Criminal Division
Case No.: 2020/821
Decision No.: 2021/1558
“Judgment Text”
Regarding the imposition of an administrative fine of 521.00 Turkish Liras, applicable on three separate occasions, pursuant to the decisions dated 02/12/2019 and numbered E.221 and E.222 of the Sincan District Governor’s Office Health Directorate, In response to the decision of the Ankara West 2nd Criminal Court of Peace dated 03/13/2019 and numbered 2019/840, the file attached to the Ministry of Justice’s letter dated 12/20/2019 and numbered 94660652-105, which contains a request for annulment pursuant to the law, -Kyb, was delivered to the office via a notice dated January 3, 2020, from the Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Appeals and has been reviewed. KYB-2019/136115.
In the aforementioned notice:
Based on the contents of the file, pursuant to Article 15/2 of Law No. 5326 on Misdemeanors, an administrative fine totaling 521 Turkish Liras was imposed three times, separately for each medication, due to the sale of antibiotics without a prescription.
“In cases where the same offense is committed multiple times, a separate administrative fine is imposed for each offense. I n offenses that can be committed continuously, the act is considered a single act until an administrative sanction decision is issued. In light of this provision, since three separate reports were prepared and three separate administrative sanction decisions were issued due to the sale of antibiotics without a prescription, all sales must be evaluated as a single act. Pursuant to Article 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271, a request was made to overturn the decision in question on the grounds that it was incorrect, in the interest of the rule of law, and this request was reviewed and evaluated;
.
Article 1/2 of Law No. 1262 states: “Those that may be dispensed with a doctor’s prescription are sold only with a prescription, while those that do not require a prescription are sold only in pharmacies and drugstores as required by law.” The Regulation defines the criminal act, and Article 15/2 of Law No. 5326 contains the following provision regarding the application of criminal penalties: “If the same crime is committed multiple times, a separate administrative fine is imposed for each offense. In crimes that can be committed continuously, the act is considered a single act until an administrative penalty decision is issued.
However, it is stated that only in offenses that can be committed continuously is the act considered a single offense until an administrative sanction is imposed; and that acts such as the sale of prescription-only medications—which are required to be sold with a prescription but are attributed to the offender—cannot be considered a continuous offense because they are committed at different times and through different methods.”
On February 15, 2021, it was decided by unanimous vote to reject the request of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals in favor of the relevant party. law.