Abuse of power

Abuse of power

According to the Turkish Penal Code, the crime of abuse of officemeans that a public official, that is, someone working for the state, fails to fulfill their responsibilities or commits an unlawful act while performing their duties. There are three different types of this abuse of office under the law. When discussed individually, the following acts can be mentioned:

• When someone working in a state institution fails to fulfill their responsibilities, the crime of abuse of office arises.
• Similarly, a public official working in a state institution failing to perform their duties within the legally defined framework also constitutes an example of abuse of office.
• Finally, a public official's intentional or unintentional failure to perform their duties on time, thus delaying their work and neglecting their responsibilities, is also considered an abuse of office.

Misuse of Office Cases

The crime of abuse of office is essentially considered a crime committed with general intent. However, it is not a requirement that the public official act knowingly or unknowingly during the commission of this crime. It is sufficient that the public official knew they were neglecting their duty and committed the act willingly. A case for abuse of office can only be brought if damage occurs as a result of the act. Therefore, for the crime to be legally constituted, some material or moral damage must have occurred as a result of the act.

Since the crime of abuse of office is not among the offenses subject to complaint, there is no complaint period during the investigation phase. However, the statute of limitations for prosecution for abuse of office is set at 8 years.

Which court has jurisdiction over cases of abuse of office?

The competent court for cases of abuse of officeis determined according to the provisions of the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure. According to the relevant articles of this code, the competent and authorized courts for cases of abuse of office are the Criminal Courts of First Instance.

You can obtain legal services and consultancy support regarding the crime of abuse of office from our law firm, which employs expert lawyers in this field. You can find detailed information about this matter and our services on our website https://ferhatkule.av.tr/ . To contact us immediately, please see our contact information.