The offence of multiple marriages and fraudulent marriage is regulated in Article 230 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 under the section “Offences against Family Order” as follows:
Article 230- A person who, although he/she is married, gets married to another person shall be sentenced to imprisonment from six months to two years.
A person who, although not married himself/herself, has a marriage ceremony performed with a person whom he/she knows to be married shall also be punished according to the provision of the above paragraph.
A person who has a marriage ceremony performed with another person by hiding his/her real identity shall be sentenced to imprisonment from three months to one year.
The statute of limitations for the offences defined in the paragraphs above shall commence to run from the date of finalisation of the annulment of the marriage.
Features of the Offences of Multiple Marriage, Fraudulent Marriage and Religious Ceremony
For the offence to occur, it is sufficient for a married person to remarry officially. The fact that the first marriage of the person is performed in a different country or city will not constitute an obstacle to the occurrence of the offence.
The disappearance of a person’s spouse or a disappearance with a high probability of death and not hearing from the spouse for years does not mean that the person is not married. Because in cases such as the disappearance of the spouse, no one can reach his/her spouse for a long time, no news is received from him/her in an accident, he/she should apply for absenteeism and divorce after the decision of absenteeism. An official marriage can only be terminated with an official divorce.
As stated in the first paragraph of Article 230 of the TPC, an offence will be committed if the marriage is performed with a person who is not married but knows that he/she is married.
As stated in the second paragraph of Article 230 of the TPC, an offence shall be committed if the person marries for the second time despite being married.
As stated in the third paragraph of Article 230 of the TPC; an offence will also be committed if the marriage is performed by hiding the real identity.
Multiple Marriage, Fraudulent Marriage and Religious Ceremony Offence Court in Charge
The competent court is the criminal court of first instance. The case will be heard in the criminal court of first instance at the place where the offence was committed.
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