Article 86 Of The Turkish Penal Code – Offence Of Intentional Injury
TPC ARTICLE 86 – WHAT IS THE OFFENCE OF INTENTIONAL INJURY?
Article 86 of the TPC – Intentional Injury Crime stipulates that the person who intentionally causes pain to the body of another person or causes deterioration of health or perception ability will be punished.
To cause pain to the body: It refers to all kinds of material-physical pain, more or less felt in the body. In this context, even pushing someone or pulling their hair is an injury. By making an objective assessment in this regard, it is important to consider whether a normal person would feel pain in the body with that movement.
Deterioration of health: It is the deterioration of a person’s health status before the act of intentional injury after the act. For example, causing diarrhoea by giving medication to a person constitutes the offence of intentional injury. In this act, the person is not required to suffer. It is sufficient that his/her health becomes worse.
Deterioration of the ability to perceive: It is when the mental state of the person becomes worse than it is. For example, hypnotising a person, making him/her unable to sleep by frightening him/her, making him/her drink drugs constitute this offence.
The subject of the offence of intentional injury is the physical or psychological existence of the victim. The legal benefit protected by the offence of intentional injury is the protection of the physical or psychological inviolability of persons. Perpetrator of this offence can be anyone. However, unfortunately, committing this offence against animals is not criminalised by law.
WHICH ACTIONS CAN THE OFFENCE OF INTENTIONAL INJURY BE COMMITTED?
Since the offence of intentional injury is a free-moving offence, it can be committed by any action. It is sufficient for the offence to be committed if the act causes one of the consequences of causing pain to the body, impairment of health or impairment of perception ability specified in the article. In this context, the offence of injury can be committed by various actions such as hitting, punching, kicking, stabbing with a piercing or cutting instrument, pushing, throwing down from a place, drugging, frightening. However, these actions must produce the results mentioned in the article.
WHAT IS THE LESSER PUNISHMENT FOR THE OFFENCE OF INTENTIONAL INJURY?
The provision in Article 86/2 of the TPC stipulates that a lesser penalty will be imposed if the effect of the act of intentional injury on the victim is mild to the extent that it can be eliminated by a simple medical intervention. The prosecution of such an act of injury depends on the complaint of the victim. An injury that can be remedied by a simple medical intervention means an injury that does not require any intervention other than first aid intervention. In this case, it is possible to explain it as injuries that can be treated by non-health professionals without any medical intervention. Persons who cause such injuries will be sentenced to a lesser penalty.
You can access our other article examples and petition examples by clicking here.