftan bireylerin gerçekleştirdiği eylemlerin suç olarak etiketlenmesi ihtimali yüksektir. İkinci olarak, aynı suçu işlemelerine karşın, ceza adaleti sisteminin üst sınıfa mensup bireylere kıyasla yoksul bireyleri soruşturması, yargılaması ve cezalandırması daha muhtemeldir. Bu makalede, Marksist kriminologların argümanları Türkçe ve İngilizce çalışmalar ışığında irdelenecektir.
Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dati... more Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dating back a century. After the birth of the concept, international criminal law has covered a long distance by courtesy of international tribunals. The defi nition of the crime has evolved and the practice has been modifi ed. On the other hand, Turkish Criminal Code system has fallen outside the developments in the international area. Although, including of international crimes in the Code is an admirable enterprise, the defi nition of crimes against humanity must be restructured in the light of international standards. Firstly, the list of prohibited acts must be enhanced. Secondly, discriminatory intent and requirement for systematic attack must be excluded from the text
In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democrati... more In many respects, Turkey is an exception among Muslim countries. Whilst being a secular democratic state, Turkey still struggles, however, with some remnants of its religious and socio-cultural heritage. The issue of forced marriage of children is one of those issues. Marriage is commonly defined as a union concluded by parties with their full and free consent. If consent is lacking, a forced marriage occurs. In the case of a forced marriage, consent is lacking because one of the prospective spouses does not give her/his consent freely, or sometimes because she/he is incapable of giving consent because of her/his age. As a founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey not only ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1954 and Protocol Nr. 1, but it has also ratified many of the core international documents on human rights and the rights of children, such as the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Nevertheless, the forced marriage of children is still a prevalent social problem in Turkey, and in the majority of cases, girls are the victims of such practices. This article examines the factors behind the forced marriage of children in Turkey, while exploring the current legal background and Turkey’s international legal commitments to fight against such practices. Finally, the article suggests the reinforcement of available legal remedies in order to prevent the forced marriage of children.
Özet: Cinsel şiddet, insanlığın yerleşik bir problemi olagelmiştir. Ulusal hukuk sistemleri, cins... more Özet: Cinsel şiddet, insanlığın yerleşik bir problemi olagelmiştir. Ulusal hukuk sistemleri, cinsel şiddete vücut veren fiillerin cezalandı-rılmasını uzun yıllardır öngörmektedir. Diğer yandan, bu fiillerin ulus-lararası hukukta yasaklanmaları sadece bir asırlık geçmişe sahiptir. Başlangıçta, cinsel şiddet fiilleri ordu disiplinine karşı gerçekleştirilen ihlaller olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Ancak II. Dünya Savaşı'ndan sonra cinsel şiddetin uluslararası hukukça yasaklanmasının gerekliliği daha net görülmüştür. Bugün cinsel şiddet fiillerinin insanlığa karşı suçları ve soykırım suçunu oluşturabileceği genel olarak kabul edilmekte-dir. Bu bağlamda, çalışmamız söz konusu suçlar altında yasaklanmış olan cinsel şiddet eylemlerine ilişkin açıklamalarda bulunmayı amaç-lamaktadır. Ayrıca çalışmada, görmezden gelinen kimi cinsel şiddet hallerinin de uluslararası metinlerde tanınmasının gerekliliği tartışı-lacaktır. Abstract: Sexual violence has been an inveterate problem of humanity. National law systems have ensured that acts of sexual violence are punishable for long time. On the other hand, the prohibition of these acts under international law only goes back to a century. At the beginning, acts of sexual violence were considered as breaches against military discipline. However, after World War II, the need to proscribe sexual violence under international law has been unreservedly observed. Today, it is generally accepted that acts of sexual violence will consitute crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide. In this regard, this paper aims to explain the prohibited sexual acts under these type of crimes. Moreover, the paper will also argue that some of the omitted acts regarding sexual nature must be codified under international instruments.
