DOI: 10.26650/mecmua.2026.84.2.0009 ISSN: 2667-6974

Significant Modifications Introduced to the Adoption Provisions of the Swiss Civil Code by the Revision With Effect From 1 January 2018 and Their Assessment within the Framework of Turkish Law

Esma Şafak Sarıkaya
Show PDF Cite
The most significant amendments introduced to the adoption provisions of the Swiss Civil Code by the revision which entered into force on 1 January 2018 are as follows: expanding the circle of persons eligible to adopt, relaxing the age requirements and restrictions when the child’s best interests so require, facilitating the adoption of adults, softening the confidentiality of adoption in favor of the child and embracing an open adoption model. It is asserted that these changes result from an approach centered on the child’s best interests. However, the plenary adoption model enforced in Swiss law and the simple adoption model adopted in Turkish law differ fundamentally in their treatment of the relationships within the triangle of the adoptee, the adopter, and the biological family. Disproportionately restricting the rights and interests of the biological family, invoked under the concept of the child’s best interests, is incompatible with the simple adoption model. The concept of the child’s best interests should not be used as a tool to exclude the biological family from the adoption process completely; the balance of interests should be maintained to the utmost. Modifications such as relaxing the age restrictions or easing the conditions for the adoption of adults must also be approached cautiously, given the risk of adoption abuse. In determining whether modifications introduced into Swiss law can be adopted by Turkish law, consideration should be given to the extent to which they are compatible with existing legal regulations, public order, societal values, and the simple adoption model.

More from our Archive