Mistakes and misconduct made by public officials while carrying out their duties, or actions that are
incompatible with their roles in public service, which violate regulations governing public services, are
referred to as disciplinary offenses, disciplinary penalties are the consequences imposed for such violations.
Disciplinary penalties are sanctions that are applied unilaterally to a public official by the administration
using the power bestowed upon them by the law, following specific administrative procedures and making
use of the government’s power without a court’s approval.

In the context of the investigation to be conducted, it can be emphasized that it is a requirement of the
principle of legal predictability to grant the public official who will be subject to disciplinary action the
right to a fair investigation and defense before any penalty is imposed. This includes allowing the official
to present their defense when requested by the investigator, and specifying the disciplinary penalty
corresponding to the alleged disciplinary offense in the request for defense, as specified by the principle of
legal predictability.

It can be emphasized that in the context of conducting a disciplinary investigation, administrative judicial
authorities are beginning to value the requirement in the request for the public official’s defense of the
specifics of the disciplinary offense the official is accused of, as defined by law or regulation, including the
relevant article-clause-subclause. Following this, it may be emphasized that this kind of conduct is currently
required by rules incorporated into our legal system, highlighting its significance in ensuring legal
compliance and clarity.

Key Words; Disciplinary offense, Defense, Defense Request Letter, Disciplinary Penalty, Public Official

The relationship between the dentist and the patient is mostly based on a contract when evaluated in terms
of self-employed dentists. The legal nature of the contract in question is the basis of this study. Although
the contract between the dentist and the patient is accepted as an contract of mandate by practice and
doctrine, the legal nature of the contract is controversial in applications such as implants and prostheses.
The debate here centres on the legal nature of the contract between the dentist and the patient in such dental applications. While the Turkish Supreme Court and some of the doctirine consider the contract made with
the patient for dental treatments such as implants and prosthetics as a contract for work, another doctirine
argues that these procedures should be considered as contract of mandate (mandatum) because the primary
objective is treatment. Another opinion in the doctrine suggests that such dental agreements are of a hybrid
nature, consisting of both work and mandate contracts.

Keywords: Dentist, legal responsibility of dentist, contract between dentist and patient, contract of mandate
(mandatum), contract of work

This study will focus on the meaning and functions of ritual and an extensive symbolism that can be associated
with in contemporary legal orders and judicial processes. In order to demonstrate the relationship between ritual and law comprehensively, the historical development and transformation process of ritual will be evaluated in the axis of its linkages with social and political structures. Ritual and its associated system of symbols will be analyzed in the context of concepts such as power, authority, social relations, social norms, obedience and legitimacy. Consequently, issues such as the origin and roots of ritual and its religious and magical function in ancient societies will be largely excluded. The reflections of the subject in modern society, state and legal orders will be discussed. In this context, secular rituals and their symbolism, which emerge within the framework of certain symbols, ceremonies or repeated patterns of behavior will be taken as a baseline. The study will investigate how rituals and symbols concretize the legal order composed of abstract norms and make it visible and tangible to ordinary citizens, particularly within the context of judicial phases. It will be tried to demonstrate how rituals and symbols, from the judicial process and agents to the places of the trials, pervade to the whole legal practice and what kind of an effect they have on ordinary people.

Keywords: Ritual and symbol, Legal rituals and symbols, Legal, social and political function of ritual, Judicial
places, process and agents, Legal anthropology

In this study, an attempt was made to evaluate whether the responsibility to protect has become a rule of customary international law by evaluating the material element and moral element (opinio juris), which are the founding elements of customary international law. Although the United Nations (UN) bodies have confirmed the responsibility to protect, it has not become a rule of customary international law due to the lack of the material element, which is a common state practice, and the existence of many opposing views in terms of the element of fulfilling the opinio juris condition.Considering that despite the legal qualities attributed to the responsibility to protect by states, the doctrine of the responsibility to protect can be shaped according to the interests of states, it becomes quite difficult to characterize the responsibility to protect as customary law.

