Milletlerarası Özel Hukukta Koruyucu Aile Kurumuna Uygulanacak Hukukun Belirlenmesi
Ekin ÖmeroğluAile ortamı içinde yetişmesi mümkün olmayan çocukların devlet tarafından korunmasında alternatif bakım olarak çocuğun koruyucu aile yanına yerleştirilmesi şeklinde gerçekleşen “koruyucu aile” kurumu kabul edilmiştir. Koruyucu aile kurumuna ilişkin ulusal ve uluslararası düzenlemeler incelendiğinde koruyucu ailenin, çocuk ile soybağı ilişkisi kurulmadan ve çocuğun üzerinde velayet hakkına sahip olmadan çocuğun bakımını geçici süre ile üstlenen kişi ya da kişiler olduğu görülmektedir. Koruyucu aile yanına yerleştirilen çocuğun yabancı olması, yabancı ülkede çocuk ile koruyucu aile arasında kurulan koruyucu aile ilişkisinden doğan bir ihtilâfın Türk mahkemeleri önüne gelmesi gibi yabancılık unsuru taşıyan uyuşmazlıklarda milletlerarası özel hukukta koruyucu aile kurumuna uygulanacak hukuka ilişkin meseleler ile karşı karşıya kalınacaktır. Nitekim, Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun’umuzda (“MÖHUK”) koruyucu aile kurumuna ilişkin özel bir bağlama kuralı bulunmamaktadır. Bununla birlikte Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu 1996 tarihli Lahey Sözleşmesi’nde çocuğun şahıs ve malvarlığını korumaya yönelik tedbirler arasında çocuğun koruyucu aile yanına yerleştirilmesi düzenlenmiştir. Sözleşme’nin m. 15 hükmünde koruma tedbirine uygulanacak hukuk, yetkili akit devlet makamının hukuku olarak belirlenmiştir. Bununla birlikte Sözleşme’nin uygulama alanı dışında kalan çocuğun adı, soyadı gibi konular açısından koruyucu aile kurumunun nasıl vasıflandırılacağı ve buna göre MÖHUK’da yer alan hangi bağlama kuralının uygulanacağının belirlenmesi gerekmektedir. Çalışmamızda, koruyucu aileye ilişkin ulusal ve uluslararası düzenlemeler incelenerek koruyucu aile kurumunun niteliğine kısaca değinilecek, Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi içtihatlarından yola çıkarak koruyucu aile ile çocuk arasındaki ilişkinin nasıl değerlendirildiği tespit edilecek, Türkiye’nin taraf olduğu 1996 tarihli Lahey Sözleşmesi’nde koruyucu aile kurumuna uygulanacak hukuk incelendikten sonra MÖHUK bakımından koruyucu aile kurumuna uygulanacak hukukun tespitinde hangi madde düzenlemesinin uygulama alanı bulacağı sorusuna cevap aranacaktır.
Determination of Law Applicable to the Foster Family from a Private International Law Perspective
Ekin ÖmeroğluIn the protection of children who cannot be brought up in their biological family, the institution of “foster family,” which is the placement of the child with an unrelated family as alternative care, has been widely accepted. Examining the national and international regulations regarding foster families illustrates the legal concept that the foster family is the person or persons who temporarily undertake the care of a child without establishing a paternity relationship with the child and without having the right of custody over the child. If the child who is to be protected is a foreigner, or if a dispute arising from the foster family relationship established between the child and the foster family in a foreign country comes before the Turkish courts, issues related to the law applicable to the foster family in private international law will arise. As a matter of fact, there is at present no conflict of laws rule regarding the foster family in the Turkish Private International Law Act (“TPILA”). However, in the Hague Convention of 1996, to which Turkey is a party, placement of the child in a foster family was regulated among the various measures aimed at protecting the person and property of the child. According to Article 15 of the Hague Convention, the authorities of the Contracting States must apply their own law. On the other hand, certain issues, such as how the foster family should be qualified and the name and surname of the child are considered outside the scope of the Convention. In our study, the nature of the foster family will be briefly examined through the national and international regulations regarding the institution of the foster family. After examining the applicable law, an answer will be sought to the question of which article will be applicable in determining the law to be applied to the foster family in terms of TPILA.
Ensuring the continuity of civilized societies depends to a great extent on the healthy development of children who will become the adults of the future. For this reason, regulations that provide for the care and protection that each child needs are included in most legal systems. The upbringing, care, and safety of the child fall primarily on the biological family. However, if that family is unable to fulfill this duty, according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Turkey is a party, special protection will be given to the child by the state if the child is permanently or temporarily deprived of its family or if it would be against the best interests of the child to stay in that family. Since the Convention imposes an obligation on the parties to provide alternative care for children who are determined to be in need of protection, the institution of the “foster family” was developed. This institution consists of the placement of the child in a foster family as a form of alternative care under the state’s protection of children who cannot be brought up in a family and has been widely accepted.
In a dispute regarding a foster family that contains a foreign element, we are faced with the problem of qualification in terms of Turkish Private International Law Act. As a matter of fact, there is no conflict of laws rule regarding the foster family in TPILA. In such a case then, as a situation where the adoption that would allow the establishment of paternity without being based on blood ties is not accepted according to the law of the foreign country, but the foster family institution is recognized and regulated, by that county which law would be applied in accordance with the TPILA? Turkey is a party to the Convention of 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement, and Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (Convention). In accordance with Article 3(1)(e) of the Convention, the placement of the child in a foster family or a care institution or the provision of care by a kafala or similar institution is also among the issues falling within the scope of the Convention. According to Article 15(1) of the Convention, the Contracting States shall apply their own laws while exercising their powers regarding the protective measures in the Convention. In this case, if the child is placed in a foster family as a protection measure pursuant to the 1996 Convention, Turkish law will be applied in terms of the issues in the second part of the Convention. However, the law to be applied to matters related to the institution of the foster family, such as the name, surname, or inheritance issues of the child which remain outside the scope of the Convention, will need to be determined by TPILA. At this point, the question arises whether the applicable law will be determined according to the provisions of adoption or guardianship.
In the world’s various legal systems, the institution of adoption is subject to widely different legal regulations. In some systems, adoption results in the establishment of a permanent linkage between the adopter and the adoptee. In contrast, according to some other legal systems, this method of establishing a formal familial lineage without blood ties has not been accepted. Further, the foster family institution, which includes the care, education, and protection of the child and imposes legal responsibilities on the persons who undertake these works, at times creates an adoption relationship under some legal systems. For this reason, it is argued in the doctrine that the foster family, which aims to ensure the care, upbringing, and safety of the child in family life, should be deemed an adoption in terms of private international law to the extent that it approaches conformity with the institution of adoption.
When we consider the approach of the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) to the foster family, we see that the relationship between the foster family and the child fall within the notion of family life within the meaning of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In our opinion, while evaluating whether the foster family closely approaches the adoption relationship, the criteria of the duration of the foster family relationship and the foster family’s desire to adopt the child later should also be taken into consideration. The fact that the minimum one-year care and custody period required in Turkish law for the adoption of the child has taken place in the form of placement with a foster family could even be considered as evidence that the relationship between the foster family and the child approaches that of adoption. Thus, although the foster family does not establish paternity between the child and the foster family, it should be qualified as adoption to the extent that it closely approaches the adoption relationship. If a qualification is made in this direction, a consensus can be reached within the jurisprudence that accepts the foster family relationship as family life in the ECtHR decisions. If the relationship between the foster family and the child is short-term and a family life relationship is not established between the foster family and the child, the qualification should be made in the direction of guardianship.
