Product liability in Turkish law in comprasion with the EU directive

Product liability is a strict liability that ensures the compensation for damages caused by a defective product, which is legally classified as a product and released into the market, by the manufacturer or those held liable as if they were the manufacturer. After the repeal of the Law on the Protection of Consumers No. 4077, there was no regulation regarding product liability in Turkish law. However, product liability was exclusively regulated with the Law on Product Safety and Technical Regulations No. 7223 (UGTDK), which was published in the Official Gazette on March 12, 2020, and came into effect a year later. In this context, the study addresses product liability within its historical development. Furthermore, to better understand the provisions of UGTDK, regulations in comparative law alongside Turkish legal provisions were examined. Differences and similarities in comparative law were also mentioned. In addition, judicial decisions on the subject have also been evaluated. The aim of this study is to determine the deficiencies by revealing the legal nature of product liability and to propose appropriate solutions. The regulation of product liability through an exclusive law is a positive development for Turkish law. However, the current regulation is open to criticism in many respects. Private law-based liability and public law-based technical regulations are regulated in the same law. The regulation of matters related to two different disciplines within the same law is likely to cause conceptual confusion. Therefore, as in comparative law, it would be more appropriate for product liability and product safety issues to be regulated in two separate laws. The rationale of the Law states that it was prepared based on the EU Directive No. 85/374. However, in many aspects, such as the definition of liability, the understanding of the product concept, and the situations that eliminate liability, the Law differs from the principles and approach set forth by the Directive. Therefore, while evaluating the provisions of the UGTDK, the doctrine and practitioners should take into consideration the provisions of the EU Directive No. 85/374 and make an interpretation in accordance with the purpose.