What Is Withdrawal of a Criminal Complaint?

Withdrawal of a criminal complaint may be defined as the request for a previously and duly filed complaint to be deemed invalid until the judgment becomes final.

Although the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK) does not contain a specific provision regulating the form of withdrawal, it is accepted that a declaration of withdrawal may be made before a court, a judge, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, law enforcement authorities, or a notary public, or may be submitted by means of a written petition. The essential requirement is that the declaration of withdrawal be explicit, unequivocal, and based on the free will of the complainant, leaving no room for doubt.

As a general rule, the right to withdraw a complaint may be exercised until the judgment becomes final.

Withdrawal of a complaint cannot be made subject to any condition. Conditional statements such as “I will withdraw if the other party also withdraws” are not regarded as legally valid withdrawals and require the continuation of the criminal proceedings.

Withdrawal of a complaint constitutes an irrevocable procedural act. Once declared, it cannot be rescinded or revoked.

Although withdrawal of a complaint is a unilateral declaration, its legal effect depends on the acceptance of the defendant pursuant to Article 73/6 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Unless otherwise provided by law, a withdrawal declaration produces no legal consequences with respect to a defendant who does not accept it. The rationale for this rule is to preserve the defendant’s right to obtain an acquittal at the conclusion of the trial and thereby be exonerated.

The principle of indivisibility applies to withdrawal of a complaint. Pursuant to Article 73/5 of the TCK, withdrawal of a complaint with respect to one of the defendants who participated in the offense also extends to all other co-defendants.

Pursuant to Article 73/7 of the TCK, where the termination of the public prosecution results from the complainant’s withdrawal of the complaint, and the complainant has expressly declared at the time of withdrawal that they also waive their personal civil claims, it is no longer possible to file a civil action before civil courts based on the same act.

The procedural consequences of withdrawal of a complaint depend on the stage of the criminal proceedings. If the withdrawal is declared during the investigation phase, the Public Prosecutor issues a decision of non-prosecution. If the withdrawal occurs after the filing of the public case, namely during the trial phase, the court renders a decision to dismiss the case.