The concept of “personal impunity”, which has an important place in Turkish Criminal Law, can be defined as the situation where a person has no criminal responsibility for the crimes they have committed or this responsibility is completely eliminated. This situation means that the person who committed the crime is not punished for various legal reasons. So, what is personal impunity, in which cases is it valid and on what legal basis is it based? Here is a detailed review.
The Concept of Personal Impunity
Personal impunity is essentially the fact that a person is not charged with criminal liability even if they have committed a crime. This situation is mostly shaped in line with personal characteristics and certain legal situations. Such situations are regulated in the Turkish Criminal Code with articles that eliminate or postpone criminal liability under certain conditions.
Case of Personal Impunity
Cases That Eliminate Criminal Responsibility: Personal impunity, in some cases, does not result in criminal liability for the person due to personal characteristics and legal situations. These situations are clearly stated in the Turkish Penal Code:
Mental Disorder (Article 32): If a person with a mental illness has lost their sanity at the time of committing a crime, they may be exempted from criminal liability. In this case, the person is not subject to criminal liability but to treatment.
Unjust Provocation (Article 29): If the person has been seriously provoked, they may be punished less for the crime they committed or their criminal liability may be completely eliminated.
Self-Defense (Legitimate Defense – Article 25): If the person has acted within the scope of legitimate defense, their criminal liability is eliminated. This situation means acting within the limits of the right to defense.
Exceptions for Personal Connections and Officials: In some cases, especially for officials at the top of the state, personal impunity may emerge as a privilege. For example, the criminal liability of people at the top of the state may be limited to certain immunity due to mistakes they make while performing their duties. This immunity does not eliminate the fact that they are actually guilty, but it prevents the application of legal processes. For example, the status of the President or Ministers’ irresponsibility is related to the parliamentary authority regarding the duty.
Personal Impunity and Political Impunity
Political immunities and personal impunity are often confused. While personal impunity is more related to individual, special situations, political impunity refers to the exemption of certain groups of individuals (e.g. state officials) from criminal liability while performing their duties.
In Turkey, for example, the criminal liability of high state officials, such as the President, for certain crimes depends solely on the decision of the Parliament. Such special situations are related to the person’s status in office and constitute an exception according to general criminal law.
A Meaningful Example of Personal Impunity
For example, a person may be exempted from criminal liability for a crime committed due to mental illness. In such a case, the person is not punished; however, necessary measures are taken to treat his illness. This is a concrete example of the concept of personal impunity.
Personal impunity has a very important place in Turkish Criminal Law and shows that individual responsibility can change within the framework of certain special situations and conditions. Situations such as mental illness, self-defense and provocation are situations where a person’s criminal responsibility can be eliminated or mitigated. However, political immunities and privileges related to office have a different legal dimension.
