FEA 102 Principles of Law

Week 7 – Public Law II Instructor

Niyper Hayal Artaç
 Public Law

2) Branches of Public Law

C) Criminal Law

a) In General

 Criminal law belongs to that part of public law concerned with criminal offences. In a well-functioning State based on the rule of law, no person is
permitted to take the law into his own hands and punish wrongdoers himself. Instead, it is the administrative and judicial authorities who are
competent to ensure the security of the general public and where necessary, to punish wrongdoers by properly implementing the relevant laws. It
should be noted that modern criminal law is enforced not only with the object of punishing crime, but also in the hope of preventing it by reforming
and rehabilitating the criminal.
 Public Law

2) Branches of Public Law

C) Criminal Law
b) Definition of Crimes

 A fundamental principle of modern criminal law is that in order to establish legal guilt there must be a specific provision in the
law which defines the act as a crime: “There can be no crime without law” (nullum crimen sine lege).

 Accordingly, an act constitutes a crime if, and only if, it is defined as a crime by a law currently in force. No crime can be established ex post
facto i.e. no act can be made a criminal offence retrospectively.

 In many legal systems, including the Turkish one, penal provisions may have retroactive effect when they are in favour of the person to whom they
are to be applied. This means that if a former law is replaced by a new law that lays down a lighter penalty for the same criminal act, it is the newer
law that will be applied.
 Public Law

2) Branches of Public Law

C) Criminal Law

c) Criminal Cases Distinguished From Civil Cases

 Criminal law belongs to the public branch of law. Civil law is part of private law regulating the legal relationship between private individuals and
providing no role for the State. This is the critical difference -in criminal law the State is an essential party. In civil law the complaining party is a
private citizen.

 Furthermore, it is a personal and voluntary choice for the individual whether or not to take in a civil law action against an alleged wrongdoer. In
contrast, the State is obliged to prosecute a person accused of committing a crime even when the victim is not personally interested in the
prosecution. This is necessary for the protection of society at large.

 Lastly, the results of the two legal procedures are different. A criminal prosecution carries the possibility of a prison sentence and/or a fine. Civil
cases will not involve a prison sentence. The primary object is not to punish the offender but to afford redress to the aggrieved party.
 Public Law

2) Branches of Public Law

D) Law of Procedure

 Law contains both substantive and procedural, or adjectival aspects. Substantive law determines the content and meaning of the laws (norms) to be
applied to a specific case. Procedural law describes how, i.e. in what manner, the laws are to be applied and by whom. In other words, procedural law
is the branch of law governing how justice is administrated by the courts and other institutions whose functions are related to the judiciary such as
prosecutors, arbitrators, notaries public.
 Public Law

2) Branches of Public Law

E) International Law

 International law may be defined as the body of rules of conduct which are binding upon the members of the international community in their
relations with each other. While domestic law encompasses the rules applying to legal issues within the jurisdiction of a particular State,
international law is concerned with the general principles and specific rules regulating relations between states and other members of the
international community, such as international organizations, whose numbers have increased considerably since the end of World War II.

 Individuals also have become increasingly recognized as participants in and subjects of international law. This can be observed primarily in the field
of human rights law. It should be noted that, in addition to the protection of individuals against human rights violations, international law also
imposes criminal responsibility for serious violations of humanitarian law governing armed conflicts.
 Public Law

2) Branches of Public Law

F) Environmental Law

 Environmental law is the branch of law dealing with the management and protection of the environment. Although certain aspects of this branch of
law may fall into the field of Private Law, the main characteristics of Environmental Law are of
“public” nature.

 The main purpose of Environmental Law is to prevent adverse human impacts on the physical, chemical or biological components that make
up the natural environment. The most common examples of these disturbances are air (atmospheric) pollution, water pollution and hazardous
wastes.