In our society, people may not know exactly which actions are crimes or not in some cases. In other words, not every illegal act is a crime. For example, adultery is an unlawful act and therefore a reason for divorce. However, adultery is not a crime according to our criminal law.

• Crime; It is any humanitarian act to which the legal order imposes a penalty.

• If the penalty is; We can say that it is a sanction to be given to a person who commits an act that the law clearly deems a crime. Accordingly, the person who commits the act that is accepted as a crime will be subject to penal sanctions. Therefore, every crime necessitates the rule that embodies it.

So what is the purpose of punishment?

• According to the Turkish Penal Code, the purpose of the Criminal Code (we can also call it Criminal Law) is to protect the rights and freedoms of individuals, public order and security, the state of law, public health and the environment, public peace, and prevent crime.

There are other ideas about what the purpose of punishment is in general;

• According to individual preventive thinking, the purpose of punishment is correction. In other words, the punishment to be given to a person who commits a crime should be given not in order to persecute him or cause him to suffer, but to understand that his action is wrong and not to do it again.

• According to the just opinion, the punishment has no specific purpose, the punishment itself is the goal. For, justice requires the criminal to be rewarded for the evil he has done. Whether or not the punishment has any benefit, it must be applied as a requirement of justice.

In addition to all these, some principles are dominant in terms of criminal law, which are universally accepted and have also found their place in laws. These;

• The principle of legality in crime and punishment: Nobody can be punished and security measures cannot be imposed for an act that is not clearly considered a crime by the law. (TCK m.2)

• The principle of equality before the law and justice: The penalty should be proportional to the crime. No discrimination can be made among persons in terms of race, language, religion, sect, nationality, color, gender, political, philosophical belief, economic, etc., and no privileges are granted to anyone. (TCK art.3)

• The principle of binding force: Not knowing the laws is not an excuse. Accordingly, a person's excuse such as "I killed this person but I did not know that killing a man is a crime" is not valid. (TCK m.4)

• The personality of the penalties and the principle of fault: The criminal liability is personal. Nobody can be held responsible for someone else's actions. In addition, in order to be punished, the person must have a fault in committing that act. (TCK m.20)

For example, 3 friends named Zeki, Osman and Murat are walking on the edge of the cliff. Suppose Zeki wanted to kill Osman. If Zeki suddenly pushes Murat towards Osman and as a result, Murat is obliged to push Osman down, Murat will not be punished because he is not at fault.

Bursa Criminal Lawyer Burak GÜNEŞ