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A Social Wound: Individual Armament, Licence Supervision and Criminal Liability in Turkey

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Attorney Hüseyin Aydın – Lawyer in Alanya

Although Turkish legislation and the case law of the high courts establish a legal regime bound by extremely strict conditions, detailed administrative supervision and severe criminal sanctions, illegal armament and the use of unlicensed firearms are encountered more and more frequently on the streets, in judicial statistics and in news bulletins. The fact that the circulation of unlicensed weapons in society has reached such alarming proportions while the statutory framework is so harsh and uncompromising clearly shows that the issue is not merely a technical breach of law but a deep, bleeding social wound. At the root of this burning contradiction lie unregistered weapons smuggled into the country or put on the market after blank-firing pistols have been illegally converted in backstreet workshops to fire live ammunition, gaps in the supervision of online platforms, the inadequacy of preventive policing in the field, and enforcement practices that lack any deterrent effect.

Preventing this enormous social crisis, in which innocent people suddenly lose their lives for nothing because of a moment of anger, carelessness or a stray celebratory bullet, requires the existing supervisory mechanisms, preventive police measures in the field and the sanctions regime to be operated with a radical and uncompromising approach.

The Legal Nature of a Firearm Licence: A Fundamental Right or an Exceptional Police Permit?

In Turkey, the manufacture, acquisition, carrying, possession, transfer and destruction of firearms are governed by Law No. 6136 on Firearms, Knives and Other Instruments and the related secondary legislation. Individual armament is an area that carries a direct and high risk for public order, social welfare and general safety of life. For this reason, neither positive law nor settled case law recognises the authority to carry or possess a weapon as an independent fundamental right or an individual privilege (freedom).

This constitutional principle is consistently emphasised in the settled decisions of the high courts:

Consequently, in order to protect public safety and the right to life of individuals, the administration manages firearm permits, which are an exception to the general rule, with a strict discretionary power as an “individual administrative police measure”.

I. Types of Firearm Licences and Key Legal Concepts

1. The Distinction Between a Carry Licence and a Possession Licence

Under Articles 6 and 7 of Law No. 6136, firearm licences fall into two basic categories:

Both types of licence are legally valid for five years (5 years), provided that the relevant fees are paid and the conditions continue to be met.

2. Key Legal Concepts and Administrative Institutions

II. Conditions for Obtaining a Licence and the Administration’s Discretion

1. The Limits of the Administration’s Discretion and the Public Interest

When dealing with firearm licence applications, the administration takes into account the applicant’s social circumstances, professional activity, physical and psychological condition, propensity to commit offences and, above all, the public interest. Settled case law reinforces the protective and security-oriented role of the administration in this respect:

2. Legal Circumstances That Bar the Grant of a Licence

The obstacles listed in Article 7 of Law No. 6136 and Article 16 of the related Regulation are assessed in two groups: absolute and relative obstacles.

A. Absolute and Permanent Obstacles (Even if Pardoned):

B. Time-Limited and Conditional Obstacles:

C. Domestic Violence Measures (Obstacle under Law No. 6284):

For persons against whom a protective or preventive order has been issued under Law No. 6284 on the Protection of the Family and the Prevention of Violence against Women, carry and possession permits are immediately suspended for the duration of the order, new licence or renewal applications are halted, and their existing weapons (including weapons held for public duty) are placed in judicial custody by law enforcement.

III. Licence Supervision, Suspension and Revocation

1. Breach of Time Limits and Notification That the Reason for Issue Has Ended (Law 6136 Art. 6/1)

If the reason for which a firearm licence was issued ceases to exist, the licence holder is obliged to notify the competent administrative authority within 6 months. The licences of those who fail to notify, or who do not renew within 6 months after the 5-year validity period has expired, are revoked. However, a new licence may be issued to persons who continue to meet the legal requirements, provided that they pay the administrative fine imposed by the district governor or governor.

