3) KPSS Vatandaşlık - Hukukun Temel Kavramları - Hukukun Dalları - Esra ÖZKAN KARAOĞLU - 2026

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

1) Why law is classified into branches

• If legal rules were all kept “together in one sack,” finding the relevant rules would be chaotic (e.g., divorce rules, murder rules, inheritance rules, constitutional amendments, obligations).
• Therefore, laws must be classified so they are systematic and easier to apply.

2) The three branches of law

• Law is divided into three main categories:
  • Public law
  • Private law
  • Mixed law (mentioned mainly as an “appearance in options,” not fully treated)

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How to distinguish Public law vs Private law (core method)

Guiding rule: look at the parties and their power relationship

• Private law relationship

  • Both parties are individuals, or the parties are generally equal (no superior state authority).
  • Examples:
    • Marriage (Ayşe & Ali)
    • Inheritance between Ayşe and her father
  • If someone’s question is: “Can I do it?”
    • Yes → typically private law

• Public law relationship

  • The state is involved, and the state acts with superior authority (exercise of public power).
  • Examples:
    • Expropriation by the state (seizure of private land for public interest with compensation)
    • Taxation (the state collects taxes)
    • Criminal punishment (the state punishes crimes using superior power)
  • If the question is: “Can I do it?”
    • No → typically public law

Check examples used

• Police uniforms made by a tailor
  • Although the customer is the General Directorate of Security (state), the state is not using superior power as it would in public-power acts → treated as private law.
• Firewood purchase for a school
  • State purchases like an ordinary buyer → treated as private law.
• Forced taking of land
  • Individuals cannot forcibly take others’ property → if the state can and does → public law.
• Law of obligations
  • Debt and contractual relationships are treated as private law (individuals/parties act within equality).

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Branches of Public Law (with the “Civat” mnemonic)

Public law branches listed

• Constitutional law
• Administrative law
• Criminal law
• Tax law
• Procedural / litigation-related public law (spoken as “procedural,” in the same grouped set)
• Enforcement and bankruptcy law
• General international law / Public international law

Mnemonic construction (as stated)

• The teacher forms a code from first letters to help recall:
  • “Civat” = Criminal, Administrative, Tax, Enforcement/Bankruptcy, Procedural, Constitutional, General International law
• This is tied to the idea that in public law the state is superior.

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Branches of Private Law (what it covers and its sub-branches)

What private law regulates

• Relationships between individuals:
  • Birth/death, marriage
  • Custody/guardianship
  • Property, inheritance
  • Debts, trade/commerce

Main sub-branches of private law (as described)

• Civil law (the broadest)
• Law of obligations
• Commercial law (presented as part of private law)
• Private international law (international dimension of private law)

Examples within civil / obligations / commercial / private international law

• Civil law includes:
  • Beginning and end of personality
  • Residence/domicile
  • Names, kinship, family law, inheritance, property
• Obligations/debt:
  • How debt relationships arise and end
  • Principles governing debts
• Private international law:
  • Nationality and citizenship
  • Mentions Turkish citizenship provisions as a focus area

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Branches of Mixed Law (examples listed)

The teacher gives a list of possible mixed-law fields:

• Labor law
• Aviation (air traffic) law
• Environmental law
• Banking law
• “Conversation law” (as spoken; likely referring to communications/media-type regulation)
• Intellectual property law
• Land law (mentioned as an example of another mixed-law type)

Intellectual property law examples (rights described)

• Copyright (e.g., Sezen Aksu’s compositions)
• Patent rights (invention → patent right)

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Roadmap for the course (how topics will be taught)

• Teaching approach:
  • General overview first, then details later
  • Take pictures; definitions and structure are emphasized
• Order:
  • Public law first, then private law
• Public law roadmap (brief):
  • Constitutional law: definitions + deep coverage later
  • Administrative law: organized structure and supervisory control (later in detail)
  • Criminal law: punishment, crimes, crime elements, investigation vs prosecution, etc. (detailed later)
  • Tax law: brief definitions now, more later
  • Courts / judicial system: constitution-related legislative/judicial aspects
  • International agreements: covered within constitutional framework
• Private law roadmap (brief):
  • Likely mostly civil, then obligations/commerce, then private international law
• Mixed law:
  • Mostly mentioned (appears in options) rather than fully developed

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Criminal law section: key concepts and a structured breakdown

A) What criminal law regulates

• Criminal law regulates crimes and punishments.
• A person is punished because they committed a crime.

B) What makes an action a “crime” (elements of crime)

• Crimes require multiple elements to exist together.
• The teacher divides them into four categories:

1. Legality (typicality) principle

   • “No crime and no punishment without law.”
   • Crimes and punishments must be written in the law.

2. Material element

   • The action (how it happened): commission vs neglect.

3. Moral (fault/culpability) element

   • The person’s intent/knowledge and culpability.

4. Contrary-to-law element

   • The act must be against the law (if the law doesn’t define it as a crime, it cannot be a crime).

C) Material element: commission vs neglect

• Act of commission (active crime)
  • Doing something prohibited
  • Example given: firing a gun, shooting, strangling/killing by an active act
• Neglect (omission) crime
  • Failing to do an obligation that the person was required to do
  • Examples:
    • Medical negligence: not administering medication on time → may constitute neglect
    • Maternal duty neglect (baby not cared for/feed) → neglect could form a crime
    • Child harmed in contexts suggesting negligence/inadequate duty fulfillment

D) Intentional vs negligent crimes (conceptual distinction)

• Intentional crime
  • Person commits the act knowingly and willingly
• Negligent crime
  • No intent; failure to act as required (recklessness/negligence emphasis)
• Examples used:
  • Rat poison in food: potentially intentional because the act was deliberate (adding poison)
  • Firefighter example: not acting despite duty → neglect and intent discussed
  • Nurse example:
    • Failing to give medication on time → negligence
    • Giving wrong injection knowingly → intent

E) Causation / causal link

• For negligence-based outcomes, it’s necessary to establish:
  • Result
  • Causal link (cause-and-effect between neglect and outcome)
• Presented as: “result” + “causal link/causality.”

