The panel “The Centenary of the Adoption of the Turkish Civil Code: Panel on the Turkish Civil Code (Türk Kanunu Medenisi) and the Republic Exhibition”, organised by our Faculty in partnership with the Atatürk Research Centre, was held on 21 October 2026 in the Sezai Karakoç Hall and the Fuat Sezgin Hall. The panel addressed the historical development of the Turkish Civil Code, its place in the private law system and its impact on social life.
Opening addresses were delivered by Prof. Dr. Hayrunnisa Özdemir, Head of the Department of Civil Law; our Dean, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Bilge; Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kılınç, President of the Atatürk Research Centre; and our Rector, Prof. Dr. Musa Kazım Arıcan. The speakers focused on the role of the Turkish Civil Code, drafted on the basis of the Swiss Civil Code, in establishing legal unity, as well as on equality in the law of succession and the development of the civil law order.
In the first session, chaired by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Bilge, papers were presented by Prof. Dr. Gökhan Antalya, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Serhat Yılmaz, Res. Asst. Dr. Hatice Cemre Akyılmaz, Prof. Dr. Murat Topuz and Prof. Dr. Hayrunnisa Özdemir. The second session, chaired by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ünal, featured Prof. Dr. Şebnem Akipek, Prof. Dr. Faruk Acar, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Akçaal, Prof. Dr. Gökhan Şahan and Prof. Dr. Turan Şahin. In the third session, chaired by Prof. Dr. İhsan Erdoğan, papers were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yıldız Abik, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tolunay Ozanemre Yayla, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Atamulu, Prof. Dr. Erman Benli and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yasemin Güllüoğlu.
Alongside the historical background of the Turkish Civil Code and its place in the founding of the Republic’s order of equality, the sessions examined current issues such as the ranking of rights in rem, agreements on the partition of the estate, the family home, post-divorce maintenance, digital inheritance and the best interests of the child. Video recordings are available for the opening addresses, the second session and the third session.