Council of State, 15th Chamber (20.02.2018, E. 2016/4546, K. 2018/1954 and 05.04.2018, E. 2016/5928, K. 2018/3378): held that a revocation made because the licence was not renewed in time or because no notification was made does not permanently remove the person’s right to obtain a licence; a new licence may be issued if the administrative fine is paid and the legal conditions are met.

2. Suspension and Taking into Custody During Ongoing Proceedings

Since the protection of public safety takes priority, the administration applies suspensive measures to persons who are subject to criminal prosecution:

3. The Fate of Seized Weapons and Deferral of the Announcement of the Verdict (HAGB)

IV. Safekeeping of a Licensed Weapon, Allowing Others to Use It, and Strict Liability

A firearm licence is a strictly personal authorisation; it is granted not to the weapon but to the specific individual who has passed administrative and psychological vetting. Accordingly, transferring a weapon, the way it is stored, or its falling into someone else’s hands are subject to very severe criminal consequences.

1. Prohibition on Handing Over to Others and Lifetime Revocation (Law 6136 Art. 9)

The Law expressly provides: “Those who hold permission to carry firearms may not sell these weapons to anyone other than persons holding an official licence, nor may they give them to others, even temporarily.”

Where the licence holder commits an offence with the weapon, or where, as a result of his or her negligence in safekeeping, another person commits an offence with it or attempts suicide, the firearm licence is withdrawn and the person will never again be granted a licence for life.

2. The Offence of a Weapon Falling into the Hands of Children (Law 6136 Art. 13/A)

In order to prevent weapons from being left accessible to children at home through carelessness, the legislature has created an independent criminal provision:

“A person who causes a firearm to be obtained by a child by keeping it in breach of the duty of attention and care shall, provided the act does not constitute another offence requiring a heavier penalty, be punished with imprisonment from one to three years.” (Law 6136 Art. 13/A)

3. Graduated Sanctions for Theft or Loss of a Weapon

Under Article 9 of Law No. 6136, a person whose weapon is stolen or lost for a second time may, on a new application, be granted a permit for only one weapon. A person whose weapon is lost or stolen for a third time has the licence withdrawn immediately; no new licence is granted until 5 years have passed from the date of the incident, and after 5 years the person may apply for one weapon only.

V. Illegal Armament, Change of Address and Parts Violations (Law No. 7533)

With Law No. 7533, which entered into force on 30 November 2024, the sanction provisions of Law No. 6136 underwent a fundamental revision, and the penalties for carrying and possessing unlicensed weapons and for trafficking in weapon parts were increased significantly:

Type of Act / Nature of the WeaponPrescribed Judicial / Administrative SanctionLegal Basis
Purchasing, carrying or possessing unlicensed firearms, ammunition or main/ballistic parts (barrel, slide, frame, receiver, cylinder, bolt head, extractor, claw, firing pin)Imprisonment from 2 to 4 years and a judicial fine of 100 to 500 daysLaw No. 6136 Art. 13/1
Where the weapons or ammunition are serious in nature or quantityImprisonment from 5 to 8 years and a judicial fine of 500 to 5,000 daysLaw No. 6136 Art. 13/2
Keeping 1 non-serious weapon and its customary ammunition at home/at the workplaceImprisonment from 1 to 3 years and a judicial fine of 100 to 500 daysLaw No. 6136 Art. 13/3
Where the ammunition or parts are very few in number and not serious in natureImprisonment of up to 6 months and a judicial fine of 30 to 500 daysLaw No. 6136 Art. 13/4
Breach of licensing/renewal obligations in situations such as death, transfer or convictionAdministrative fine from TRY 10,000 to TRY 25,000 (imposed by the district governor/governor)Law No. 6136 Art. 13/5, 7
Moving the weapon because of a change of residence or workplace without obtaining a Transport PermitAdministrative fine from TRY 10,000 to TRY 25,000 (imposed by the district governor/governor)Law No. 6136 Art. 13/6, 7
Table: Current Criminal and Administrative Sanctions under Article 13 of Law No. 6136 after Law No. 7533

