Newsletter-21

261 LAW OF OBLIGATIONS Can Errors in Predicting Future Facts Be Considered Fundamental Errors?* Assoc. Prof. H. Murat Develioglu Introduction According to Article 30 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (“TCO”), which is based on the principle of the freedom of will, a party falling into a fundamental error when entering into a contract shall not be bound by that contract. In fact, not being bound by the contract is an option for the party falling into an error situation. The party can either approve the contract, prevent its invalidity by staying silent for one year starting from being aware of the error, or he/she can cancel such contract by notifying the counter-party within the said time period that the contract is not binding upon him/her. Article 30 of the TCO denotes that the error shall be fundamental; whereas, Article 31 lists the cases of fundamental errors - these are “error in the characteristics of the contract (subparagraph 1),” “er- ror in the subject of the contract (subparagraph 2),” “error in the party of contract (subparagraph 3),” “error in the person that the contract relates to while entering into such contract (subparagraph 4),” and “quantitative error (subparagraph 5).” Article 31 of the TCO begins with the rule that in principle, given that the error relates solely to the reason for concluding the contract, it shall not be deemed fundamental. However, it defines that under cer- tain circumstances, the error in the reasoning to conclude the contract may be considered fundamental, and the party falling into such error shall have the right to cancel the contract. Below, the notion of error will be explained; afterwards, in line with the title of this article, the possibility of the application of the * Article of October 2016