15 Union of Turkish Bar Associations Review 2023 Hüseyin ACAR IV. THE LEGAL VALUE TO BE PROTECTED The meaning and purpose of modern criminal law is the protection of legal values. The individual’s freedom, being an independent entity and developing their personality under the conditions of social life is a requirement of the doctrine of the protection of legal values.55 Both the fact that the section title of the offence of acting contrary to the measures regarding contagious diseases in the TPC No. 5237 is regulated by the legislator as “offences against public health” and the examination of the article justification of the relevant offence, it will be seen that the legal value that is protected here is the “protection of public health”.56 In order to protect public health from danger and attacks, states have the responsibility of taking the necessary measures to combat epidemics through the competent authorities as per the legislation. As a matter of fact, Article 56 of the Constitution states that the State is obliged to ensure that everyone lives their lives both physically and mentally healthy.57 Therefore, the regulation aims to prevent the possible harm and threats to the health of the individuals constituting the society by preventing the further spread of contagious diseases.58 On the other hand, although the doctrine predominantly states that the legal value aimed to be protected is public health, there are also researchers who hold the opposite view. For example, according to German criminal jurist Roxin, only individual legal interests are protected in criminal law. A criminal norm cannot be based on the 55 Yener Ünver, Ceza Hukukuyla Korunması Amaçlanan Hukuksal Değer, 1. Baskı, Seçkin Yayınevi, Ankara, 2003, p. 37. 56 Çakmut, p. 545; Hafızoğulları/Özen, p. 128; Yaşar/Gökcan/Artuç, p. 6035–6036. 57 VIII. Health, Environment and Housing. A. Health services and environmental protection. Article 56 of the Constitution- “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. The State shall ensure that everyone maintains their life healthy both physically and mentally, and shall regulate the planning and service provision of health institutions from a single authority in order to promote cooperation by increasing savings and efficiency in manpower and material resources. The State shall fulfill this duty by utilizing and supervising public and private health and social institutions. General health insurance may be established by law for the widespread provision of health services.” In addition to the general regulation in the Constitution, the Law on Public Health No. 1593 (Art. 57-96. and Art. 282, 284) also contains some regulations on this matter; Çakmut, p. 545. 58 Yaşar/Gökcan/Artuç, p. 6035–6036; Bayzit, p. 879.
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