Transport Permit Procedure and the Courts’ Approach (Samsun Regional Court of Appeal, 6th Criminal Chamber, 21.09.2017, E. 2017/1516, K. 2017/1727): Taking a weapon covered by a possession licence to a new address after a change of address without a transport permit is not the offence of carrying an unlicensed weapon but an administrative procedural omission; ordering the confiscation of the weapon is unlawful. Under the current legislation, this act is sanctioned under Art. 13/6 by an administrative fine imposed by the district governor or governor.

VI. Sensitive Areas Where Carrying a Weapon Is Absolutely Prohibited (Additional Article 1)

Under Additional Article 1 of Law No. 6136, entering the following sensitive places with a weapon is absolutely prohibited by law, even if the person holds a valid carry licence:

Sanction (Additional Article 1/4): Persons who enter these prohibited areas with a weapon are subject to a judicial fine of not less than fifty days. In addition, their carry licences are immediately revoked and converted into possession licences, and they cannot be granted a carry licence again until 5 years have passed from the execution of the sentence.

VII. Views in Legal Doctrine, Conflicts and Civic Responsibility

1. Grading Fault in “Stray Bullet” Cases

In cases where third parties are killed or injured as a result of reckless shooting into the air at weddings, engagement parties, send-offs for military service, football celebrations or in residential areas, legal doctrine and the courts apply the following criteria:

2. The Conflict Between the Presumption of Innocence and Preventive Police Measures

3. Gaps in Supervision and Legislation

4. The Sociological and Psychological Dimension: Cultural Illusion, Ego Gratification and the Collapse of Individual Self-Control

Despite the heavy toll caused by individual armament and lack of supervision, and the deep wound it has opened in society, the reason why the problem cannot be curbed by statutory regulation and criminal sanctions alone lies in a far more deep-rooted psychological and socio-cultural illusion: in certain segments of our society, the firearm is coded not so much as a rational and legitimate security need, but as an archaic symbol of power, a false shield of immunity and a primitive instrument of psychological ego gratification through which suppressed emotions are released. The artificial self-confidence instilled by a gun carried on the waist or kept in the glove compartment completely paralyses the individual’s internal braking mechanism over his or her own anger and impulses — that is, individual self-control — turning the simplest traffic dispute or a moment of celebration into an irreparable scene of death. Despite the young lives lost to stray celebratory bullets, the families torn apart and the deep wounds bleeding in society, the inability of individuals to exercise self-control, regarding the gun as a sign of prestige and superiority, both dulls society’s own internal control reflex and delays the public authorities in resolutely operating regular psychological and practical supervision mechanisms. However much the legal rules are tightened, unless this unhealthy cultural mindset that sees the gun as an extension of individual ego gratification and so-called masculinity is confronted as a whole, and unless self-control is built through civic awareness, it does not seem possible for this social wound to heal permanently.

VIII. Practical Application and Lessons from Concrete Cases

IX. Conclusion and Assessment

A firearm licence is not a certificate of freedom or privilege granting its holder unlimited freedom of action, but has the status of an exceptional administrative permit imposing a high duty of care and heightened legal responsibility. Considering the threats to safety of life that individual armament and lack of supervision create in society, the administration’s uncompromising stance in licensing, renewal and supervision procedures is a natural requirement of the constitutional public interest.

The most fundamental legal obligation of licence holders is to store the weapon in a certified steel safe and with locked storage so that third parties, strangers and especially children can under no circumstances access it. A breach of this duty of care does not result only in administrative fines or licence revocations; it also leads to severe custodial sentences and moral devastation that is hard to repair. In administrative disputes and criminal investigations concerning firearms, in order to avoid irreparable loss of rights, it is advisable that the specific circumstances of the matter be assessed carefully and that the process be conducted with professional legal advice from a criminal lawyer.

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