Since the doctrine of the responsibility to protect can often be interpreted according to the interests of states, the norms on which the doctrine is based have not become customary law. In fact, many times, this doctrine is not even dared to be used as a basis. As a current example of this issue in the study, we can show the case in which the Republic of South Africa brought the Palestinian issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ or the Court).

The most significant example of this is the South African Republic’s appeal of the crime against humanity committed by Israel in Palestine in violation of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide to the International Court of Justice (ICJ or the Court) and the fact that no state has used the doctrine of the responsibility to protect as a basis in the subsequent developments. For this reason, even in the case centered on “a group subjected to genocide” South African Republic, which has extremely good lawyers, has not included the concept of the responsibility to protect in its claim. Therefore, as a current and striking example, the study touches on which legal issues the South African Republic has given more priority to than the doctrine of the responsibility to protect.

Turkish Enforcement Law has regulated the enforcement of the court orders regarding the restitution of movable properties in a gradual way. First, the enforcement officer investigates whether the movable property is in possession of the debtor. If it is, the property is taken from the debtor and delivered to the creditor. If the debtor is found to be not holding the posses-sion of the property for any reason (such as sale, loss, destruction), the proceedings will hen-ceforth be enforced in line with the conditions governing monetary debt. A potential problem that the enforcement officer could encounter during these proceedings may arise from defec-tive delivery or incorrect delivery of the good. Related to the second grade of the procedure (if the performance in kind isn’t possible) the occurring problem is about the valuation of the property.

Adaptation of contract comes up in the event that the balance between the mutual performances is
disturbed due to the occurrence of facts that were not foreseen and not expected to be foreseen by the parties at the time of the conclusion of the contract. Under the Code of Obligations (CO) No. 818, the possibility of adaptation, which was explicitly foreseen for the work contract, has become applicable for all contracts thanks to the Art. 138 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO) No. 6098. Although Art. 138 of the TCO does not provide any limitation in terms of person, it is observed that adaptation requests are rejected on the grounds of the merchant’s obligation to act prudently or superhuman care is expected from them in terms of ‘unpredictability’. In this context, this study analyses the questions whether the merchant may request the
adaptation of the contracts to which it is a party, what should be the measure of the care expected from them, and the judicial decisions on the aforementioned issues are examined.

Intervening the public claim is the ability of the victim, the individual who has been damaged by crime and the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation be active in the criminal procedure process with the rights and powers granted to them, in order to ensure that the accused is punished or not punished. One of those who have the right to participate in the criminal procedure is also the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation. In the Code of Criminal Procedure, the scope of participation has been expanded by granting the right to participate to the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation, as well as the victim and the person who has been damaged by the crime. Granting the intervening the public claim, which has an important place among victims’ rights and allows the person who has been damaged by the crime to direct the case alongside but independently of the prosecution, to the person responsible has been criticized on the grounds that it contradicts the purposes and nature of the institution. The individuals liable for pecuniary compensation who will bear the consequences of the final judgment or be affected by these consequences by bearing material or financial responsibility. This concept mostly refers to people who are perfectly responsible for someone else’s actions, and the concept is tried to be defined by making use of private law and administrative law knowledge. Unlike the victim and the person who has been damaged by the crime, the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation who will be negatively affected by the consequences of the verdict if the accused is convicted, participates in the case to ensure that the defendant is not punished. This situation has made it controversial whether the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation participated in the case alongside the prosecutor or the accused. In the study, first of all, what the concept of the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation means and the consequences of having the title of the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation in terms of criminal procedure will be examined. The position of the the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation, who has a different character from the victim and the person who has been damaged by the crime, in the criminal procedure will be tried to be explained, and then the provisions specific to the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation as a participant will be examined. Keywords: the individuals liable for pecuniary compensation, intervening the public claim, the victim, the individual who has been damaged by crime, rights of victim.

