The ofference of theft

The offence of theft, provided for in Article 141-147 of the Criminal Code, was one of the most committed crimes in our country. This study touches upon the way the offence is defined in the Code and which actions constitute a theft in the context of academic reviews and the case-law of the Court of Appeals. Notwithstanding that there is no consensus on it, the concept of possession is mostly accepted by acedemicians to be a "protected value" by the provision. With respect to the statues of the crime, the case-law of Court of Appeal could be considered to be complied with the arguments of doctrine. As a result of possession to be 'the protected value', it is considered that persons may sometimes commit this crime against their own property according to Article 144 and 290/2 of the Criminal Code. Although the basic form of the offence of theft is defined in Article 141 of the TCK, the settlement procedure established by Law No. 6763 provides that there should be a consensus among parties for those crimes in Article 141 in order for the parties to settle. Despite the fact that the aggravated forms the offence requiring a heavier penalty and the forms of it committed night time are not open to the settlement procedure, the offences which are bound to a complaint and defined in Article 144-146 and 147 of the Code are subject to the settlement procedure. While Article 145 of the TCC provides that punishment to be imposed against the offense of larceny may be reduced or totally lifted if the value of the property stolen is determined to be less, Article 168 requires the sincere repentance to be applied in case of compensation of the damages of the aggrieved party or return of the unlawfully acquired property to the owner before commencement of prosecution upon sincere repentance of the offender. Amendments introduced by Law No. 6545 have brought harsher penalties for the aggravated forms of theft crimes. It is considered that in case of commission of offense of larceny to meet a gross and urgent need, the punishment to be imposed may be either reduced or lifted according to the characteristics of the event. Key Words: Theft, Possession, Complaint, Loss, Court of Appeal's Decisions.