Crime of violation of privacy (TCC Article 134)

The right to privacy, which is one of the fundamental human rights, enables individuals to protect their physical and mental integrity, develop their personalities and make choices according to their own free will. In this regard, the right to privacy is not only a personal necessity but also a necessity for a democratic society. Awareness of this need has emerged in parallel with social, legal, and technological developments. Indeed, the right to privacy is regulated as a constitutional right under Article 20 of the 1982 Constitution and is safeguarded by the crime of violation of the privacy of private life as stipulated in Article 134 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC). In the first chapter of this thesis, the concept and scope of the right to privacy are explained, and its historical development is examined on both international and national levels. The second chapter addresses the legal interest protected by the crime of violation of privacy (TPC Art. 134), its elements, circumstances affecting culpability, and qualified forms of the offense. The third chapter analyzes the specific forms of appearance of the crime, the sanctions imposed, and procedural rules applicable to its prosecution. This study has identified the strengths and weaknesses of the current legal framework concerning the offense of violation of privacy, evaluating differing views in both doctrine and judicial decisions. Notably, misclassifications between Article 134 of the Turkish Penal Code and other related offenses in the same section have been reflected in Court of Cassation rulings. Additionally, the Court's approach—where the absence of awareness of unlawfulness in covert recordings made for evidentiary purposes leads to non-liability—has been found to potentially weaken the constitutional protection of the right to privacy. To address this concern, the study concludes that a detailed and explicit legal regulation is needed. It is also determined that the sanctions under Article 134 are insufficient in practice, and more deterrent penalties are required to ensure effective protection. Keywords: "Right to Private Life", "Privacy", Audio and Video Recording", "Personality Rights", "Personal Data".