TÜRKIYE Law and Practice Contributed by: Tansu Akin, Akin Legal
dence” process if such evidence is collected in the absence of the opposing party. 2.7 Rules for Disclosure of Documents in Product Liability Cases Under general principles of civil judgment in Tur - key, the burden of proof lies with the claimant (Article 7 of the Civil Code), and each party is responsible for presenting the evidence they rely on. Courts do not automatically collect evidence without the parties’ initiative in civil proceedings. If a party asserts that the evidence supporting their claims or defences is in the possession of the other party or a third party, they can request a court order compelling them to produce the evidence. If the opposing party withholds such evidence, defying court assessment, the burden of proof may shift following the court’s order. In the case of a third-party custodian, they must present the evidence to the court (upon com - pensation for any losses incurred) by court order. In recent years, there has been a judicial trend towards expanding the application of Article 31 of the Civil Procedural Law, which mandates judges to clarify cases. This article requires judg - es to order parties to address legally ambigu - ous or contradictory matters or to introduce any additional evidence crucial for resolving the case. If a party hesitates to comply with such an order to produce evidence, the court may decide to shift the burden of proof, as described above. 2.8 Rules for Expert Evidence in Product Liability Cases Under the Civil Procedural Law, the parties may request the court to appoint expert witnesses to analyse and comment on the technical aspects. This appointment commences with a specific discovery session with the participation of the parties, the judge and the experts. The judges
also have the authority to appoint expert wit - nesses if they require any technical assistance to resolve specific matters. The costs of the expert witness are borne by the party bearing the burden of proof, to be later reimbursed by the losing party at the conclusion of the proceedings. Under the Expert Witnesses Act, a list of qualified sworn expert witnesses is annually announced in each judicial area. If the expert opinion is deemed insufficient, par - ties may request, or the judge may indepen - dently decide to, request further details from the experts, appoint a different expert or a commit - tee of experts, or summon the expert witness(es) to clarify their technical opinion. In product liability and product safety cases, the Court of Appeals often expects the lower courts to appoint expert witnesses. While the Civil Procedural Law allows parties to utilise their own expert opinions, these opinions do not carry the same weight as those of court- appointed experts. 2.9 Burden of Proof in Product Liability Cases While the general principle places the burden of proof on the claimant, the Turkish Civil Procedur - al Law stipulates that both parties are responsi - ble for proving their allegations or defences with sufficient evidence. In principle, the establishment of a fact should be beyond doubt. The Civil Code requires evi - dence to reasonably prove the alleged incident or situation. If the alleging party fails to provide sufficient evidence reasonably indicating the
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