Since its establishment in 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has faced many obstacles ... more Since its establishment in 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has faced many obstacles in bringing the instigators and perpetrators of crimes to justice. Many solutions have been offered on solving these difficulties which are mainly legal, procedural and economical. One suggestion which has been made is the issue of plea bargaining. This procedure, which is controversial both in national and international level, has already been applied by other international criminal tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). However, there is a danger that the misuse of plea bargaining by these international tribunals plants since of doubt on lawyers' minds. In this article, the author discusses the possibility of the ICC adopting plea bargaining system and its proceedings. In this regard, it will also consider the pros and cons of adopting a plea bargaining system in achieving justice for the victims of the world's most heinous atrocities.
Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dati... more Crimes against humanity are as old as humanity itself. However, the expression can be traced dating back a century. After the birth of the concept, international criminal law has covered a long distance by courtesy of international tribunals. The defi nition of the crime has evolved and the practice has been modifi ed. On the other hand, Turkish Criminal Code system has fallen outside the developments in the international area. Although, including of international crimes in the Code is an admirable enterprise, the defi nition of crimes against humanity must be restructured in the light of international standards. Firstly, the list of prohibited acts must be enhanced. Secondly, discriminatory intent and requirement for systematic attack must be excluded from the text. TÜRK CEZA KANUNU'NDA İNSANLIĞA KARŞI SUÇLAR: ULUSLARARASI MEKANİZMALAR IŞIĞINDA ELEŞTİREL BİR İNCELEME ÖZET İnsanlığa karşı suçlar, insanlığın kendisi kadar eski bir olgudur. Oysa ki, kavram ancak yüz yıllık bir tarihe sahiptir. Konseptin doğumundan bu yana uluslararası ceza hukuku, uluslararası mahkemelerin katkılarıyla uzun bir yol kat etmiştir. Suçun tanımı evrim geçirmiş ve uygulama değişim göstermiştir. Öte yandan, Türk Ceza Kanunu uluslararası alandaki bu gelişmelerin gerisinde kalmıştır. Her ne kadar kanunun uluslararası suçlara yer vermesi önemli bir gelişme olsa da insanlığa karşı suç tanımının uluslararası standartlar ışığında yeniden düzenlenmesi gerekmektedir. Öncelikle suç tanımındaki yasaklanmış fiillerin sayısı arttırılmalıdır. İkinci olarak, fiilin ayrımcılık saikiyle ve sistemli olarak işlenmesi şartları madde metninden çıkarılmalıdır. Anahtar Kelimeler: insanlığa karşı suçlar, uluslararası ceza mahkemesi, ayrımcılık saiki, zorla kaybetme, sürgün
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Papers by Volkan Maviş
commonly defined as a union concluded by parties with their full and free consent. If consent is lacking, a forced marriage occurs. In the case of a forced marriage, consent is lacking because one of the prospective spouses does not give her/his consent freely, or sometimes because she/he is incapable of giving consent because of her/his age. As a founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey not only ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1954 and Protocol Nr. 1, but it has also ratified many of the core international documents on human rights and the rights of children, such as the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Nevertheless, the forced marriage of children is still a prevalent social problem in Turkey, and in the majority of cases, girls are the victims of such practices. This article examines the factors behind the forced marriage of children in Turkey, while exploring the current legal background and Turkey’s international legal commitments to fight against such practices. Finally, the article suggests the reinforcement of available legal remedies in order to prevent the forced marriage of children.
commonly defined as a union concluded by parties with their full and free consent. If consent is lacking, a forced marriage occurs. In the case of a forced marriage, consent is lacking because one of the prospective spouses does not give her/his consent freely, or sometimes because she/he is incapable of giving consent because of her/his age. As a founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey not only ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1954 and Protocol Nr. 1, but it has also ratified many of the core international documents on human rights and the rights of children, such as the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Nevertheless, the forced marriage of children is still a prevalent social problem in Turkey, and in the majority of cases, girls are the victims of such practices. This article examines the factors behind the forced marriage of children in Turkey, while exploring the current legal background and Turkey’s international legal commitments to fight against such practices. Finally, the article suggests the reinforcement of available legal remedies in order to prevent the forced marriage of children.