What Is The Right To Complaint And Withdrawal Of Complaint?
WHAT IS THE RIGHT OF COMPLAINT AND WAIVER OF COMPLAINT?
The right of complaint is the right to apply to the competent authority within the legal period by the victim or injured party of the crime for the investigation or prosecution of crimes whose prosecution is subject to complaint. The prosecutor’s office or law enforcement officers cannot directly and spontaneously initiate an investigation into offences whose prosecution depends on a complaint. In order to initiate an investigation, the victim or the person harmed by the offence must file a complaint.
Withdrawal of the complaint is the withdrawal of the complaint by the victim or injured person who has exercised his/her right of complaint by giving up the investigation and prosecution of the offence.
CAN THE RIGHT OF COMPLAINT AND WAIVER OF COMPLAINT BE USED BY SOMEONE ELSE?
The right to complain is a right that is strictly bound to the person and cannot be used by anyone else. The person harmed by the crime or the victim of the crime must exercise the right to complain personally. For this reason, the right to complain is not passed on to the heirs, but if the person complained during his/her lifetime and a lawsuit was filed and then died, then the heirs may intervene in the case.
The right to waive the complaint, like the right to file a complaint, is strictly bound to the person, therefore it cannot be used by someone else. The complainant, the victim or the person damaged by the offence, may waive his/her complaint in person.
WHAT IS THE DURATION OF THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN?
The use of the right of complaint in offences whose investigation and prosecution are subject to complaint is subject to a forfeiture period. According to the Turkish Penal Code, the victim of the crime or the person who is damaged by the crime must exercise the right to complain within 6 months. If the right of complaint is not exercised within the 6-month prescriptive period defined in the law, the right of complaint will be dropped and no investigation or prosecution will be possible after this period has expired.
The complaint period shall commence on the day on which the person aggrieved or damaged by the offence knows or learns about the act and the perpetrator. For example, if the crime of violating the confidentiality of private life, which is a crime whose prosecution is subject to complaint, was committed on 01/01/2021 and the victim of the crime learned the act and the perpetrator on 15/01/2021, he/she will be able to exercise his/her right to complain until 15/07/2021.
According to Article 73/4 of the TPC, if there is more than one person who is damaged or victim of the crime, even if one of these persons passes the 6-month period, the right of complaint of the other victims will not be reduced.
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