This study addresses the legal liability arising from the breach of personal health data. Personal health data, which are classified as sensitive data, are subject to strict conditions for processing. The protection of personal health data is crucial for the privacy of individuals. In some cases, a person’s health condition may lead to their social isolation. Individuals who wish to keep their health status confidential may even refrain from seeking medical services. On the other hand, there are many benefits to processing personal health data. Processing such data saves time, improves efficiency, increases accessibility to records, and allows for more accurate diagnoses by providing detailed information about the individual. In order to strike a fair balance between these two interests, the processing of personal health data is prohibited in principle, and its processing is permitted only on the basis of the lawful grounds specified in the Turkish Personal Data Protection Act (KVKK). Healthcare providers may process personal health data under the conditions specified in the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK). However, the lack of a lawful grounds for processing constitutes a breach of personal health data. This study specifically examines the confidentiality obligations of healthcare professionals and the consequences of unlawful processing of personal health data. In this context, legal liabilities arising from culpa in contrahendo, contracts, torts, and transaction without authority (negotiorum gestio) are discussed, and the general framework for the legal liability of healthcare providers is established. The study shows that the protection of health data is not only a legal obligation but also a crucial factor in ensuring individuals’ access to healthcare services.

The enterprises that are recognized for belonging to a certain tendency is important in labor law. Due to this importance, the concept of a tendency enterprise, which originates from German law, is also worthy of being addressed in Turkish law. In this respect, it is controversial how to determine whether an enterprise is tendency or not. Therefore, the determination of tendencies is important and this study primarily addresses this issue. Also, there are two remarkable elements of tendency enterprises. The first is the protection of the tendency. The applicability of this perspective on tendency protection under Turkish law has been one of the issues addressed in this study. On the other hand, the tendency carrier is the second element of such enterprises. Since the main subject of labor law is to address the situation of the workers employed in the enterprise, the characteristics of the tendency carrier are also revealed in this study. Finally, job advertisement and interview are discussed in terms of tendency enterprises. Subsequently, the obligation of loyalty, the employer’s right of management and the protection of personal data in tendency enterprises are discussed. Regarding termination, the concept of tendency termination, which is not clearly emphasized in the doctrine, is introduced.

The study examines the legal nature of the rule of necessity in Turkish criminal law, focusing on its role as an excuse for absolving blame or a defence (justification for complying with the law). The answer of this question would be decisive for the resolution of many special problematic issues. The Turkish Penal Code only addresses the rule of necessity as a means to excuse those responsible for committing a crime, but tort law also includes provisions that govern the concept of necessity as a justification for adhering to the law. Despite the presence of only one instance of the necessity rule in the Turkish Penal Code, it is not contradictory to assert that the rule of necessity possesses a dual legal nature and two distinct characteristics. In compensation law, the principle of necessity is established as a justification for legality in certain situations. It has to be mentioned that Turkish legislation does not have a specific provision that differentiates between the rule of necessity that excuses blame and the rule of necessity that justifies actions that match a crime type. Thus, establishing a clear distinction between the two is a significant challenge. Comparative law regulations can help to handle this issue, but it is essential to acknowledge that the law of a foreign state cannot be directly implemented in Turkish criminal law without establishing a theoretical rationale within Turkish legal boundaries. For example, in German law, provisions in §34 and §35 of the German Criminal Code are established considering the varying importance of the rights behind conflicted interests. The state of necessity arises from a state of conflict. In this conflict, essentially, interests are opposed. However, in many countries, such as in German law, it is accepted that the comparison should not be made between the interests, but between the right to which these interests are related. However, Turkish law does not offer a clear foundation for incorporating this criterion when differentiating between types of the necessity rule. As the result, we believe, the differentiation of the necessity rule in Turkish law hinges on whether the recipient of the action is required to bear it or not.

In German law, § 255 BGB regulates the assignment of claims in favour of person liable to pay compensation for the loss of goods. This regulation, which is based on the Roman Law and entered into force on 01.01.1900 after having undergone significant changes during the Ius Commune period, aims to compensate owner’s damage as soon as possible, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the assignment of claims, which the owner holds against third parties on the basis of ownership of the goods, to the compensation debtor. The assignment of claims provides the compensation debtor with necessary legal tools to leave damage on the person primarily responsible for it. The institution of assignment of claims also aims to prevent the owner from being entitled to compensation in excess of the damage in violation of the prohibition of enrichment. The assignment of claims does not constitute a legal assignment, but gives debtor of compensation some rights similar to defence of non performance, and allows debtor to force the creditor to assign the claims to him by legal transaction. The assignment of claims does not exclude the provisions on unjust enrichment (condictio sine causa ob finitam) arising from the cease of cause, and is applied together with these provisions.

