Criminal law

Criminal law, broadly speaking, is about crimes and punishments. The need to maintain social order and protect individual interests has led the state to order individuals to engage in or refrain from certain behaviors and to impose sanctions on those who fail to comply. In this context, criminal law examines these laws, orders, and sanctions.

Criminal law has two main functions:

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

2. The protective function of society during this punishing function.

According to the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237, the purposes of the Penal Code are:

• To protect individual rights and freedoms,

• To protect public order and security,

• To protect the rule of law, public health and the environment,

• To protect social peace,

• To prevent crime from being committed.

The most fundamental principle in criminal law is the "principle of legality." According to this principle, an act not specified in the law cannot constitute a crime; only the penalty specified in the law can be applied. This limits the judge's authority to criminalize and punish actions, preventing arbitrariness. Furthermore, individuals have the opportunity to learn in advance which actions constitute crimes and act accordingly.

Another fundamental principle of criminal law is the principle that "there is no perfect crime or punishment." Fault constitutes the basis and limit of punishment. Accordingly, objective responsibility will not be considered in criminal law; the perpetrator's personality and background will not be significant in determining responsibility for the act; however, they will play a role in individualizing the punishment. Therefore, contemporary criminal law is the law of the act, not the perpetrator.