Güveni Kötüye Kullanma Suçu (TCK m. 155)

Abstract

Since relationships based on trust are very important for the functioning of the economic system and the continuation of the social life, the lawmaker has introduced certain sanctions against actions that harm relations based on trust. The part of these sanctions which concern private law aim to compensate the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages persons suffer. Unlike private law sanctions, penal law sanctions aim to protect the people's property rights and prevent to breach of trust between people in relationships. Accordingly, legislation has been made in the Turkish Penal Code and some other special laws. One of these legislations is the " The Crime of Breach of Trust" addressed in the Tenth Section of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 entitled offences against property. Pursuant to aforementioned legislation, using a property which belongs to a person but whose possession has been transferred to someone else for purposes other than those indicated in the transfer of the possession or rejecting such existence of transfer have been foreseen as a crime.

This study which aims at analyzing the crime of breach of trust consists of three sections. In Section One, general information and regulations concerning the crime of breach of trust, which contain the private law institutions because of its nature, and which is a multi-disciplinary crime, have been provided. This section also addresses the historical development of the crime, the manner in which it is arranged in comparative law and the preserved legal values, all of which help disclose the legal foundations of this type of crime. Moreover, the special manifestations of the crime of breach of trust have been discussed, and it has been compared to certain crimes with similar characteristics. In Section Two, the components of the crime of breach of trust have been examined in detail by discussing the fundamental points regarding the theory of crime. In Section Three, situations which affect culpability, special manifestations of the crime, personal impunity and the causes which require the mitigation of the penalty and provisions concerning sanctions and the criminal procedure have been determined. Moreover, actual decisions of the Court of Appeals have been discussed in relevant parts, and the Supreme Court's attitude toward the crime of breach of trust has been determined. In addition, the Supreme Court's incorrect decisions have also been analyzed. In the Conclusion section of our study, our analyses, criticisms and recommendations concerning the crime of breach of trust have been summarized.