Short explanations of the criminal law terms most often encountered in Turkish investigations and trials. Terms are listed alphabetically and each entry is provided for general information.
92 terms
A
Abuse of trust
Using property lawfully handed over to the holder as if they owned it, contrary to the purpose of the transfer. It differs from fraud in that the property was delivered with consent rather than obtained by deception. → Aggravated Fraud
Acquittal
A judgment finding that the act is not an offence, that it was not established the defendant committed it, or that the elements of the offence are absent. Doubt that cannot be resolved at the end of the trial also leads to acquittal. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Aggravated fraud
Fraud committed in one of the aggravating circumstances listed in the Criminal Code. Using information systems or making a bank or credit institution the instrument of the offence are the most frequent forms. → Aggravated Fraud
Aggravated life imprisonment
The heaviest penalty in Turkish law, served for the convict’s lifetime under a strict security regime. It applies to the aggravated forms of intentional homicide. → Homicide
Aggravated robbery
Robbery committed with a weapon, by more than one person, at night, in a dwelling, or by concealing one’s identity. The penalty ranges from ten to fifteen years of imprisonment. → Robbery
Aggravating circumstance
A situation listed in the statute that increases or decreases the penalty compared with the basic form of the offence. It must be stated in the indictment and argued at the hearing before it can be applied. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Aiding and abetting
Contributing to an offence without carrying out the act itself, for instance by encouraging, advising or providing the means. The penalty is reduced compared with that of the principal offender. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Appeal to the regional court of justice
The first-tier appeal against a judgment of a court of first instance, lodged within seven days of pronouncement or service. The court reviews both the law and the facts and may hold its own hearing. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Assize court
The court that tries offences carrying aggravated life, life or more than ten years of imprisonment, together with robbery, embezzlement, bribery and aggravated fraud. It sits as a panel of a president and two members. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Attempt
Directly commencing suitable acts to commit an offence without completing it for reasons beyond the offender’s control. The penalty is reduced according to the gravity of the harm and danger caused. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
B
Base station data
Records showing which cell tower a mobile line connected to. They place a person approximately within an area at a given time but do not provide an exact location. → Organised Crime
Benefit of the doubt
The principle that doubt remaining at the end of the trial must be resolved in favour of the defendant. Conviction requires evidence that is certain, consistent and free from any doubt. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Bone-age assessment
A forensic examination used to estimate age when civil registry records are inconclusive. In sexual offences the age bracket determines the penalty directly, so the result is decisive. → Sexual Offences
Bribery
An agreement between a public official and another person under which the official obtains a benefit for performing or refraining from a duty. The offence is complete once the agreement is reached, even if no benefit changes hands. → Bribery and Embezzlement
C
Call detail records
Records showing who a telephone line communicated with, when and for how long. They contain traffic data only; the content of a conversation requires a separate interception order. → Organised Crime
Capacity to comprehend
A person’s ability to grasp the legal meaning and consequences of an act and to direct their conduct accordingly. In sexual offences the validity of consent depends on this capacity. → Sexual Offences
Cassation appeal
An appeal to the Court of Cassation against a judgment of a regional court of justice. Only points of law are reviewed; the facts are not re-examined. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Catalogue offence
One of the offences listed exhaustively in the Code of Criminal Procedure for which measures such as interception, technical surveillance or an undercover investigator may be ordered. An order issued for an offence outside the list is unlawful. → Organised Crime
Chain of custody
The unbroken documentation of seized evidence from the scene to the laboratory and the case file. A break in the chain casts doubt on whether the substance examined is the one seized. → Drug Offences
Coercion
The use of physical force to overcome resistance or compel conduct. Coercion directed at breaking the victim’s resistance is what distinguishes robbery from theft. → Robbery
Compensation for protective measures
The right of a person unlawfully arrested, held in custody or detained on remand to claim pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages from the state. The claim must be made within three months of service of the final judgment and within one year in any event. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Conditional release
Release under supervision after the convict has served the statutory portion of the sentence in prison. Thirty years are required for aggravated life and twenty-four for life; the proportion is higher for drug trafficking, sexual offences and organised crime. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Criminal court of first instance
