TÜRKIYE Law and Practice Contributed by: Tansu Akin, Akin Legal
2.17 Summary of Significant Recent Product Liability Claims The Turkish product liability landscape underwent a rapid evolution in 2025, driven by aggressive regula - tory updates for the digital market and shifting judicial standards regarding evidentiary burdens. The E-Commerce Product Safety Regulation A landmark development was the entry into force of the “Regulation on Market Surveillance and Inspection of Products Offered to the Market Through Remote Communication Tools” on 1 April 2025. This regula - tion fundamentally changed how product liability is enforced for online sales. Crucially, it mandates that any product offered for sale via distance communi - cation tools targeting Turkish consumers must have an “economic operator established in Türkiye”. This domestic operator is held strictly accountable for maintaining declarations of conformity, executing market withdrawals, and cooperating with authorities. Furthermore, the regulation grants competent authori - ties the power to enforce digital market surveillance aggressively. If an online listing is found to promote a non-compliant or unsafe product, authorities can notify the intermediary service provider (e-com - merce platform). If the content is not removed within 24 hours, the authority can legally block access to the product’s web content entirely. This has forced international manufacturers and third-party sellers to entirely revamp their digital compliance and liability strategies in Turkey. Secondary Burden of Proof and Monitoring Obligations In 2025 civil claims, Turkish jurisprudence has increas - ingly embraced the concept of the “secondary burden of proof” in product liability litigation, a trend heav - ily influenced by broader European judicial develop - ments. While the primary statutory burden tradition - ally rests with the claimant to prove a defect, Turkish courts are now heavily scrutinising the manufacturer’s post-market “product monitoring obligation”. Recent 2025 case law evaluations highlight that man - ufacturers must not only ensure a product is safe upon delivery but must actively and continuously monitor its safety performance in the market. If a claimant estab -
The losing party is required to reimburse the success - ful party’s lawyer fees, with the limits defined in the tariff for legal works announced annually by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. The lawyers’ fees vary between fixed rates (from approximately EUR500) and 25% of the value of the dispute. 2.15 Available Funding in Product Liability Claims Parties may be granted legal aid by the courts if they can demonstrate that they lack the financial resources to cover the costs of proceedings and have a reasona - ble prospect of success in their case. However, public funding of proceedings and pro bono legal aid by an attorney are generally not permitted unless authorised by the relevant Bar Association. 2.16 Existence of Class Actions, Representative Proceedings or Co-Ordinated Proceedings in Product Liability Claims Class action is not recognised in the Turkish judicial system. However, while class actions are not available, the Consumer Protection Law empowers consumer asso - ciations and foundations to file determination cases or seek preliminary injunctions to safeguard the interests of their members or the groups they represent. Also, the Ministry of Commerce, relevant authori - ties and consumer associations may file lawsuits for declaratory judgment actions or preliminary injunction for prohibition or suspension of unlawful consumer- related matters under the Consumer Protection Law. Co-ordinated proceedings are not recognised as each claimant is expected to file a separate lawsuit. However, in practice, courts may informally co-ordi - nate several cases if the defendant and the cause of action are the same across a series of lawsuits. This may involve running parallel judgment procedures or designating one case as a pilot case for the remaining ones to follow.
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