Age Correction Lawsuit in Turkish Law

AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT

An age correction lawsuit is typically filed due to reasons such as marriage, retirement, and military service. This lawsuit can be initiated either to reduce or increase the age. It is frequently seen in practice, especially in regions where people are registered in the population registry a few years after their birth. The age correction lawsuit becomes relevant particularly when there is a material error in recording the birth date in the population registry. A court decision is required to correct this material error. This court decision is legally mandatory to correct the error. No one’s age can be corrected without filing the lawsuit. However, material errors made by population directorates while registering the age in family registers can be corrected without filing a lawsuit. This lawsuit is a non-contentious judicial matter, and the concerned parties request the correction of their age in their identity documents, either by increasing or decreasing it.

The right to file an age correction lawsuit is strictly personal, and this lawsuit must be filed by the person requesting the correction of their age. However, if the person is restricted or a minor, their legal representative also has the capacity to file the lawsuit. In some cases, the Public Prosecutor can also initiate this lawsuit ex officio. Persons who lack the capacity to discern cannot file this lawsuit. The lawsuit is filed against the population directorate in the place where the concerned person resides.

One of the most important things to know about the age correction lawsuit is that according to the annulled provision, this lawsuit could only be filed once by the concerned person. Therefore, if your lawsuit was not accepted, you did not have the right to file the same lawsuit a second time. However, with the annulment of this provision, it is now possible to file this lawsuit a second time. Although you are not obligated to hire a lawyer, we recommend that you file this lawsuit with your lawyer to avoid any loss of rights.

AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT CONDITIONS

1. The concerned person must have a legal interest in filing the age correction lawsuit.

The presence of legal interest is one of the conditions required in every lawsuit. Without legal interest, age correction cannot be requested. The characteristics of the specific case should be indicated, showing how the material error in the population record complicates the life of the concerned person or creates problems for them, and these issues should be included in the lawsuit petition.

2. The concerned person must have a justifiable reason for filing the age correction lawsuit.

The fact that the concerned person feels younger than their current age does not constitute a justifiable reason for filing this lawsuit. For example, if the person is hindered by the age limit for retirement and would receive a pension if their real age is determined, this constitutes a justifiable reason.

3. The concerned person should not have been born in an official institution.

In this context, they should have been born in a place other than a hospital or maternity home because the records there are definitive according to official data.

4. The appearance of the concerned person should match the age they are requesting.

For example, if an elderly individual claims to be 30 years old, this condition is not met, and their request will be rejected.

5. There should be no sibling from the same mother at the requested age.

Except for twin pregnancies, it is medically impossible for a woman to have two different pregnancies at the same time. There should be at least a 180-day difference between two siblings. If the concerned person has any sibling other than a twin sibling at the same age, their lawsuit will be rejected.

6. The age difference between the concerned person and their mother should be reasonable.

A person whose mother is officially recorded as being 50 years old and claims to be 45 years old will not have a favorable outcome in the lawsuit.

AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT PROCESS

This lawsuit can be filed at any time if there is a justified request, and it does not have any statute of limitations. Age correction lawsuits usually last between 2 and 4 months, depending on the workload of the court. However, in some cases, the court may extend the lawsuit process by requesting the determination of the concerned person’s bone age.

AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT EVIDENCE

1. BONE AGE DETERMINATION IN AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT

If the age on the identity card does not reflect the reality, the bone age determination method is frequently used to find the real age of the person. Bone age essentially indicates the degree of maturation of a person’s skeleton. The determined bone age may vary by 1-2 years. However, bone age determination can only be performed up to the age of 25 because physical development stabilizes after this age. This determination is usually made through forensic medical institutions or health institutions, and the determined issue is taken into account by the court.

2. WITNESS TESTIMONY IN AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT

In cases where bone age cannot be determined, witness testimonies are significant. The statements of childhood friends and those who witnessed the birth of the concerned person can be heard by the judge. Although there is no limitation on the number of witnesses, there is legal benefit in having at least two witnesses.

