NEWSLETTER-2017

60 NEWSLETTER 2017 Liability of the Sea Carrier for the Carriage of Goods under Turkish Law* Att. Duygu Oner Introduction Under Turkish law, the liability regime is established as personal and unlimited 1 . However, in some circumstances, the legislation pre- fers to limit liability, considering the balance of interest between the parties. In this respect, the Turkish Commercial Code (“TCC”) adopted the limited liability of a sea carrier under some conditions stipulated in the TCC. Additionally, the TCC relieves the carrier from liability en- tirely for losses or damages arising from some specific circumstances, providing substantial benefit to the sea carrier. This article reviews the liability regime stipulated in the TCC for sea carriers, and limitations of the same under the TCC. Liability of the Carrier The main principle is that the carrier is obliged to exercise due diligence in the performance of the contract of carriage, which shall not be lesser than a level of diligence that can be expected from any prudent carrier, particularly during the loading, stowing, trimming, carriage, keeping, and discharge of the goods. However, the parties may agree in the contract that the loading, stowing and unloading of the goods will be performed by the shipper and consignee (i.e. FIO clauses). Article 1178 of the TCC sets forth that carriers are liable for the loss of or damage of cargo, or delay in delivery caused by circum- stances occurring in the period during which the goods were in the custody of the carrier. As per Article 1191 of the TCC, all provisions * Article of October 2017 1 Sözer, Bülent, Deniz Ticareti Hukuku, 2nd Edition, Istanbul 2012, p.602.