TÜRKIYE Law and Practice Contributed by: Tansu Akin, Akin Legal
In contract law disputes, the defendant may contend that they did not breach their contrac - tual obligations. A common defence strategy is to argue that the product conforms to the technical standards that were in effect at the time of marketing of the product. The manufacturer/seller may argue and attempt to prove that the defect was not discoverable given the state of scientific and technical knowl - edge at the time of the delivery. However, this defence is often rejected in Court of Appeals jurisprudence, as it requires the manufacturer/ seller to prove that the defect was not only undiscoverable but also unavoidable. Defendants can assert a third party’s fault and issue a third-party notice under the CPL. Third parties have the option to participate in the pro - ceedings and support the defendant. If the third party ignores the notice, they cannot then object to the findings in the noticed case file. If they do participate, their defence is limited to the desig - nated defendant’s defences. Due to the limited intervention rights of third par - ties, the verdict does not have a binding effect on them. Therefore, if the defendant loses the case, they must seek recourse against the rel - evant third party for reimbursement of the costs incurred due to the judgment. There is no spe - cific time limit for such recourse; the general statute of limitations applies. Since a sound judgment requires determining causality, the impact of the claimant’s actions will be considered. If the claimant’s actions caused or contributed to the damage, the court may reduce or even eliminate the manufacturer’s liability.
It is important to note that special regulations for pharmaceutical products, food, or dangerous goods may have additional or specific provisions
that should be analysed separately. 2.13 The Impact of Regulatory
Compliance on Product Liability Claims Compliance with regulatory and/or statutory requirements relating to the development, man - ufacture, licensing, marketing and supply of a product is the initial burden that the manufactur - er must satisfy. However, case law also imposes an additional burden on the manufacturer to take further measures to resolve any non-compliance if it was foreseeable and preventable. 2.14 Rules for Payment of Costs in Product Liability Claims The successful party can recover all court fees, including court levies and charges, court- appointed expert costs, etc, to be compensated by the losing party. The costs of proceedings are determined in accordance with the Civil Procedural Law, Attor - neys’ Law and Levies’ Law, and are dependent on the value in dispute, with no apparent excess costs. The losing party is required to reimburse the suc - cessful party’s lawyer fees, with the limits defined in the tariff for legal works announced annually by the Union of Turkish Bars. 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 finan - cial resources to cover the costs of proceedings and have a reasonable prospect of success in
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