LAW OF PERSONS, LEGAL SUBJECTIVITY, AND CRISES IN THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL RIGHTS
The Individual’s Legal Existence and the Struggle to Be a Subject of Rights
Shaped by the introductory provisions of the Civil Code, the Law of Persons centers on the legal capacity that a human being possesses from birth and the capacity to act, which is the will to exercise this capacity. However, in today’s increasingly digitalized and individualized world, an individual’s legal subjectivity is under severe siege by digital identity thefts, unauthorized data processing activities, and press/social media manipulations. The law of persons is not merely a bureaucratic field where birth-death registries are kept; it is the ultimate trench where human honor, dignity, bodily integrity, and spiritual existence are protected under state guarantee.
Attacks on Personal Rights in the Digital Age and Legal Protection Mechanisms
The protection of personal rights (Turkish Civil Code Art. 24) provides the victim with a triple legal weapon against any unlawful attack: the right to demand the cessation of the attack, the prevention of the danger, and the declaration of the unlawfulness of the attack, alongside pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation claims. Particularly in cases where individuals’ right not to be stigmatized is violated in the internet environment (social media, news websites, search engine caches) and they suffer character assassination through baseless slanders, traditional compensation lawsuits remain insufficient. At this point, promptly obtaining content removal and access-blocking decisions within the scope of Law No. 5651 is the first and sharpest rule of legal defense.
Guardianship, Curatorship, and the Rights of Protected Individuals
The balance between the freedoms and protection needs of individuals who cannot manage their own affairs or endanger the safety of others due to reasons such as mental illness, mental weakness, old age, or severe prodigality is the most sensitive axis of guardianship law. The establishment of guardianship pressure over assets unjustly or, conversely, the concealment of assets belonging to vulnerable elderly/disabled individuals by malicious third parties (asset concealment illusions) are the subjects of contentious judicial processes conducted before Civil / Peace Civil Courts.
The strategic practice conducted to protect the rights of the individual in law of persons disputes:
- Fully executing access-blocking via preliminary injunction within 24 hours and rights of reply (rectification) in digital or physical attacks against personal rights,
- Legal auditing of the individual’s capacity of will through the impartiality and scientific accuracy of Forensic Medicine Institution reports in restriction (guardianship) decisions,
- Completely finalizing registry rectifications by proving justifiable grounds with concrete evidence in lawsuits regarding personal status (status), such as name, surname, or gender changes.
LAWSUITS FOR CHANGING NAMES AND SURNAMES: THE CONSTRUCTION OF PERSONAL IDENTITY AND THE CRITERION OF JUST CAUSE
Social Stigmatization and the Stretching of the Concept of “Just Cause” Legally, a person’s first or last name is not merely a string of data written on an ID card; it is the cornerstone of that individual’s social identity, psychological integrity, and self-respect. Pursuant to the Turkish Civil Code (TCC Art. 27), the change of a name must be based on a “just cause.” A name being ridiculous, impossible to pronounce, or dragging the individual into continuous trauma (becoming a subject of mockery) in social life is accepted by courts as a just cause. However, in practical application, the legal struggle waged by women wishing to get rid of their deceased father’s surname, those concealing domestic violence traumas, or individuals experiencing a loss of title/reputation meets the strict resistance of civil registry offices. Aside from the flexible administrative application channels of the Population Services Law, this battle fought in courtroom salas is the legal registration of an individual freely reconstructing their own identity.
Gender Reassignment Operations and the Rebirth of Legal Identity One of the most sensitive and overlooked judicial processes is the gender transition processes conducted by transgender individuals and the “permission for gender reassignment” lawsuits filed within the scope of Article 40 of the TCC. The permission to be obtained from the court regarding the incompatibility between an individual’s psychological identity and body is one of the heaviest bureaucratic and medical thresholds in life. Altering population records (the hidden digits behind the TR ID number) following health board reports, psychiatric approvals, and mandatory surgical processes is the sole legal path for an individual to escape the danger of being “ignored” in society and exist with their true identity. The defense undertaken in these lawsuits is not merely a registration of name or gender; it is the legalization of a person’s struggle to attain their own body and soul.
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