Abstract:

Punishment constitutes the heaviest legal intervention to fundamental rights and freedoms. Since the crime is also a social phenomenon, arts and literature are interested in crime and punishment practices as well as law and social sciences. The transformation of the nature of the state has also affected the nature of criminal law. The genre of political regime has also been influential in terms of criminal law understanding. Adoption of formal sources and the principle of legality of crimes, provided an irreplaceable guarantee concerning fundamental rights and freedoms. Recognizing criminal sanctions as the last resort is also a basic principle. Today, however, criminal law is expanding. New security concerns due to socio-economic developments, new threat perceptions arising from international issues constitute the most important obstacles to narrowing the application area of criminal law. The “dilatation” of the criminal law and the increasing criminalization caused a workload far beyond the possibilities of the judicial authorities. The penitentiary institutions are full of prisoners and detainees beyond their capacity. Decriminalization still maintains its importance and It is inevitable to reevaluate and determine by consensus the interests to be subject to penal protection.

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