Organized Crime-Related Legislation in the Turkish Criminal Law

Abstract

The issue of organized crime has different dimensions in criminal law because of the dangers it presents to society, the commitment of those involved to engage in criminal conduct, and the complexity and transnational character of the criminal organizations. To put it differently, the cases linked to criminal organizations must be handled differently than crimes not committed by a criminal organization. On one hand, fighting against organized crime has to be conducted in an effective way to protect public order and individuals and, on the other hand, the fundamental principles of law have to be ensured. To that point, it is important for the lawmaker to decide between politics and criminal law. First, the study will focus on what should be considered an illicit act punishable by criminal law and what the range of punishment should be. Next, whether or not thelawmaker may deviate from the prerequisites of criminal procedure by arguing that they fail to adequately deal with organized crime will be discussed. Last, the study will consider other issues such as, do we need a specific execution system. This study aims to show an outlook of legislation related to organized crime in Turkish criminal law by presenting the key statutes through the core analyses.Key words: Organized crime, criminal organization, public peace, public order, forming and managing criminal organization, aiding, making propaganda, criminal coercive measures, active remorse, execution, conditional release, witness protection program