F) Lawfulness (grounds for no punishment)

• Even if an act occurs, criminal responsibility may not apply when a lawful ground exists, such as:
  • Compliance with a legal provision
  • Carrying out a lawful order
  • Acting within authority (example: bailiff seizing property)
  • Legitimate self-defense / legitimate defense (proportionate force)
  • Exercise of a right (example: doctor treating patients under medical authority)
  • Consent of the person concerned (example: surgery consent)
    • Without consent, wrongdoing would generally be criminal

G) Criminal responsibility: capacity to discern, age, and security measures

• Criminal responsibility = ability to be punished.
• It varies according to:
  • Capacity to discern (ability to distinguish good vs bad)
    • If lacking: no punishment, but security measures apply (treatment/rehabilitation-type measures).
  • Age ranges
    • 0–12: children do not receive punishment; security measures apply.
    • 12–15: assessed case-by-case; punishment can be reduced if capacity exists.
    • 15–18: sentence remains reduced until full responsibility.
    • Full criminal responsibility begins at 18.
  • Deaf and mute exception
    • A separate rule is stated:
      • Full criminal responsibility starts at 21 (security measures apply earlier).

H) “Principles regarding crimes and punishments” (legal guarantees)

Key principles emphasized:

• Legality of crimes and punishments
  • No one can be punished for an act not defined as a crime by law at the time it happened.
  • Punishments/security measures must be established by law (not administration regulations).
• Presumption of innocence
  • Nobody is considered guilty until proven guilty in court.
• No forced self-incrimination
  • People (including regarding relatives as defined) cannot be forced to provide incriminating statements/evidence.
• Personal criminal responsibility
  • Punishment responsibility is individual; you can’t substitute another person for the accused.
• Illegally obtained evidence cannot be accepted
  • Evidence gathered via coercion/illegal methods is unacceptable.
• No death penalty / no general confiscation
  • Notes death penalty abolition and distinguishes “special confiscation” vs “general confiscation.”
• No imprisonment for mere contractual breach
  • Liberty cannot be restricted solely due to failing contractual obligations.
• Administration cannot restrict personal liberty
  • Exception discussed: internal structure of the armed forces.
• Non-retroactivity of criminal law
  • Crimes/punishments cannot be applied retroactively (with only potential favorable effect discussed).

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Criminal procedure: investigation vs prosecution (defined stages)

A) Definitions and key terms

• Suspicion of a crime exists first (not certainty).
• Investigation phase
  • From discovery of suspicion of crime until acceptance of indictment.
  • Suspect status continues during investigation.
  • Investigative actions:
    • Interview witnesses
    • Gather evidence
    • Investigate the crime scene
    • Prepare the indictment file (by public prosecutor)
• Prosecution phase
  • From acceptance of the indictment until finalization of the judgment.
  • The person is treated as the accused/defendant during this stage.

B) Status labels used

• During investigation: suspect
• During prosecution: defendant/accused

C) Innocence framing

• Repeated emphasis:
  • Even after indictment is accepted, guilt is not treated as final until judgment.
  • Described as an “image/picture of innocence.”

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Public law: constitution, administrative law, and court structure (high level)

A) Constitutional law definition and “1982 constitution”

• The constitution is the “fundamental text” defining:
  • form, structure, and organs of the state
  • relationships among state organs
  • guarantees basic rights and freedoms
• The currently effective constitution is the 1982 constitution.

B) Administrative law: administration structure

• Deals with Turkey’s administration organization:
  • centralized administration vs local administration
  • provinces, districts, municipalities, villages
  • governors/district governors
• Administrative law covers regulations and supervisory control in this structure.

C) Procedural law / courts overview (brief hints)

• Courts are described as independent and impartial.
• Procedural law covers types of courts for different disputes, such as:
  • Constitutional Court review of constitutionality
  • Ordinary courts for civil/penal matters
  • Administrative courts for state-related matters
  • Accounting court (financial audits)
  • Election judiciary
  • Dispute resolution mechanism for jurisdiction conflicts
• Name change and lawsuit filing rules are mentioned:
  • Name change normally requires going to court
  • Prosecutor files lawsuits on behalf of the public

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Tax law: definition + governing principles + tax types

A) What tax is

• Tax is money the state legally collects from taxpayers to meet public needs.
• Purpose is public benefit/service.

B) Tax principles (3 principles)

• Legality (regulated by law)
• Universality/generality (everyone pays)
• Justice/fairness (linked to income/proportionality; progressive system described)

C) Types of taxes (examples listed)

• Taxes on income
  • Income tax (individual earnings)
  • Corporate tax (institution earnings)
• Taxes on expenditure / consumption
  • VAT (Value Added Tax)
  • Other expense/expenditure-related taxes mentioned together with VAT:
    • excise tax
    • bank and insurance transaction tax
    • stamp duty
    • special communication tax
    • gambling tax
• Taxes on wealth
  • motor vehicle tax (MTV)
  • property tax
  • inheritance and transfer tax

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Speakers / sources featured

• Esra ÖZKAN KARAOĞLU (primary teacher/speaker)
• ÖSYM (Turkish Higher Education Institutions Examination Center / Turkish Higher Education Council referenced)
• Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (legislative authority referenced)
• Elder / unnamed colleagues / assistants (briefly referenced)
• No other clearly identified speakers are consistently named in the subtitles.