CRIMINAL LAW

• Arrest law in Turkey

• Self - defence law in Turkey

• Provocation law in Turkey

• Pardon law in Turkey

• Suspended sentence law in Turkey

• Commutation snetence law in Turkey

• Bail law in Turkey

The procedures followed by the courts in criminal cases are like civil law procedures. But there are some important differences due to the special characteristics of criminal cases. Outside of the trial, topics such as interrogation, authority of the public prosecutor, and autopsy are arranged by Criminal Procedural Law. Also different from civil trials, in criminal trials the public prosecutor it present and takes his place at the right side of the judge.

Arrest law in Turkey

Arrest is a precaution applied in cases indicated by a law and based on decisions of judges in the form of restrictions on the freedom of persons suspected of having committed crimes. Arrest is not imprisonment and therefore does not have the same implications as a prison sentence. According to article 19 of the Constitution, persons regarding whom a strong suspicion of guilt exists may be arrested on the basis of a judge's decision for the purpose of preventing escape or destruction or alteration of evidence. The public prosecutor has no authority to make arrests. According to the provisions of the Constitution, persons seized or held by law enforcement authorities must be brought before the judge within forty-eight hours (or a maximum of fifteen days in the case of crimes committed collectively by a group) and may not be deprived of their freedom for longer than this period without a judge's decision. Again based on the provisions of the Constitution, these periods may be extended in cases of emergency, martial law or war. The accused person who is to be arrested may request the court for a lawyer to help him. The judge makes a decision after listening to the public prosecutor, the accused person, and the attorney. The judge may decide not to arrest an accused person who can post bail. Criminal Procedural Law provides an accused person with help of an attorney at law during interrogation at the police station if requested. In case of crimes within the jurisdiction of the State Security Courts, the apprehended person is brought before the judge and interrogated within forty-eight hours, at the latest. If three or more persons commit the same crime, the Public Prosecutor can extend this period up to four days. If the interrogation is not completed even within this period, the judge can extend the period still further, up to seven days. When a detained person is brought before the judge, his next of kin will be notified immediately. All losses incurred by persons arrested in contradiction with these principles must be compensated by the State. According to the provisions of Law no.l 466 of 7 May 1964 (Law Concerning Payment of Compensation of Persons Unlawfully Seized or Held), a person may apply to high criminal court in order to ensure implementation of these principles.


Self - defence law in Turkey

If a person defending himself from assault injures the assaulter or damages his property, he is not required to pay compensation for such injury or damage. A person who resorts to force in order to defend himself is not required to pay compensation for any damage he causes if it was impossible for him at that moment to secure assistance from official authorities or find any other recourse. If compensation is demanded from a person who caused damage to another's property while defending himself or another person from injury or danger, the judge will take these circumstances into account in deciding the amount of compensation to be paid. The principles stated above are embodied in article 52 of the Law of Obligation. Self-defence is also defined in article 49 of the Turkish Penal Code, as follows:

a) No punishment will be given to a person who commits a crime in the course of enforcing a provision of the law or executing the order of an authorized person;
 
b) No punishment will be given to a person who commits a crime while defending himself or another person from assault or rape; 

c) No punishment will be given to a person who commits a crime while action to protect himself or another person from a danger which he has not caused and for which there is no other possible recourse. In these three cases, any person who exceeds the limits set by law will be penalized. However, the penalty will again be reduced by the proportions specified in the Turkish Penal code. In order for self-defence not to be a crime, it must be of a nature sufficient only to render the attacker ineffective.

Provocation law in Turkey

If a person, at the time he committed a crime, was provoked by the injured party or was under severe psychological pressure or emotional strain, his punishment will be reduced by the proportions specified in the Turkish Penal Code.

Pardon is politically or legally motivated measure whereby the criminal charges against an accused person are dropped or the punishment of a convicted person is waived for the sake of the general welfare. When pardon includes all crimes of a certain kind, it is called amnesty and may be granted only by law. For this reason, power to grant amnesties is reserved to Parliament. An amnesty annuls all criminal charges and penalties. Individual pardon is the partial or complete cancellation of a criminal sentence or its commutation to a less severe penalty. The President has authority to grant individual pardon in the case of illness or advanced age of a criminal.

According to the Penal Code, under certain circumstance, the penalty of a person who has been convicted of a crime may be suspended. The conditions for a suspended sentence are as follows: 1) The person must not have been sentenced previously in a court to any penalty more severe than a fine; 2) The court must have a guarantee, based on the convicted person's past conduct and moral character, that he will not commit the same crime again if his penalty is suspended; 3) His penalty must not exceed either a fine or a maximum prison sentence of six months. A court which has passed a sentence in the nature of those described may suspend the sentence. If the person commits another crime later, his penalty will include both the earlier sentence and the new one. The maximum prison sentence that may be suspended is six months. However, if a crime of negligence without malice carries a sentence greater than one year, the penalty may be suspended.

Commutation of sentence law in Turkey

A court has passed a prison sentence of up to six months may commute the penalty to a fine on the basis of good conduct or character of the convicted person or of other factors related to the crime. When prison sentences are converted into fines, or when imprisonment is imposed for unpaid fines, certain figures introduced by the law and obtained according to various formulas are taken into account. In order for a convicted person to take advantage of this opportunity, he must make an appropriate appeal to the court.

According to the principles of the Penal Code, a court may decide to release a suspect on bond under certain circumstances and in the case of certain persons if the purpose of custody can be accomplished by means of a financial guarantee. Authority to release a suspect on bond belongs to the court. Bail may be in the form of money, government bonds or the financial suretyship of any recognized person in society. At the time of trial the court may decide to detain a person previously released on bail. A suspect who has been convicted previously or in whose case removal of proof of guilt is impossible may not be released on bail. When the sentence becomes final at the end of trial, the guarantee will be given back.