Assessment of the Crime of Forgery of Official Documents

Under Article 204 of the Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237, the crime of forgery of official documents provides for imprisonment from two to five years for persons who forge an official document, alter a genuine official document in a manner capable of deceiving others, or use a forged official document. A comprehensive assessment of the elements, perpetrator, statute of limitations and practical aspects of the offence.

The documents constituting the material subject of the offence are instruments that facilitate the functioning of legal relationships constantly being established within society and that have evidentiary value. It is essential that society trusts in the authenticity of documents, which serve as important tools in the establishment and termination of legal relationships and in the regulation and proof of rights and obligations. This trust in the authenticity of documents that forms within society is also referred to as "public trust." Furthermore, as a result of document forgery, legal problems may arise regarding the establishment or proof of various legal relationships attached to the relevant document, and those holding rights based on the document may suffer harm or be exposed to the risk of harm.

Pursuant to Article 204 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCC) No. 5237, a person who forges an official document, alters a genuine official document in a manner capable of deceiving others, or uses a forged official document shall be sentenced to imprisonment from two to five years.

The second paragraph of the same Article provides that a public official who forges an official document that they are authorised to draw up by virtue of their duty, alters a genuine document in a manner capable of deceiving others, draws up a document contrary to the truth, or uses a forged official document shall be sentenced to imprisonment from three to eight years.

Perpetrator of the Offence

Anyone may be the perpetrator of the offence regulated in the first paragraph of the Article. A public official who commits the crime of forgery of official documents without any connection to their duty shall be punished within the scope of the first paragraph. The competent court for criminal proceedings to be filed under this paragraph is the Criminal Court of First Instance at the place where the offence was committed.

If the person is not a civilian but a public official and the matter concerns an official document that they are authorised to draw up by virtue of their duty, the second paragraph shall apply. The competent court for proceedings filed under this paragraph is the Assize Court.

Joinder of Offences

Article 212 of the TCC regulates the rule of joinder. Accordingly, where a forged official document is used during the commission of another offence, separate penalties shall be imposed for both the forgery and the related offence.

Documents Deemed Official Documents

The question of which documents constitute official documents is explained in Article 210 of the TCC. According to Article 210/1 of the Turkish Criminal Code, bills of exchange drawn to order or bearer, documents representing commodities, share certificates, bonds and wills are accepted as official documents.

The assimilation of these documents to official documents applies not only in terms of criminal aspects but in all respects. As a consequence, it is not additionally required that the forged document has been used for the forgery committed on these documents to be punishable. Within this framework, forgery committed on the documents listed in Article 210/1 of the TCC is also punished as forgery of official documents by a non-public official.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations for the offence under Article 204/1 is eight years pursuant to Article 66/1-e. The statute of limitations for the offence under Article 204/2 is fifteen years pursuant to Article 66/1-d. However, since qualified forms of the offence requiring heavier penalties are also taken into account in determining the statute of limitations period under Article 66/3, it should be noted that where Article 204/1 is applied together with the provision of Article 204/3, the statute of limitations period is fifteen years pursuant to Article 66/1-d.

Capacity to Deceive

Even if the authority to which the document was submitted did not detect at first glance that it was forged, if this matter is noticed during normal checks, it should be accepted that the document lacks the capacity to deceive. Court of Cassation case law exists in this direction.

Practical Aspects

In practice, this type of offence frequently arises in connection with title deed transactions, powers of attorney, official records, company documents, payment instruments, promissory notes and various documents submitted to public institutions. However, not every suspicious document automatically constitutes the crime of forgery, nor does every irregularity produce the same result in terms of criminal law. For this reason, the case file must be handled in a technical and careful manner both for persons facing criminal allegations and for persons claiming to have suffered harm from the offence.

In particular, procedures such as taking statements during the investigation stage, expert examinations, obtaining original documents, requesting records from institutions and preserving evidence have a direct impact on the course of the case file. For this reason, obtaining legal support at an early stage in case files containing allegations of forgery of official documents is important in terms of preventing loss of rights.

For detailed legal assessment regarding the crime of forgery of official documents, document forgery allegations, criminal investigations and related private law or commercial law disputes, you may contact MCG Law Office and receive professional legal support specific to your case.

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