WHAT IS A JEWELLERY CASE?
Jewellery is defined as ornaments made of precious metals such as gold and silver and worn by people. In terms of our subject of examination, it is possible to define jewellery as gifts given to the bride and groom on the occasion of marriage. In this context, jewellery such as bracelets, gold bracelets, necklaces, necklaces, jewellery sets, bracelets, watches, earrings and rings, quarter gold, half gold, republic gold and reşat gold are also considered as jewellery. In addition to precious stones and metals, money given for the wedding ceremony is also considered as jewellery.
The Court of Cassation considers the jewellery given as a gift on the occasion of marriage as the personal property of the woman pursuant to Article 220 of the Turkish Civil Code. The justification is that “the jewellery items worn during the wedding ceremony are considered to be donated to the woman and these gifts, which are in the nature of gratuitous acquisition, are the personal property of the woman in accordance with Article 220/b.II of the Turkish Civil Code”. Accordingly, the jewellery shall not be shared with the husband during the liquidation of the regime of participation in the acquired property, and shall be left to the disposal of the wife during the continuation of the acquired property regime. Therefore, if the husband seizes the jewellery items, which are the personal property of the wife, a lawsuit for the return of the jewellery items / jewellery claim can be filed.
Since the lawsuit for jewellery is not ancillary to the divorce case, it can be filed before the divorce case, together with the divorce case or after the divorce case. Likewise, the jewellery lawsuit is an independent lawsuit that is not an accessory of the claim for contribution due to the liquidation of the property regime.
WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS OF THE JEWELLERY LAWSUIT?
Three conditions must be fulfilled together for the acceptance of the jewellery lawsuit. These are the existence of a claim for restitution, proving the existence of the jewellery and proving that the jewellery does not remain with the plaintiff.
The claimant spouse may claim for the jewellery without being bound by the property regime. For this purpose, the claim for jewellery may be claimed through an independent lawsuit duly filed, as well as through a counterclaim. Likewise, the claim for jewellery can also be claimed in the petition for divorce.
WHO CAN FILE A TRINKET LAWSUIT?
As a rule, a jewellery lawsuit can be filed by the person whose jewellery is taken away from him/her against his/her will. For example, the spouse who is subjected to physical violence by his/her spouse and leaves the house, who cannot return to the common residence after going to the hospital, whose gold jewellery is exchanged during the marriage or whose jewellery is taken away by his/her in-laws may file this lawsuit. The lawsuit for jewellery receivable can be filed by a man as well as a woman; however, in practice, it is usually filed by a woman. It is not necessary for the parties to be in the status of spouse in order to file the case in question.
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