Turkish Law in EnglishTÜRKİYE
Code of Civil Procedure

Article 203: Exceptions to the requirement of proof by deed

Part Four: Proof and Evidence › Chapter Two: Documents and Deeds

(1) Witnesses may be heard in the following cases:

a) Transactions between descendants and ascendants, siblings, spouses, father-in-law or mother-in-law and daughter-in-law or son-in-law.

b) Legal transactions which, by the nature of the matter and the circumstances of the parties, it has become established custom not to record in a deed.

c) Transactions made in circumstances in which it was impossible or extraordinarily difficult to obtain a deed, such as fire, shipwreck or earthquake.

ç) Allegations of defects of consent and of exploitation (gross disparity) in legal transactions.

d) Allegations by third parties of simulation against legal transactions and deeds.

e) The existence of evidence or indications strengthening the belief that a deed has been lost in any manner while in the hands of its holder due to an unforeseen event or force majeure, or while in the hands of an official to whom it was duly delivered, or at a notary's office.

Original Turkish text

MADDE 203 · Senetle ispat zorunluluğunun istisnaları

(1) Aşağıdaki hâllerde tanık dinlenebilir:

a) Altsoy ve üstsoy, kardeşler, eşler, kayınbaba, kaynana ile gelin ve damat arasındaki işlemler.

b) İşin niteliğine ve tarafların durumlarına göre, senede bağlanmaması teamül olarak yerleşmiş bulunan hukuki işlemler.

c) Yangın, deniz kazası, deprem gibi senet alınmasında imkânsızlık veya olağanüstü güçlük bulunan hâllerde yapılan işlemler.

ç) Hukuki işlemlerde irade bozukluğu ile aşırı yararlanma iddiaları.

d) Hukuki işlemlere ve senetlere karşı üçüncü kişilerin muvazaa iddiaları.

e) Bir senedin sahibi elinde beklenmeyen bir olay veya zorlayıcı bir nedenle yahut usulüne göre teslim edilen bir memur elinde veya noterlikte herhangi bir şekilde kaybolduğu kanısını kuvvetlendirecek delil veya emarelerin bulunması hâli.

Text as of 1 October 2026 · Official source (Turkish): mevzuat.gov.tr ↗

Unofficial translation for information only. The Turkish text published in the Official Gazette is the only authoritative version. This page is not legal advice.