In a very recent judgement, the Istanbul 17th Commercial Court (“Court”) (established as the Admiralty Court in Istanbul) with jurisdiction to hear maritime disputes, ruled that the 2012 liability limits in the amendment to the 1996 Protocol to the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability in Maritime Claims (“LLMC”) are in force in Turkey. This reinforces the position on the applicable limits following the historic VITASPIRIT case dating back to 2019. While the recent ruling is not final and can be appealed to the Regional Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation, it will have persuasive effect on other first instance courts.

There are several other court proceedings currently before the Court relating to the limitation of liability, and it is anticipated that similar judgments applying the 2012 LLMC limits will follow in those cases.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to have more detailed information on LLMC or have any other queries.