The single-judge court that tries offences outside the jurisdiction of the assize court. Jurisdiction is determined by the statutory penalty, not by the classification used in the indictment. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Criminal mediation
A procedure through which the offender and the victim reach an agreement with the help of a mediator in the offences listed by law. If agreement is reached no prosecution is brought, or a pending case is dismissed; most assize court offences fall outside its scope. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Criminal organisation
A structure of at least three persons formed to commit offences, with a hierarchical bond between them and a degree of continuity. It must also possess members, means and equipment suitable for committing the intended offences. → Organised Crime
D
Danger to life
An injury of a kind that places the victim’s life at risk. A forensic report finding no danger to life is a strong indication that there was no intent to kill, though it is not decisive on its own. → Homicide
Deceptive conduct
An act capable of misleading the victim. It is the constituent element of fraud; a bare lie or a payment difficulty arising afterwards does not amount to deception. → Aggravated Fraud
Defence counsel
The lawyer who conducts the defence of a suspect or defendant in criminal proceedings. Counsel may attend questioning, examine the case file and obtain copies of it. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Detention on remand
A protective measure applied where there is concrete evidence of strong suspicion and a statutory ground for detention. The order may be challenged within seven days of becoming known. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Direction of intent
The question whether the offender acted with intent to kill or intent to injure. Courts weigh the instrument used, the number and location of blows, the ability to continue the act and the offender’s conduct afterwards. → Homicide
Discretionary mitigation
A reduction of the sentence in view of the offender’s past, social relations, conduct at the hearing and remorse. It may not exceed one sixth and the reasons must be stated in the judgment. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Dolus eventualis
Foreseeing that the result may occur and remaining indifferent to it. Unlike direct intent the offender does not desire the result but accepts it; the Criminal Code provides for a reduction of sentence. → Homicide
Drug trafficking
Manufacturing, importing, exporting, selling, offering for sale, supplying or transporting narcotic or stimulant substances. It is distinguished from possession for personal use by quantity, packaging, findings such as precision scales, and communication records. → Drug Offences
E
Effective remorse
A reduction of sentence where the offender shows remorse after the offence by making good the loss or assisting the investigation. The extent depends on the offence and on the stage at which remorse is shown, and in some offences it removes the penalty altogether. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Embezzlement
A public official appropriating property entrusted to them by reason of their duty or which they are obliged to safeguard. Where committed through deceptive conduct the penalty is increased by half. → Bribery and Embezzlement
Exceeding the limits of self-defence
Going beyond what was necessary to repel an unlawful attack. Where the excess results from excusable agitation, fear or panic, no penalty is imposed. → Homicide
Expert report
A laboratory report establishing whether a seized substance is a narcotic and determining its type, net weight and purity. Weight and purity bear directly on the distinction between trafficking and personal use. → Drug Offences
Extortion by a public official
A public official obtaining a benefit by abusing the trust of office through compulsion, persuasion or by exploiting another’s mistake. It differs from bribery in that the other party’s will is not freely formed. → Bribery and Embezzlement
F
Forensic interview room
A dedicated room where the statements of children and vulnerable victims are taken once, on video and with a specialist present. Its purpose is to spare the victim from recounting the same events repeatedly. → Sexual Offences
Forensic medical report
An expert report establishing the nature of injuries, whether there was danger to life, and the cause of death. It is among the most relied-upon items of evidence when the direction of intent is in dispute. → Homicide
Fraud
Deceiving a person through deceptive conduct so as to obtain a benefit for oneself or another to the detriment of that person. It is distinguished from an ordinary debt dispute by the deception existing before the contract was concluded. → Aggravated Fraud
H
Hierarchical structure
The relationship of giving and receiving instructions within an organisation. Together with continuity, diversity and intensity, it is one of the criteria distinguishing a criminal organisation from simple complicity. → Organised Crime
I
Identification procedure
The process by which a victim or witness identifies a suspect among persons of similar appearance. An identification conducted improperly or in a suggestive manner has no evidential value. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Incitement
Creating in another person the decision to commit an offence they had not contemplated. The inciter is punished with the penalty for the offence committed, even without carrying it out. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Indictment
