3 Union of Turkish Bar Associations Review 2023 Hüseyin ACAR The offence of acting contrary to the measures regarding contagious diseases is regulated in Article 195 under the heading of “Offences Against Public Health” in the third section of the third part of the heading of “Crimes Against Society” in the second book titled “Special Provisions” of the TPC No. 5237. The relevant article stipulates that “The person who does not comply with the measures taken by the competent authorities regarding the quarantine of the place where a person infected with one of the contagious diseases or who has died from these diseases is punished with imprisonment from two months to one year”. The grounds of the article include the following sentence: “In the article, failure to comply with the measures taken by the competent authorities to quarantine the place where people infected with contagious diseases or who have died from these diseases are located is defined as an offence. Thus, the aim is to protect public health”.2 According to the aforementioned regulation, the legislator aims to prevent the acts and actions of persons who jeopardize the public health by failing to comply with these measures despite the decision of the competent authorities to quarantine the place where the person who has contracted a contagious disease or died from such diseases is located.3 I. LEGAL REGULATION The protection of public health by taking necessary measures through the introduction of legal regulations is among the most prioritized and important issues for all societies. Article 56 of our Constitution states that “Everyone has the right to live in a healthy and balanced environment. It is the duty of the State and citizens to improve the environment, protect environmental health and prevent environmental pollution”. This provision of our Constitution, which imposes a duty of protection, states that the right to life as a human right can only be realized in a healthy and balanced environment.4 Article 1 of the 2 TBMM, Dönem, 22, Yasama Y. 2, Sıra S. 664, p. 592; İzzet Özgenç, Gazi Şerhi, Türk Ceza Kanunu Genel Hükümler, 2. Baskı, Seçkin Yayınevi, Ankara, 2005, p. 941. 3 Özlem Y. Çakmut, “Bulaşıcı Hastalıklara İlişkin Tedbirlere Aykırı Davranma Suçu”, Prof. Dr. Feridun Yenisey’e Armağan, İstanbul, 1. Baskı, Beta Yayıncılık, C. I, 2014, p. 543–544. 4 It is stated that since the general grounds for limitation have been abolished in the Constitution, some problems may arise in terms of the legitimate purpose of limitations in terms of some rights and freedoms where the ground of “protection of
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