The late 20th century has witnessed significant changes in the political, economic, and cultural spheres. “Post- modernity” has become prominent as a concept that covers the differences of the new era. Different perspectives have developed various approaches to understanding these changes. David Harvey and Jean-François Lyotard, who have many fundamental disagreements over the meaning of the new period, have been critical examples symbolizing these different approaches. Lyotard addresses the new period through the status of knowledge in societies which he describes as the “most advanced”. The author claims that the status of knowledge in the “most advanced” societies has changed radically towards the end of the 20th century. For him, modern science, which had to put forward the rules of the game through with its reasons, had to apply to some grand narratives to legitimize its status. Post-modern theory, on the other hand, is characterized by distrust of grand narratives. Harvey, on the other hand, does not believe that capitalism has been overcome and a transition to a post-capitalist or post- industrial society has been made as a result of these radical changes. When compared to the basic rules of capitalist accumulation, for him, these changes correspond to some changes that appear in superficial appearances. The condition of postmodernity in Harvey’s thought is discussed in the context of postmodernism in the cultural sphere and the context of the flexible accumulation model as an accumulation regime in the political-economic sphere.

Today, municipalities, as an emerging actor in the field of social policy, are active in different fields. These practices, which bear little resemblance to the decentralization and infrastructure services traditionally undertaken by municipalities in Turkey, have become increasingly widespread in the last 30 years. This phenomenon has been further strengthened by gaining a legal basis within the framework of the Metropolitan Municipality Law No. 5216 and the Municipal Law No. 5393. This approach, which is addressed under the concept of ‘social’ municipalism, is closely related to the change in the development paradigm since the 1990s within the framework of general macro policy change. In this framework, the aim of this article is to demonstrate that the comprehensive development paradigm shaped by the World Bank should be taken as a basis for making sense of the expanding scope of municipal services.

Law No. 4483 on the Prosecution of Civil Servants and Other Public Officials, which is lex generalis regarding the prosecution of civil servants and other public officials, requires a prior authorisation in principle for crimes committed by these people due to their duties. It sets out that the decisions of the competent authority, which means the authority giving the authorisation, may be reviewed by the decisions of the authority for complaints, which is also designed to be of an “administrative” character. The authority for complaints emphasises in its numerous decisions that the matter at hand is not of a litigation and that it is not a tribunal, as confirms this approach by not applying the Law No. 2577 on the Administrative Procedure. However, this approach seems to be deviated when the aim of protecting fundamental rights and freedoms predominates. This study discusses whether the “administrative” character of the authority for complaints can be maintained when it comes to protect fundamental rights and freedoms.

As one of the most fundamental principles in refugee law, the principle of non-refoulement is characterized by the rejection of returning an applicant for international protection or a foreigner with refugee status to a country where their life or freedom is jeopardized due to race, religion, nationality, sex, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. This principle, enriched by regional and universal human rights instruments, has evolved into a universal right, applicable to all foreigners beyond refugees. The concept of medical non-refoulement, a contemporary concept that has emerged primarily through judicial decisions, expands the application of the non-refoulement principle and holds particular significance in it’s interpretation. In this context, the principle of medical non-refoulement is primarily observed in the deportation of foreigners who require special medical assistance to a third country where there exists a risk of being deprived of this crucial service. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), through its established jurisprudence on this matter, reviews individual applications related to medical non-refoulement in the context of Article 3 of the Convention, which addresses the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment. The Court may find a violation by states if sufficient conditions are present. This study will first examine the characteristics and nature of the non-refoulement principle. Subsequently, the principle of medical non- refoulement will be assessed in light of the existing case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and the potential implications of this principle on Turkish law will be interpreted.