The document by which the prosecutor brings a public case once sufficient suspicion is reached. It sets out the offence charged, the evidence and the legal classification. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Intentional homicide
Taking a person’s life with intent to kill. The basic form carries life imprisonment; the aggravated forms listed in the Criminal Code carry aggravated life imprisonment. → Homicide
Interception of communications
Recording the content of communications by court order where there are strong grounds for suspicion and no other means of obtaining evidence. It is available only for the catalogue offences listed by law. → Organised Crime
Interception record
The transcript of communications obtained under an interception order. Whether the order was lawful and whether the voices have been verified by expert analysis are examined separately. → Organised Crime
Intervening party
A person harmed by the offence who joins the public case and acquires the status of a party. The intervener may adduce evidence, address the court and lodge appeals. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Investigation stage
The phase beginning when suspicion of an offence is learned and ending when the indictment is accepted. The prosecutor is obliged to gather evidence both for and against the suspect. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
J
Judicial control
A protective measure applied instead of detention, placing the suspect or defendant under specified obligations. A travel ban, a duty to report regularly, house arrest and electronic monitoring fall within it. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Judicial search
A search conducted on suspicion of an offence to obtain evidence or apprehend a suspect. It requires a judicial order as a rule; where delay is prejudicial the prosecutor, or the senior police officer if the prosecutor is unreachable, may order it in writing. → Drug Offences
L
Life imprisonment
A prison sentence lasting for the convict’s lifetime. It applies to the basic form of intentional homicide, while the aggravated forms carry aggravated life imprisonment. → Homicide
Limitation of prosecution
The lapse of the public case once the statutory period from the date of the offence has passed. The period is set according to the upper limit of the penalty and is interrupted by certain procedural acts. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Low value of the property
A ground for reducing the sentence where the property taken in a robbery or theft is of little value. In robbery the reduction is from one third to one half, and it is generally not applied where the coercion was severe or the victim was injured. → Robbery
M
Maximum period of detention
The upper limit on time spent in detention on remand. In cases within the assize court’s jurisdiction detention during trial may not as a rule exceed two years, extendable with reasons by no more than a further three years. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Membership of a criminal organisation
Joining the hierarchical structure of an organisation formed to commit offences and taking part in its activities with continuity. It is distinguished from aiding an organisation by the existence of an organic link. → Organised Crime
Misconduct in office
A public official acting contrary to the requirements of their duty and thereby causing harm to individuals or the public, or unjust gain to others. It applies as a residual offence where embezzlement, bribery or extortion is not made out. → Bribery and Embezzlement
Molestation
Sexual conduct that remains at the level of sudden, discontinuous acts without continuity. It substantially reduces the sentence in sexual assault and child sexual abuse cases. → Sexual Offences
N
Negligence
Bringing about a result without foreseeing it, in breach of a duty of care and attention. Negligent conduct is punishable only where the statute expressly provides. → Homicide
No-prosecution decision
The prosecutor’s decision to close an investigation on the ground that there is insufficient suspicion to bring a case. It may be challenged before the magistrate judge within fifteen days of service. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
O
Organic link
A genuine bond between a person and a criminal organisation based on continuity and hierarchy. Taking part in a single act does not establish it, and the distinction determines whether membership or mere assistance is made out. → Organised Crime
P
Police custody
Depriving an arrested person of liberty on the prosecutor’s order for the period needed for the investigation. It may not exceed twenty-four hours from arrest, extendable to three days for offences committed collectively. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Possession for personal use
Purchasing, accepting or possessing narcotic substances for one’s own consumption. It carries a lighter penalty than trafficking and calls for a probation measure. → Drug Offences
Precedent decision
A judgment of the Court of Cassation in a comparable case that guides practice. It is not formally binding, but settled case-law is widely followed by the lower courts. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Premeditated homicide
Killing where the offender decided in advance, allowed a reasonable interval to pass and persisted coolly throughout. It carries aggravated life imprisonment and does not apply to events that unfold suddenly. → Homicide
Preventive search
A search based on averting danger rather than on suspicion of an offence. It must rest on a judicial order, or on the written order of the civil authority where delay is prejudicial; exceeding those limits renders the evidence unlawful. → Drug Offences
Probation
