Crime of perjury

Crime of perjury, which is the subject of the dissertation, is regulated in articles 272, 273 and 274 of the Turkish Criminal Code. Witness statement is an evidence which has maintained its importance all the while. Witness is obliged to truthfully tell what he or she knows about the dispute. Witness's incongruous acting with this obligation can give rise to miscue of justice. Since it can only be committed by the ones who make statement as witness, crime of perjury is a peculiar offence. In terms of occurring the offense, influence of witness misstatements on judgment is not necessary. In this regard perjury is an abstract endangerment offence. Yet situations, in which harmful outcomes occur by reason of misstatement, are regulated as aggravated states due to result of offence. In terms of determination of in which processes perjury can be committed, the scope of persons or boards, which are authorized to hear witness, should be specified. For this purpose, in the light of doctrine and practice examination of this matter is one of the aims of the dissertation. Perjury is constituted with witness's intentional false statement. In this regard, the extent of witness statement and the determination of inaccuracy are topics which should be also addressed. As the offence can only be committed intentionally, every inaccurate statement is not evaluated within the scope of the offence.