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The Crime of Failure to Report a Crime by Healthcare Professionals

One of the characteristics of a state governed by the rule of law is that crimes are prevented by the state and criminals are punished, and that society can demand these from the state. Therefore, individuals in a state governed by the rule of law demand the state to prevent and punish crimes, and they must have certain obligations to the state that will help them fulfill these demands. First of all, it is necessary to inform the competent authorities about the crimes encountered so that they can be investigated and prosecuted. Because, the competent authorities cannot always be the first to encounter a crime committed.


When faced with a crime committed, reporting it to the authorities is an obligation imposed on individuals, and it has been given such importance that the violation of this obligation has been regulated as the crime of failure to report the crime in our Penal Code. The failure of some people to report the crime has been considered different from the crime of failure to report the crime in general and has been regulated as separate crimes by the legislator, taking into account the nature of the perpetrator. The crime of failure to report the crime of health professionals, which is the subject of our study, is one of these crimes.


Since the subject of health services is always human and this subject is considered in detail, health professionals who provide health services will be more likely to encounter an indication that a crime has been committed while performing their duties due to the nature of their work compared to other professional groups. For this reason, health professionals are among those who are expected to contribute to the state, especially in terms of preventing and punishing crime.


In the first part of our study, the regulation of the Turkish Penal Code regarding the crime of not reporting the crime by healthcare professionals was discussed and the concepts that are also reflected in this regulation and are closely related to this regulation were tried to be explained in detail.


In the second part of our study, who can be the perpetrators of the crime of not reporting the crime by healthcare professionals, the legal subject of the crime and the victim are discussed; in the third part, the crime of not reporting the crime by healthcare professionals is discussed in terms of the general theory of crime, the elements of the crime and the fault and the circumstances affecting the fault in this crime are examined.


In the fourth section of our study, the applicability of the provisions of attempt, participation and concurrence as special forms of crime in terms of the crime of failure to report a crime by healthcare professionals was evaluated; and in the fifth section of our study, our study was completed by providing information on the criminal sanctions and the prosecution regarding the crime of failure to report a crime by healthcare professionals.




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