Criminal Law is among the Public Law departments. It is the branch of law that emerges when a situation or event is the subject of a crime. The concept of Criminal Law is divided into two different types, namely General and Special. All behaviors that are considered as crimes according to the legislation on which Turkish laws are based are the subject of this branch of law.
Under this law, the legislator decides which situations require punishment for the individual. There are some basic principles that determine the Penal Code in the international arena and countries in the world. Within the scope of Criminal Law, the concept of crime has been defined with material and moral elements, general principles, penalties foreseen for the crime, details that will reduce or eliminate the penalty are determined. In private law, on the other hand, the acts considered as crimes are discussed in detail, the scope and limits of the crimes are determined, and also the aspects where the crimes differ from each other are specified.
Criminal Law contains certain basic principles. The birth point of these concepts is laws. These principles are;
Legality in Crime: No one is punished for an event that is not explicitly considered a crime in the law. Crime and punishment are not applied to the transactions regulated by the administration. In addition, no comparison is made for the provisions considered as a crime. All crimes must arise from the law.
Equality Before the Law: The offender should be given a proportionate punishment for that act. In front of the law, discrimination should be recognized in many social aspects such as language, religion, race, nationality, color, gender, political, philosophical belief, and economic status.
Criminal Responsibility Principle: Everyone’s punishment is their own responsibility. No one can be held responsible for an event committed by someone else. Everyone has to pay their own punishment.
Fault in Punishment: In a criminal act, a person knowingly and willingly commits the crime. In order for a person to commit a crime, he commits this crime knowingly and willingly.