Unlawfulness and Grounds of Justification

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Av. Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

Unlawfulness means conduct infringing an interest protected by the legal order. Infringement of absolute rights, such as bodily integrity or ownership, is assessed differently from conduct causing only economic loss. A person suffering an adverse economic effect does not alone establish all liability conditions.

Lawfulness of a Harmful Act

Article 63 of the Turkish Code of Obligations states that conduct within statutory authority is not unlawful even if it causes loss. Valid consent, an overriding private or public interest, self-defence, and other statutory grounds must also be considered with their specific conditions. The existence of authority does not automatically protect conduct exceeding its limits.

Damage caused to an attacker in self-defence and damage to a third person's property through necessity have different consequences. Article 64 of the Turkish Code of Obligations provides that the duty to compensate in necessity is determined equitably. Conduct being lawful therefore does not mean that no payment obligation can arise in any circumstances.

The scope of consent, whether it was freely given, and whether it concerns a right that may be disposed of are important. Where a ground removing unlawfulness is alleged, the circumstances and relevant evidentiary rules must be examined together. Fault and loss are elements separate from unlawfulness.

Source

Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Articles 49, 63–64.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.