Article 16 MÖHUK – Establishing Parentage

Article 16 of Turkey’s Law No. 5718 on Private International Law and International Civil Procedure (MÖHUK) decides which law governs the establishment and the challenge of parentage (soybağı) between a child and its mother or father where a foreign element is involved. The starting point is the child’s national law at the time of birth; if parentage cannot be established under it, the court moves down a list of other laws. When a Turkish court deals with the paternity of a child born in Germany or the Netherlands, an acknowledgment (tanıma) or a paternity suit (babalık davası), this is where it starts.

Article 16 MÖHUK – text

Unofficial translation:

Establishment of parentage
Article 16 – (1) The establishment of parentage is governed by the child’s national law at the time of birth and, if it cannot be established under that law, by the law of the child’s habitual residence. If parentage cannot be established under these laws, it is established under the national law of the mother or of the father at the time of the child’s birth; if it cannot be established under those laws, under the law of the common habitual residence of the mother and father at the time of the child’s birth; and if it cannot be established under that law either, under the law of the child’s place of birth.
(2) The annulment of parentage is governed by the law under which it was established.

Turkish original:

Soybağının kurulması
MADDE 16 – (1) Soybağının kuruluşu, çocuğun doğum anındaki millî hukukuna, kurulamaması hâlinde çocuğun mutad meskeni hukukuna tâbidir. Soybağı bu hukuklara göre kurulamıyorsa, ananın veya babanın, çocuğun doğumu anındaki millî hukuklarına, bunlara göre kurulamaması hâlinde ana ve babanın, çocuğun doğumu anındaki müşterek mutad mesken hukukuna, buna göre de kurulamıyorsa çocuğun doğum yeri hukukuna tâbi olarak kurulur.
(2) Soybağı hangi hukuka göre kurulmuşsa iptali de o hukuka tâbidir.

The current text on mevzuat.gov.tr carries no amendment note (as of November 2026).

Legislative reasoning

According to the government bill’s reasoning, the article replaces Articles 15, 16 and 17 of the former Law No. 2675 with a different approach. To match the Civil Code, the term “nesep” was replaced with “soybağı” (parentage), and the separate categories of legitimate descent, legitimation and illegitimate descent were dropped because, in the reasoning’s words, all of them are simply the establishment of parentage. Unlike the old law, the child’s national law at birth now comes first, followed by the law of the child’s habitual residence; the reasoning explains this by the international approach that puts the child’s best interests first. Paragraph 2 ties annulment to the law under which parentage was established, so that later changes do not affect either.

Explanation

Under Turkish law, parentage between child and mother arises from birth; between child and father, from marriage to the mother, acknowledgment or a court judgment; adoption also creates parentage (Turkish Civil Code (TMK) Article 282). In a case with a foreign element, the law designated by Article 16 MÖHUK decides which of these routes is available and on what conditions. Adoption has its own rule in Article 18 MÖHUK.

The logic is simple: if parentage can be established under the law at one step, you stop there. If not, you move to the next. The steps are the child’s national law, the law of the child’s habitual residence, the national law of the mother or father, the law of the parents’ common habitual residence and finally the law of the place of birth. The relevant moment is the birth; a later change in the parents’ nationality does not change the law governing parentage already established.

What follows from parentage, for example custody, maintenance and upbringing, is a separate question dealt with in Article 17 MÖHUK.

What this means if you live abroad

Child of a married Turkish couple born in Germany. A child born within marriage to a Turkish mother or father, in Turkey or abroad, is a Turkish citizen (Law No. 5901 on Turkish Citizenship, Article 7(1)). Turkish law therefore applies at the first step: the husband is the father of a child born during the marriage or within three hundred days after it ended (TMK Article 285). If the child also holds German or Dutch citizenship, that changes nothing; Turkish citizenship counts (MÖHUK Article 4(1)(b); see Article 4 MÖHUK).

Child born outside marriage to a Turkish mother. A child born outside marriage to a Turkish mother and a foreign father is a Turkish citizen (Law No. 5901, Article 7(2)). Paternity can be established under Turkish law by acknowledgment or a paternity suit. Acknowledgment is made by the father’s written application to the registrar (nüfus memuru) or the court, or by a declaration in an official deed or a will (TMK Article 295); a paternity suit may be brought by the mother and the child (TMK Article 301).

Turkish father, foreign mother, not married. Here the child acquires Turkish citizenship only once the procedures establishing parentage have been completed (Law No. 5901, Article 7(3)). Whether, before that, the child’s “national law at the time of birth” is Turkish law is disputed. There is no express provision in the law and no binding court decision on it; which view a court will take in a given case is uncertain. In the author’s assessment the uncertainty often makes no difference to the outcome, because if the first step fails the article in any case moves on to the law of the child’s habitual residence and then to the father’s national law.

Acknowledgment made in Germany or the Netherlands. A paternity acknowledged abroad and its entry in the Turkish civil register are two different matters; registration is an administrative step and not the subject of this article. A foreign paternity judgment has res judicata effect in Turkey only after recognition (MÖHUK Article 58). For the requirements under German or Dutch law, please consult a lawyer or the competent authority in that country.

Challenges and time limits. Under paragraph 2, if parentage was established under Turkish law, any challenge is governed by Turkish law too. There, the husband, the mother or the child may rebut the presumption of paternity by bringing a challenge (soybağının reddi) (TMK Article 286, as amended by Law No. 7531 of 7 November 2024). The husband must sue within one year of learning of the birth and that he is not the father, or that the mother had sexual relations with another man at the time of conception; the mother within one year of the birth at the latest, and the child within one year of reaching majority at the latest. If the delay is based on good cause, the year runs from when that cause ends (TMK Article 289). The law sets no separate time limit for people abroad; whether living abroad counts as good cause is for the court to decide in the individual case. More on family matters: family law.

Frequently asked questions

Which law decides the paternity of a child born in Germany?

First the child’s national law at birth, so Turkish law for a Turkish child. If paternity cannot be established under it, the law of the child’s habitual residence follows, then the mother’s or father’s national law, then the law of their common habitual residence and lastly the law of the place of birth (MÖHUK Article 16(1)).

How does a Turkish father acknowledge a child born outside marriage?

Where Turkish law applies, by written application to the registrar or the court, or by a declaration in an official deed or a will (TMK Article 295). A child who already has a parentage link with another man cannot be acknowledged until that link is set aside.

Which law governs a challenge to paternity?

The law under which parentage was established (MÖHUK Article 16(2)). If that was Turkish law, the rights of action and one-year time limits in TMK Articles 286 and 289 apply.

Sources

Questions about your case

If you would like to discuss how paternity of your child born abroad can be established under Turkish law, how an acknowledgment made in Germany or the Netherlands stands in Turkey, or how the time limits for a challenge apply to you, you can book a video call, a phone call or a meeting in Düsseldorf on the appointment page, or send a written question through the contact form. Consultations are held in Turkish and cover Turkish law only (§ 206 BRAO); for parentage proceedings under German or Dutch law, please consult a lawyer admitted there. The child’s birth certificate, the parents’ nationality at the time of birth, a marriage certificate if there is one, and any acknowledgment document or court decision already issued are useful to have ready.