IMPACT OF AGE CORRECTION ON MILITARY SERVICE

The person’s age has a significant impact, especially on paid military service. The military age ranges from 20 to 40 years, and if the concerned person is within this age range, their military service will not be affected. Any age change for a person who is of military age will not be considered as a rule. The impact of the age change on military service must be made before the military age. That is, the examinations of those who have increased their age before entering military age will be made according to their changed age.

IMPACT OF AGE CORRECTION ON RETIREMENT

As a rule, age correction does not have any impact on the retirement period. If you correct your age, this will not affect your retirement. The date when the person was first insured according to the population records will be taken into account for retirement. However, if the person is not yet insured and the age change is made before the date of insurance, the corrected age will be considered for the retirement period.

COMPETENT AND AUTHORIZED COURT FOR AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT

A person who wants to file an age correction lawsuit must submit a lawsuit petition to the Civil Court of First Instance in their place of residence.

EXAMPLES OF SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON AGE CORRECTION LAWSUIT

…It was requested to determine and correct the real age of the victim due to the disproportion between the real age and the age recorded in the population registry. There is a time difference of 2 months and 27 days between the corrected birth date of the sibling born from the same mother, recorded as born on 07.07.1993. It is clearly medically impossible for a woman to give birth twice within this period, and the judge should take care to avoid contradictions with other records when making corrections in the population registry, and should not make decisions that would lead to such a result. The court’s decision to establish a written judgment without considering the registration obstacle is contrary to the procedure and law.”

(18th Civil Chamber 2015/8221 E., 2016/2865 K.)

“…The plaintiff’s birth date of 20.03.1957 was corrected to 20.03.1953 by a court decision, and the court rejected the plaintiff’s request to correct the population record on the same subject for the second time on the grounds that the same request cannot be filed for the second time. However, before the appeal examination, it was understood that the first sentence of the (b) clause of the first paragraph of Article 36 of the Population Services Law No. 5490 dated 25.04.2006, which regulates this issue, stating that “A population correction lawsuit on the same subject can only be filed once,” was annulled by the Constitutional Court’s decision No. 2011/34-2012/48 dated 30.03.2012, published in the Official Gazette on October 6, 2012. Although the rationale based on this is not correct, as it is not possible to determine the age medically after the age of 25, and the existing information and documents are not sufficient to correct the age of the plaintiff who is over 25 according to the registry…”

(8th Civil Chamber 2017/6370 E., 2017/5123 K.)

“The legal basis of the case, the second paragraph of Article 120 of Law No. 506 states that “In the application of age-related provisions of old-age, death, and disability insurances, the birth date registered in the population registry at the date the insured first started working as an insured person shall be taken as a basis.” Considering this clear regulation that leaves no room for interpretation, it is clear that age correction made after the first registration of insurance cannot be taken into account in the granting of old-age pension. The realization of the “age condition” for the application of the old-age insurance is important in terms of paying premiums for a certain period. Therefore, the specific regulation in Article

120 of the Law prevents the abuse of later age corrections by clearly specifying which birth date will be taken into account in certain insurance branches. Accordingly, in the application of old-age, death, and disability insurances, the birth date registered in the population registry at the date the insured first started working as an insured person will be taken into account…”

10. Civil Chamber 2016/12653 E., 2018/10429 K.

“…In the health committee reports obtained; it was reported that specific bone age determination could not be made after the age of 22, and therefore bone ages were evaluated as over 22 years of age. The court decided to correct the birth date based on observation and witness statements, as the plaintiffs were registered in the population much later on 01.06.1992. However, the report did not definitively confirm the birth date that the plaintiffs wanted to correct, and since the plaintiffs were over 25 years old according to the registry at the date of the lawsuit, and medical age determination is not possible after the age of 25, and the existing information and documents are not sufficient to correct the age of the plaintiffs who are over 25 according to the registry, considering the long time between the birth date of the plaintiffs and the date the witnesses were heard, and the possibility of error in their statements, and since the lawsuits for correction of records opened according to the Population Services Law are closely related to public order, the courts are obliged to investigate the truth and create a correct record without being bound by the statements of the parties or witnesses. Therefore, the lawsuit should be rejected…”

(8th Civil Chamber 2017/6737 E., 2017/17368 K.)

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