Notaries invited to abandon witness practice for visually impaired on World Braille Day

The President of the Barrier-Free Access Association, Nurşen Korkmaz, called on all visually impaired citizens to send letters prepared in Braille alphabet to the Turkey Notary Association.

BIA News Desk

TRTürkçesini Oku

BIA News Desk

TRTürkçesini Oku

Notaries invited to abandon witness practice for visually impaired on World Braille Day — A group of six people standing in front of a white wall, each holding white papers, Barrier-Free Access Association banner in the background

On World Braille Day, January 4, the Barrier-Free Access Association launched a campaign against the requirement for visually impaired citizens to have witnesses during notary transactions.

As part of the campaign, visually impaired individuals sent letters to the Turkey Notary Association written in Braille. In the letter, it was requested to abandon the practice of requiring visually impaired individuals to have two witnesses present during notary transactions.

The provision of the Notary Law regulating procedures related to individuals with disabilities allows transactions of individuals with hearing, speech, or visual impairments to be conducted in the presence of two witnesses "upon the request of these individuals." This provision is also present in the circular issued by the Turkey Notary Association in 2019. However, visually impaired individuals state that the practice of requiring two witnesses in "regulatory transactions" such as buying and selling, inheritance, continues to be the routine practice in notaries.

Nurşen Korkmaz emphasized that the witness requirement applies to citizens who are illiterate, stating, "A blind citizen, whether a teacher, lawyer, civil servant, or academic, is disregarded for literacy. The procedures applied to illiterate citizens are also imposed on us. We have repeatedly urged them to abandon these incorrect practices. This time, we decided to convey it through our own writing and initiated this campaign nationwide."

Korkmaz urged all visually impaired citizens to send letters to the Turkey Notary Association on World Braille Day, and concluded her statement by saying, "I remind the Turkey Notary Association to abandon this discriminatory and offensive practice." (AD/PE)

Braille day