21.04.2026 22:27
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek stated that some cases take longer than necessary and that regulations will be made regarding this. Speaking on a live broadcast he attended, Gürlek said, "We will make significant changes regarding divorce. We will grant discretionary authority to judges. If a judge concludes that the marriage union can no longer continue between the parties, they will be able to directly issue a divorce decision. However, matters such as custody, alimony, and guardianship will continue as separate cases."
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that a radical change will be made in divorce cases to shorten the processing time in the judiciary. Speaking on CNN Türk's live broadcast, Minister Gürlek stated that with the new regulation, if the judge concludes that the marriage union between the couple is fundamentally shaken and cannot continue, they will be able to directly issue a divorce decision without waiting for other ancillary processes to be completed.
"SOMETIMES JUDGES CAN DELAY THE FILE"
Gürlek said: "Especially in public opinion, the length of some cases is being discussed. Of course, there are divorce cases, there are rental cases; these are long cases. Now, we also have a Trial Efficiency Office here. Our Trial Efficiency Office is very important: We think that all our judge colleagues work diligently with the files, but unfortunately, sometimes our judge colleagues can delay the file. That is, while they should make a decision on time, they can extend that period.
"IT IS CLEAR WHICH CASE CAN BE CONCLUDED IN HOW MUCH TIME"
In fact, it is clear to us how long each case will take to be concluded. There is a target period. What does that mean? A rental case will be concluded in 6 months. All our judges know this. Now, why is the target period exceeded from here? It is exceeded, we need to look into this. If there is a target period overrun due to the judge personally, we will of course take necessary actions regarding the judge. That is, sorry, you have to work with the file.
If there is something here not arising from the judge personally, but from the system, requiring regulatory arrangements, we will do that. Or there is workload; for example, a family court cannot handle this job. Too many files have accumulated. We will see this from the system and establish a new family court.
"WITH ALO JUSTICE, CITIZENS WILL KNOW AT WHAT STAGE THEIR FILE IS"
Especially, we had previously said "Alo Justice." This, together with the Trial Efficiency Office, ensures the acceleration of trials. Citizens will know at what stage their file is with Alo Justice. For example, a citizen has filed an alimony case in family court, 8 months have passed, and they call. We say the trial is continuing within a reasonable time. But if the reasonable time is exceeded, we will additionally inform the citizen at what stage the file is. This will provide an important point of contact for the citizen.
"A CONTESTED DIVORCE CASE TAKES APPROXIMATELY 1300 DAYS"
We have specifically determined that some cases take a long time. Divorce cases are at the forefront of these. An average contested divorce case; including first instance, regional court of justice, and Supreme Court processes, takes approximately 1300 days.
"AFTER THE COUPLE DIVORCES, OTHER ISSUES WILL CONTINUE AS SEPARATE CASES"
We have a major regulation package we are working on regarding this, the 12th package. Here, we will make significant changes regarding divorce. We will grant discretionary authority to judges. If the judge concludes that the marriage union between the parties can no longer continue, they will be able to directly issue a divorce decision. However, issues such as custody, alimony, guardianship will continue as separate cases."