Criminal Law

Criminal law, in a general sense, is the subject of crimes and punishments. In order to maintain social order and protect individual interests, it has directed the state to give orders to individuals to commit or avoid certain acts and to prescribe sanctions for those who do not comply with them; in this context, criminal law examines these laws and orders and sanctions.

Criminal law has two main functions:

1. the function of punishment in the event of the commission of a crime, that is, the punitive function,

2. This is the protective function of society during the punishment function.

Pursuant to the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237, the objectives of the Criminal Code are:

• To protect the rights and freedoms of the person,
• To protect public order and safety,
• To protect the rule of law, public health and the environment,
• To preserve the peace of the community,
• It is to prevent the commission of a crime.

The most basic principle based in criminal law is the “rule of law”. According to this principle, an act that is not shown in the law cannot constitute a crime; only the punishment shown in the law can be applied to the crime. Thus, the judge's powers to count and punish offenses are limited and arbitrariness is prevented. On the other hand, individuals also have the opportunity to learn in advance which actions constitute a crime and act accordingly.

Another fundamental principle of criminal law is the principle of “perfect crime and no punishment.” Defect constitutes the cause and limit of punishment. Accordingly, objective responsibility will not be included in criminal law; the personality and background of the perpetrator will not be important in determining his responsibility for the act; but will play a role in the individualization of punishment. Therefore, contemporary criminal law is the actual criminal law, not the perpetrator.