A regime under which a person is kept under supervision and obligations within the community. In the offence of drug use, whether a public case is brought depends on compliance with the probation measure. → Drug Offences
Prosecutor’s final opinion
The statement in which the prosecutor sets out, once the evidence has been gathered, the offence for which the defendant should be convicted. The defence is entitled to time to respond to it. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Protective measure
A temporary measure interfering with fundamental rights, applied to secure the investigation and the trial. Arrest, police custody, detention on remand, judicial control, search and seizure fall within this category. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Public official
A person who takes part in the conduct of public activity by appointment, election or in any other way, permanently or temporarily. Embezzlement, bribery and extortion can be committed only by those holding this status. → Bribery and Embezzlement
Q
Qualified sexual assault
Sexual assault committed by inserting an organ or another object into the body. The penalty may not be less than twelve years and the case is tried before the assize court. → Sexual Offences
R
Reference sample
A portion taken from a seized narcotic substance and kept in the case file so that later comparison is possible. Failure to take and preserve it properly casts doubt on the expert findings. → Drug Offences
Release from detention
Ending detention on remand and setting the person free. It may be ordered at any stage, on request or of the court’s own motion, and is often combined with judicial control. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Right to remain silent
The right of a suspect or defendant not to make a statement about the accusation. Silence may not be treated as evidence against them, though it does not remove the duty to answer questions about identity. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Robbery
Taking property from its holder by coercion or threat. It is distinguished from theft by the breaking of the victim’s resistance; the taking of a promissory note is subject to the same provisions. → Robbery
S
Self-defence
Repelling an unlawful attack on oneself or another in a manner proportionate to the attack in the circumstances of the moment. Where its conditions are met, no penalty is imposed. → Homicide
Service of process
Notification of a legal act to the person concerned in the form prescribed by law. Appeal periods usually begin to run from the date of service. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
Sexual abuse of a child
Any sexual conduct towards a child under fifteen or one unable to grasp the meaning of the act. For children over fifteen, coercion, threat or deception must also be present. → Sexual Offences
Sexual assault
Violation of a person’s bodily integrity through sexual conduct. Conduct remaining at the level of molestation reduces the sentence, while insertion of an organ or object constitutes the aggravated form. → Sexual Offences
Snatch theft
Seizing property from the victim’s hand or person in a sudden movement and making off with it. Where the force used is directed only at taking the property it is theft; where it breaks the victim’s resistance it is robbery. → Robbery
Statement of the victim
The victim’s account of the events. In files where no other evidence exists it may found a conviction on its own, provided it is consistent, coherent and compatible with the ordinary course of life. → Sexual Offences
Suspect
A person under suspicion of having committed an offence during the investigation stage. The status changes to defendant once a public case is brought. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
T
Technical surveillance
Monitoring a suspect’s activities in public places and at their workplace by technical means, with audio or video recording. It requires a judicial order and is available only for catalogue offences. → Organised Crime
Theft
Taking movable property belonging to another from where it is kept, without the holder’s consent and for gain. Where coercion or threat is used the act becomes robbery. → Robbery
Threat
Frightening a person by stating that an attack will be carried out against their life or bodily or sexual integrity, or that of a relative. Together with coercion it is a constituent element of robbery. → Robbery
Trial stage
The phase running from acceptance of the indictment to the judgment becoming final. Evidence is argued at the hearing, so requests for further evidence are best made at the outset. → Assize Proceedings and Appeals
U
Undercover investigator
A public official inserted into an organisation under a changed identity to uncover offences committed in the course of its activity. Only a court may authorise it, and the investigator may not commit offences. → Organised Crime
Unjust provocation
Committing an offence under the influence of anger or distress caused by an unjust act. The sentence is reduced by between one quarter and three quarters according to the gravity of the provocation. → Homicide
Unlawfully obtained evidence
Evidence gathered in breach of the procedure laid down by law. It cannot found a judgment, and evidence derived from it is likewise excluded. → Drug Offences
V
Voluntary withdrawal
Abandoning the act of one’s own will although able to bring about the result. The offender is then liable only for what was committed up to that point, not for attempt. → Homicide
W
Weapon
Firearms, explosives, any cutting, piercing or bruising instrument made for attack or defence, and corrosive, burning or asphyxiating substances. Use of a weapon in robbery constitutes an aggravating circumstance. → Robbery
