Key facts of the case - The applicant is the great-uncle of the child, who should be adopted. This granduncle lives in Germany with his family. The family of the five years old child lives in Turkey. The Turkish family court decided the adoption with approval of the child’s biological parents in 2006. The applicant claims the recognition of this decision in Germany.

Main reasoning of the court - The claim has to be rejected. The recognition of the Turkish court decision is excluded since several reasons are given, which are not compatible with German law. The prerequisites of the Hague Convention of Adoption (1993) procedure are not applied. In this case Article 23 in conjunction with 17 c Hague Convention is not properly maintained. In Turkey, the Hague Convention of Adoption is in force since 2004. Furthermore, the recognition is obviously incompatible with relevant German principle (§ 16a n. 4 FGG - Act of voluntary jurisdiction) according to Article 6 EGBGB (ordre public). A significant aspect of German law is the child’s best interests, which is codified in § 1741 I BGB. The child’s family in Turkey is in good order. There are no other reasons, which would justify an adoption. To secure the child’s chances and options by adopting him/her to Germany is not an adequate reason of an adoption according to German law. Especially the fact that the child would be dragged out of a social stable environment is a conflict in this case. The German court did see a violation of the child’s interests and therefore refused the recognition of the foreign adoption.