Definitions, Problems and Proposed Solutions Concerning the Concurrence of Offences

2014Murat Volkan DülgerArticle

Abstract

This work was written in Turkish. The summary on this page is a translation; the citation gives the original title in parentheses.

The basic principle regarding the concurrence (içtima) of offences is the cumulation of penalties; the cumulation of penalties is the rule and the concurrence of offences the exception. This principle was expressed in the Report of the Justice Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) on the Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 (TCK) as “there are as many offences as there are acts, and as many penalties as there are offences”. The concurrence of offences, which constitutes the exception, essentially occurs in two forms: “ideal concurrence” (fikri içtima) and the “successive offence” (zincirleme suç). The successive offence is regulated in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 43 of the TCK, and ideal concurrence in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 43 and in Article 44.

Another matter dealt with within the subject of the concurrence of offences and treated under this heading is apparent concurrence. As the name indicates, in this case the concurrence is only apparent; in reality there is no such concurrence. Nevertheless, in the legislation too, in line with scholarly opinion, this situation is regulated in Article 42, in the section on the concurrence of offences. Article 42, however, by stating that “the provisions on concurrence shall not apply to offences of this kind”, makes it clear that these are not cases of concurrence of offences.