When a child has been taken to Türkiye, or kept there, a parent abroad can apply for return under the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention. The application goes to the Turkish Central Authority, and the Convention itself sets the language. Türkiye made few choices under the Convention, which keeps the rule simpler than many lawyers expect, with one important gap in coverage.
Türkiye and the Convention
The Convention entered into force for Türkiye on 1 August 2000, after ratification on 31 May 2000. The Central Authority is the Directorate General for Foreign Relations and EU Affairs of the Ministry of Justice (DİABGM), Ankara. Its HCCH page for this Convention lists English and French as the languages spoken by its staff.
What Article 24 requires
Under Article 24, any application, communication or other document sent to the Central Authority of the requested State shall be in the original language and accompanied by a translation into the official language, or one of the official languages, of that State; where that is not feasible, by a translation into French or English. A State may object to either French or English, but not both, by making a reservation under Article 42.
No language reservation by Türkiye
Türkiye made a single reservation, under Article 26(3): it is not bound to assume the costs of the proceedings, of legal counsel or advisers, or of returning the child. It made no reservation on language. An application to Türkiye therefore travels in its original language with a Turkish translation, and where a Turkish translation is not feasible, a French or English translation stays within Article 24.
After the Central Authority: the Turkish court
Return proceedings in Türkiye are governed by Law No. 5717. The case is brought by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of the Central Authority (Article 7(2)) before the family court (Article 6). The documents supplied by the foreign Central Authority, by the applicant or by the person caring for the child are attached to the petition, and documents sent by the Central Authority need no authentication (Article 7(3)). Law No. 5717 contains no provision on translation; how the family court treats documents in another language is a matter for the lawyer on the case.
Morocco and Tunisia: no Convention link with Türkiye
Under Article 38, an accession has effect only between the acceding State and the Contracting States that have declared their acceptance of it. Morocco’s accession took effect on 1 June 2010 and Tunisia’s on 1 October 2017, and Türkiye appears in neither acceptance table, while France and Belgium have accepted both. Between Türkiye and Morocco, or Türkiye and Tunisia, the 1980 Convention is therefore not in force, and a return application under it is not available between them.
Applications sent from Türkiye
When the Turkish Central Authority sends an application abroad, the other State’s position sets the language. France reserved that it will consider only applications drawn up in French or accompanied by a French translation. The United States asks that all documents sent to its Central Authority be accompanied by an English translation. Germany expects requests to be regularly accompanied by a German translation.
What we translate
Acte Tercüme translates return applications, custody orders, civil status records attached to them and correspondence with the Central Authority between Turkish, English and French. We translate what the parents and the courts have written; whether an application should be made is not something we advise on.