'Inheritance by a foreign person'.

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I. Introduction

The number of transactions on the acquisition of movable and immovable property by foreign persons in Turkey is increasing. Therefore, in the event of the death of these foreign persons, issues such as the manner of acquisition of these properties, the validity of the testamentary disposition made by such persons, and the decisions made by foreign inheritance courts are becoming increasingly important. This article discusses the applicable law on inheritance matters, the international jurisdiction of Turkish courts in inheritance actions, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions regarding inheritance cases.

II.''International jurisdiction of Turkish courts in inheritance suits containing a foreign element

In a suit related to inheritance, including the issuance of a certificate of inheritance and a new certificate of inheritance, according to paragraph 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100, the jurisdiction of Turkish courts is exclusive, except in cases containing a foreign element. For inheritance suits containing a foreign element, the international jurisdiction of Turkish courts is determined in accordance with Article 43 of the Law on International Private and Civil Procedure No. 5718. According to this article, "the court where the deceased had his last place of residence in Turkey shall have jurisdiction over inheritance cases, but if''last place of residence was not in Turkey, the court of the location of his property'. Article 43 of the Law on International Private and Civil Procedure No. 5718 defines competence in inheritance suits based on two principles: the last place of residence of the deceased and the location of the property. Accordingly, inheritance proceedings of a Turkish or foreign person whose last place of residence is abroad and who has left movable or immovable property will be heard by the court of the district where the property is located. The deceased may have property in different places, but it is sufficient to have property in Turkey to obtain international jurisdiction of Turkish courts. Article 43 of the Law on International Private and''civil proceedings are considered as exclusive jurisdiction over real estate related to inheritance. In this regard, jurisdictional clauses/contracts granting jurisdiction to foreign courts over inheritance on real estate located in Turkey are invalid.

III. The law applicable to inheritance claims containing a foreign element

The law applicable to inheritance disputes containing a foreign element shall be determined in accordance with the Law on Private International and Civil Procedure No.

5718. According to Article 20/1 of the Law on International Private and Civil Procedure, 'inheritance shall be subject to the national law of the deceased'. Turkish law, regardless of''of the nationality of the deceased shall apply to the immovable property of the deceased located in Turkey. The principle established under Article 20/1 of the Law on International Private and Civil Procedure is that inheritance is subject to the national law of the deceased. However, an exception to this rule has been established regarding the inheritance of immovable property and Turkish law applies to inheritance disputes relating to immovable property located in Turkey. In other words, if the deceased is a foreigner, the law applicable to the merits of inheritance disputes is not Turkish law; on the other hand, if the real estate of the deceased is located in Turkey, Turkish law will apply to the merits of such a claim. National Law''of the deceased shall apply to the movable property of the deceased in Turkey and movable and immovable property located abroad. The Judicial Panel of the Court of Appeal VI considered the scope of Article 20/1 of the Law on International Private and Civil Procedure No. 5718 in its decision dated 29.11.2014 No. 2004/12300 E. 2004/14076 K., which reads: 'The plaintiff is a Turkish national and the deceased Murat is a Bulgarian national. The court's decision to dismiss the action on the grounds that the deceased did not acquire Turkish citizenship is unfounded. The court's task should be to determine the heirs and their share of the inheritance based on the application of Turkish law in respect of real estate and the national law of the deceased in respect of movable property. Thus, the decision to terminate''lawsuits are inconsistent with procedure and law.'