What does recurrence mean?

What Does Recurrence Mean? | Attorney Dilek Yavuz Uysal

What does recurrence mean?

The word "repetition" literally means "recurrence". 

This refers to a situation where a person who has previously been convicted of a crime commits a new crime before the legally prescribed time limit has elapsed since the conviction became final. In this case, the person who commits the second crime is called a repeat offender.

There are many reasons why individuals commit two or more crimes after their first offense. These reasons can be divided into general and specific categories. Conditions such as poverty and vagrancy, which are among the causes of criminality, also constitute general causes of recidivism. In addition, factors such as the state of prisons, the inability to fully rehabilitate criminals, the difficulty integrating into social life after release, and the lack of psychological, social, and economic support for convicts after their release can be considered specific causes of recidivism.

Conditions for Recidivism

• The first condition for recidivism is that there must have been a final criminal conviction prior to the commission of the crime. 

Therefore, there must be a finalized prison sentence or fine in place before the crime is committed. Whether the sentence for the committed crime has already been served is irrelevant.

• The second condition for recidivism is the commission of another crime within the recidivism period after the conviction has become final. 

The recidivism period is five years from the date of execution of a sentence exceeding five years in cases of imprisonment, and three years from the date of execution of a sentence of five years or less, or a judicial fine. The crime must have been committed within these periods.

• The third condition is the absence of a prohibition against recidivism. 

In this respect, recidivism provisions do not apply between crimes committed negligently and crimes committed intentionally, between purely military crimes and other crimes, and, with the exception of certain cases, to judgments rendered in foreign countries.Turkish Penal Code 58/3). Furthermore, the provisions regarding recidivism do not apply to those who have not reached the age of eighteen at the time of committing the crime.Turkish Penal Code 58/5).

Consequences of Repetition

The first consequence of recidivism is that if the relevant law provides for an alternative sentence of imprisonment or a fine, the sentence will be imprisonment. The second consequence is that the special execution regime for recidivism applies to the defendant. In this case, the conditional release period for a person convicted of a crime committed for the first time is longer than for those committing the crime for the first time. The third consequence is that after the execution of the sentence, supervised release must be applied. This supervised release period cannot be less than one year, starting after the execution of the sentence. Depending on the circumstances, this period can be extended up to five years. If these provisions are not complied with, coercive imprisonment of up to three months may be applied. The judge must state in the decision that the defendant is a repeat offender and that supervised release will be applied to the defendant.   

For someone whose first conviction has been finalized, there is a special execution regime for repeat offenders to apply the provisions regarding recidivism. The most significant feature of this regime is its application to conditional release. Under this regime, the convict must serve 3/4, not 2/3, of their total sentence in a correctional institution. However, if the provisions regarding recidivism have been applied a second time, it is not possible to benefit from the conditional release arrangement.

In summary, the first consequence of recidivism is the obligation to choose imprisonment when the two penalties are optional. The second consequence is the application of a special execution regime for repeat offenders. The third consequence is the application of supervised release measures for the convict. 

Convictions That Do Not Constitute Recidivism

Article 87 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 765 lists the convictions that do not constitute recidivism. In response, Article 58/4 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 provides for a similar provision. The list in this article is limited and cannot be expanded. 

– OffensesThe Law on Misdemeanors does not include provisions on recidivism. Therefore, misdemeanors do not constitute grounds for recidivism among themselves, nor do they constitute grounds for recidivism in relation to crimes regulated in the Turkish Penal Code (TPC). More clearly, if the act committed by the defendant is a misdemeanor, or if it is subsequently reclassified as a misdemeanor, it will not constitute grounds for recidivism. For example, aggressive drunkenness was previously a crime regulated in the TPC No. 765. Now it is regulated as a misdemeanor; therefore, since it is a misdemeanor under the new regulation, the provisions on recidivism will not apply. It is also possible to say that if an act regulated as a misdemeanor under the TPC No. 765 is regulated as a crime under the new TPC, the aforementioned conviction cannot be considered grounds for recidivism.

– Judgments issued by foreign courts cannot be used as grounds for recidivism: The basis of this system stems from the idea that granting effect to a foreign court decision in terms of recidivism is contrary to the principle of territoriality and would undermine the sovereign rights of the country granting this effect. However, due to international obligations, the strict application of this principle has been abandoned with the information age; and in line with this trend, the exceptions to this rule have been expanded with Law No. 5237. 

If we list the exceptions to the rule that a decision by a foreign court does not constitute recidivism;

• Crimes of intentional homicide,
• Crimes of intentional injury,
• Crimes of looting,
• Fraud crimes,
• Crimes of manufacturing and trafficking of narcotic or stimulant substances,
• Crimes of counterfeiting money or valuable stamps

Accordingly, the aforementioned crimes committed in a foreign country may be taken into account as grounds for recidivism in Türkiye. Attempts to commit these crimes, or the commission of their aggravated forms, will also be considered as grounds for recidivism by Turkish courts.

In some cases, however, the Turkish Penal Code does not take conviction decisions into account for recidivism. Specifically:;

• Offenses
• Judgments rendered in foreign courts, excluding intentional homicide, intentional injury, robbery, fraud, manufacturing and trafficking of narcotics and stimulants, and counterfeiting of money and securities, will not be taken into account for recidivism.
• Intentional crimes can serve as a basis for recidivism, and negligent crimes can serve as a basis for recidivism: In other words, if the previous crime was an intentional crime, the subsequent crime must also be an intentional crime; if the previous crime was a negligent crime, the subsequent crime must also be a negligent crime.
• According to the provisions of the Turkish Penal Code regarding recidivism, recidivism provisions do not apply to crimes committed by individuals who have not reached the age of 18 at the time of committing the act.
• Recidivism provisions do not apply to purely military offenses and non-military offenses.

The type of recidivism mentioned above is recidivism in a general sense. However, a different type of recidivism is discussed when a crime is committed more than a second time. Specifically, if a defendant commits a second crime, and recidivism provisions are applied to them, and then they commit another crime after these provisions are applied, this is called "second recidivism." This second crime must be committed within the recidivism period following the execution of the second crime. In this case, conditional release provisions can no longer be applied to the convict.

To receive advice from our expert team on this matter, please contact us. Contact page.

You may also be interested in the following studies:;

Address: Nergis Neighborhood, Girne Boulevard No: 83, Floor 2, Apartment 2, Karşıyaka, İzmir

E-mail: info@efeshukuk.com

Phone: +90 534 415 52 56