As Özkök Law Firm, we continue to provide you with accurate and up-to-date information in the field of criminal law. In this article, we will discuss in detail the penalty for the crime of theft, one of the subjects we frequently encounter, and especially the judicial fine.

What is the Crime of Theft?

Theft refers to the acts of taking someone else’s property without permission or taking someone else’s property from its possessor by force or fraud. This crime, which is regulated in detail in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), is a type of crime that disrupts social order and causes significant harm to the victims.

Penalties for Theft

The penalty for the crime of theft varies according to various factors such as the value of the stolen property and the way the crime was committed. In general, the penalty for the crime of theft is determined in two ways: imprisonment and judicial fine.

Imprisonment: The prison penalty, determined according to the severity of the theft, is determined by the judge, taking into account the way the crime was committed, the value of the stolen property and the perpetrator’s previous criminal records.
Judicial Fine: A judicial fine is a type of penalty that can be imposed in addition to a prison sentence or on its own. This penalty, calculated over a certain number of days, is an amount of money that the convict must pay to the state treasury.

What is a Judicial Fine and How is it Calculated?

A judicial fine is calculated by multiplying a number of days determined according to the severity of the convict’s crime by a daily amount. The daily amount is determined by the judge within a range specified in the Turkish Penal Code. For example, the amount determined for one day can be between 100 TL and 500 TL.

Example: A person is sentenced to a judicial fine of 1000 days and the daily amount is determined as 200 TL. In this case, the total judicial fine that the convict must pay will be 1000 x 200 TL = 200,000 TL.

What Happens If the Judicial Fine is Not Paid?

If the judicial fine is not paid by the convict within the specified period, it is converted into a prison sentence. In this case, the convict must serve the prison sentence equivalent to the judicial fine.

Areas of Application of Judicial Fine in Theft Crimes

A judicial fine is a type of punishment frequently applied in the crime of theft. In particular, in cases where the value of the stolen goods is low or the crime is relatively light, the judicial fine can be imposed alone or together with the prison sentence.