Unpunishable Prior Acts

The principle in criminal law is that each act an offender commits shall be treated separately with regard to sanctions. In this context, the punishment of an act as a rule does not affect the criminal liability arising from another action the same offender might have performed prior to or after tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Erkan Sarıtaş
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2022-07-01
Series:İstanbul Hukuk Mecmuası
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/C086608816C74379AA81BAB01A390AA4
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Summary:The principle in criminal law is that each act an offender commits shall be treated separately with regard to sanctions. In this context, the punishment of an act as a rule does not affect the criminal liability arising from another action the same offender might have performed prior to or after that action. In some cases, however, a very close relationship exists among multiple acts the same offender has committed consecutively. This relationship becomes more visible when the offender in particular violates the same or similar legal values with acts that are committed in the same context and become more and more serious. In terms of such cases, the concept of unpunishable prior acts has been put forward in the legal doctrine within the framework of the principles of the ideal concurrence of offenses. Accordingly, even if multiple acts are found to have been committed by the same offender, the offender is punished only for the posterior act under certain conditions. This concept has settled into the legal doctrine over time and is seen to be frequently referred to in high court decisions. However, the legal nature and scope of this concept is quite controversial in the legal doctrine, and the specific conditions have also not been fully clarified in the high court’s decisions. This study discusses the scope, conditions, and legal consequences of the concept of unpunishable prior acts within the framework of the discussions with regard to legal doctrine and high court decisions.
ISSN:2667-6974