What is Legal Capacity?

What is Legal Capacity? | What does Legal Capacity Mean? | Izmir Law Firm | Izmir Lawyer | Legal Information

What is Legal Capacity??

Fiil Ehliyeti Nedir? Fiil ehliyeti, kişinin bizzat fiil ve işlemleriyle lehine haklar, aleyhine ise borçlar oluşturabilme yeteneğidir. Aktif bir ehliyettir. Hakların kullanılmasını ifade eder. Yani bir kişi tam ve sağ doğarak kanunun öngördüğü hukuki haklarını elde eder; hak ehliyetine sahip olur. Fiil ehliyeti ise bu hakları bizzat kullanabilmek  anlamına gelir. Her ne kadar tam ve sağ doğum hak ehliyeti için yeterli olsa da, fiil ehliyeti bazı durumlarda kısıtlanabilir, kaldırılabilir. Yani bir kişinin fiil ehliyetine sahip olması için kanun koyucu tarafından bu hakkın kullanılmasına engel teşkil edecek bir hukuki durumda olmaması şartı aranmıştır.

Having legal capacity fly There is a basic requirement.

When examining the legal capacity of natural persons, it is necessary to make a distinction in accordance with the capacity to exercise civil rights. Every natural person who has the capacity to discern, is of legal age, and is not under guardianship has full legal capacity. Those with full legal capacity can file lawsuits themselves and conduct the proceedings they have initiated; they can also pursue lawsuits filed against them. As mentioned above, those who have legal capacity must not be under guardianship. In this sense, we can also call legal capacity the capacity to sue.

Legal capacity is the ability of a person to pursue a lawsuit and carry out procedural actions either personally or through an authorized representative (agent) (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 71; Code of Civil Procedure, Article 36/3). Legal capacity is determined by the capacity to exercise civil rights. In other words, all natural and legal persons who possess the capacity to act (to exercise civil rights) also possess the capacity to sue (Article 51).

1. Discernment: The ability to understand the cause-and-effect relationships of one's actions and behaviors, and to foresee their effects. (Ages 12 and above)
2. Reaching Adulthood: This means exceeding the legally defined age limit. This is called legal adulthood.
3. Not Being Under Legal Restriction: Legal restriction is the removal of a person's civil capacity (capacity to act) by a court. Legal restriction is established by a court decision. Individuals who meet the three conditions above are considered to have full legal capacity.

So what are the states of adulthood and states of limited capacity?

Becoming an AdultIt happens in four ways.

1. Legal Maturity: The legal maturity attained when individuals reach the age of 18.
2. Acquisition of Adulthood Through Marriage: This applies when individuals who have reached the age of 17 marry with the permission of their parents. (No court order is required)
3. Forced Marriage and Coming of Age: This refers to cases where individuals who have reached the age of 16 are forced to marry. (A court order is required.)
4. Judicial Acquisition of Adulthood: Individuals who have reached the age of 15 are legally recognized as adults by a court decision at the request of their parents. (Age increase)

What are the States of Restriction??

Legal capacity is the removal of a person's civil rights (capacity to act) by a court. Legal capacity is established by a court decision.

The circumstances that limit legal capacity can be summarized as follows:

a) Due to Age The civil code stipulates that individuals may not be legally entitled to certain rights due to their age.

• Turkish Civil Code Article 124.- Men and women cannot marry unless they have reached the age of seventeen. 
• Turkish Civil Code Article 502.- To make a will, one must have the capacity to understand and be at least fifteen years old.
• Turkish Civil Code Article 503.- To enter into an inheritance agreement, one must be of sound mind, of legal age, and not be under any legal restrictions.
• Turkish Civil Code Article 307.- An unmarried person who has reached the age of thirty may adopt a child on their own.
• Again, to be able to choose one's own religion, one must be of legal age. To be a guardian, one must also be of legal age.
• Turkish Civil Code Article 413.- The guardianship authority appoints an adult who is capable of performing this duty as guardian.
• The difference between an inheritance agreement and a will: Both are dispositions dependent on death. One is a contract, the other is a unilateral legal act.

b) Gender

Turkish Civil Code Article 132.- If a marriage has ended, a woman cannot remarry until three hundred days have passed since the termination of the marriage. This is called the waiting period (iddet). The reason for this regulation is to prevent confusion regarding paternity. It aims to prevent conflicts in presumptions of paternity. These three hundred days begin to be counted from the date of the judge's decision if the marriage ended by divorce, from the date of death if it ended by death, and from the date of the annulment decision if the marriage was annulled by the judge. In cases of disappearance, the three hundred-day period begins to be calculated from the day the last news was received from the person or from the day they disappeared under circumstances that endangered their life. If the woman gives birth before this three hundred-day period begins, or if she wishes to remarry her former spouse, this three hundred-day waiting period is waived. Today, we can determine if a woman is pregnant with a simple blood test. If it is determined by a doctor's report that the woman is not pregnant, she can apply to the judge to have this period waived. .

Another difference is that the right to deny paternity rests solely with the husband. This is not the case for the woman, because the woman who gives birth to the child is the mother. This is an absolute principle.

Anayasa madde 41 der : ” Evlilikte kadın ve erkek eşittir. ”

Turkish Civil Code Article 185.- Marriage establishes a marital union between spouses. Spouses are obligated to work together to ensure the happiness of this union and to jointly care for, educate, and supervise their children. Spouses are obliged to live together, remain faithful to each other, and support each other.

Turkish Civil Code Article 186.- Spouses choose their residence together. Spouses manage the marital union together. Spouses contribute to the expenses of the union in proportion to their abilities, through their labor and assets.

We see an exception to this in Article 187: A woman takes her husband's surname upon marriage; however, she may continue to use her previous surname before her husband's surname by making a written application to the marriage registrar or later to the population registry office. A woman who previously used two surnames can only benefit from this right for one surname. Or, if she wishes, she can continue to use her maiden surname by filing a lawsuit.

The custody of a child born out of wedlock belongs to the mother. Even if a legal relationship exists between the child and the father, custody cannot be granted. The custody of a child born within marriage belongs jointly to both the mother and the father.

c) Foreignness Türk vatandaşı olmama bazı sınırlamalara tabi olur . En önemlisi yabancıların gönüllerince Türkiye’de taşınmaz mal sahibi olamamasıdır. Buna müsaade edilirse devletlerden daha zengin olan şirketler gelir ve ülkeyi bir şekilde komple satın alırlar . Bu yüzden Tapu Kanunumuzda ve çeşitli kanunlarımızda sınırlandırmalar mevcuttur.

d) Discrimination Power Individuals who lack the capacity to make reasoned judgments cannot exercise rights that must be exercised personally. Their legal representatives cannot exercise these rights on their behalf either. However, if the inability to exercise these strictly personal rights creates a situation that is very detrimental to the individual, then their legal representative should certainly be able to exercise these rights on their behalf. For example, if a married person loses their capacity to make reasoned judgments, and their husband uses this as an excuse to subject them to infidelity, physical abuse, or verbal abuse, then their legal representative can file for divorce on their behalf.

e) Mental Illness Article 133.- Mentally ill individuals cannot marry unless an official health board report confirms that there is no medical impediment to their marriage. Their parental rights are revoked, and their guardianship status also ends.

f) Leading a Dishonorable Life These individuals cannot be appointed as guardians.

g) Conviction for a crime  These individuals cannot participate as witnesses in the drafting of a formal will. .

h) Enforcement of Foreign Court Decisions Türkiye’de meydana gelmiş bir olaya yabancı bir hukuk uygulanabilir. Bu da bazı farklar yaratabilir.

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