Elaboration of liabilities and liability insurance cover of freight forwarder as a multimodal transport operator

Multimodal transportation, that is occured by the integration of at least two different transportation modes, is a transportation mode which is developed especially through containerization and has important qualifications when compared with unimodal transportation systems. However, the lack of regulation in the system with a uniform, mandatory and international legal norm, impedes the legal protection of the multimodal transport operator by preventing the prediction of concept, limitation and exceptions of its liabilities at the beginning of the transportation. This situation pushes the freight forwarders, who act as multimodal transport operators, to ensure the protection of themselves with liability insurance. However the unpredictable concept, limitation and exceptions of the liabilities of the insured, endengers the establishment of the liability insurance protection through high premiums. As a result, the cost efficiency qualification of multimodal transportation, when compared with unimodal transportation systems, is unable to be realized.In order to solve the legal problem that multimodal transportation has faced, UNCTAD has, in first stage, proposed the research of applicability of the regional and national mandatory legal norms that regulate multimodal transport. In case that these norms are unable to be applied in a multimodal transport, UNCTAD proposes to step in the second stage and in cases when the occurance place of the damage could be determined, UNCTAD proposes the application of the mandatory legal norms which regulate that place, whereas in other case, when the occurance place of the damage could not be determined, UNCTAD proposes the application of UNCTAD-ICC Rules, if its application has been agreed by the parties. However the solution that UNCTAD proposes, is too far to solve the problem related with its unpredictable concept, limitation and exceptions of liabilities of the multimodal transport operator.The solution that is proposed in the study demands on a two step model. Whereas the first step of the model is the arrangement of a uniform and mandatory international legal norm and the second step of the model is the establishment of a mandatory liability insurance protection that is grounded from that legal norm and protects the liabilites of the multimodal transport operator that arises from that legal norm. In the formation of the model; international unimodal and multimodal transportation arrangements, regional multimodal transportation arrangements and international freight transport liability and professional liability insurance applications have been considered together with the related norms of Turkish regulation and Turkish insurance applications, in order to harmonize the multimodal transportation system in those norms and applications. In that way, it is aimed to remove one of the most important barriers that weaken the multimodal transportation from the legal side and to benefit efficiently from the advantage of cost efficiency of the system.