Recent Development
The Law Amending Certain Laws and Statutory Decrees No. 7333 (“Law“) was published in the Turkish Official Gazette on 18 July 2021. With Article 17 of the Law, significant amendments were made to the Provisional Article 5 of the Check Law No. 5941 (“Check Law“) regulating the sentence and the imposition of the sentence for the offense of drawing a bounced check.
What Did the Article Say Before the Amendment?
Prior to the new amendment made in the first paragraph to the Provisional Article 5 of the Check Law, the article covered persons who committed the crime of drawing bounced checks up to 24 March 2020 and were convicted for this reason, and the execution of their sentences was suspended as of 26 March 2020.
According to the old version of the article, the convicted persons had to pay 10% of the check value’s unpaid portion to the creditor within three months from the date of release, at the latest. In case of failure to fulfill the payment of this amount to the creditor, the court would decide on the continuation of the judgment’s execution upon the creditor’s complaint.
If the remaining amount of 90% was paid in 15 equal installments at two-month intervals as of the end of the three-month period, the court would decide to abolish the criminal conviction with all its consequences. If one of the installments were not duly paid on first instance, this installment would have been added to the end of the installment term. If another installment were not paid, the court would decide to continue the execution of the judgment upon the complaint of the creditor.
What Does the New Regulation Say?
Pursuant to the Provisional Article 5 amended by Article 17 of the Law, the execution of the sentences of those who have committed the crime of drawing bounced checks until 30 April 2021 and have been convicted for this reason will be suspended.
As per the new version of the article, the convicted person has to pay 10% of the unpaid portion of the check value to the creditor from 28 July 2021 until 30 June 2022. In line with the old version of the article, if this amount is not paid to the creditor by the specified date, the court will decide to execute the judgment upon the creditor’s complaint.
If the remaining amount of 90% is paid in 15 equal installments at two-month intervals as of 30 June 2022, the court will decide to cancel the criminal conviction with all its consequences.
In line with the old version of the article, if one of the installments is not duly paid on first instance, this installment will be added to the end of the installment term. If another installment is not paid, the court will decide to continue the execution of the judgment upon the complaint of the creditor.
Conclusion
The Law made significant changes to the Check Law’s provisions on the execution of the penalty for the crime of drawing bounced checks. In our opinion, uncertain practices have been clarified with these changes.
