Duress - national proceedings

Turkey

Criminal Code

FIRST VOLUME
General Provisions

SECOND CHAPTER
Essence of Criminal Responsibility

SECOND SECTION
Excusatory and Mitigating Causes

Force and Violence, Menace and Threat

ARTICLE 28- (1) No punishment is imposed to a person who commits an offense as a result of intolerable or inevitable violence, or serious menace or gross threat. In such cases, the person involved in violence, menace and threat is considered as the offender.

Rome Statute

Article 31 Grounds for excluding criminal responsibility

1. In addition to other grounds for excluding criminal responsibility provided for in this Statute, a person shall not be criminally responsible if, at the time of that person's conduct:

(d) The conduct which is alleged to constitute a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court has been caused by duress resulting from a threat of imminent death or of continuing or imminent serious bodily harm against that person or another person, and the person acts necessarily and reasonably to avoid this threat, provided that the person does not intend to cause a greater harm than the one sought to be avoided. Such a threat may either be:

(i) Made by other persons; or

(ii) Constituted by other circumstances beyond that person's control.