NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

391 MISCELLANEOUS Have Form Requirements been brought for Engagements?* Prof. Dr. H. Murat Develioglu Introduction In accordance with the two decisions of the 3rd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the validity of “engagement” depends on the engagement to be made in a certain form. However, both decisions are contrary to the basic principles of Turkish private law. Firstly, general rules regarding the form of engagement will be explained, below, and then these decisions will be discussed. Form of Legal Procedures in General One of the basic principles in Turkish private law is the freedom of contract principle. One of the sub-branches of the freedom of contract principle is the “freedom of form” . Indeed, according to Article 12 in the “General Provisions” section of the Turkish Code of Obligations (“TCO”), titled “Form of Contracts” , ‘the validity of a contract is not subject to any particular form unless otherwise specified by the law’. Whether an Engagement is Subject to Form As stated, above, there is no form requirement for validity of legal transactions unless otherwise specified by the law. The Turkish Civil Code (“Civil Code”) states that engagements are made with a recipro- cal promise of marriage by a man and a woman, and no form require- ment is required as to how this promise will be made. In the doctrine, it is also clearly and undoubtedly accepted that engagements are not subject to any form requirement. * Article of August 2019