Liability of the legal entities in Turkish and American Criminal Law

Today, the legal entities are playing important roles around the world as a fact of economic and social life. In connection with fighting against the crime and punishing, every country imposes sanctions to the legal entities based on their internal dynamics. Therefore while some countries prefer to punish the legal entities, some prefers to impose non criminal sanctions as a result of crime. In the first section of this study, we have examined the terminology, elements, legal nature, types, establishment and dissolution of the legal entities. In the second section, we have examined the terminology of the legal entities in criminal law, the theories regarding criminal liability of legal entities, historical development of this liability, criminal liability of legal entities in Turkish and US criminal law and comparative law. In the third section of this study, we have analyzed the position and the role of the legal entities in criminal procedure law, sanctions can be imposed to legal entities in connection with both Turkish and American criminal procedure law.