Multimodal Taşıma Sözleşmesine Uygulanacak Hukuk

Abstract

Multimodal transport is a form of transportation that the carrier moves goods from one point to another by using more than one means of transportation. Container transportation has increased the preference of multimodal transportation in international trade. Goods transported in the container are usually taken from the door of the producer to the door of the consumer. The execution of such practice involving a multi-dimensional organization by the carrier, called the multimodal transportation operator, was welcomed by the commercial actors. Although the place occupied by multimodal transportation in international trade has deepened, its legal aspect has not yet gained sufficient ground in international regulations. In Continental European Transport Law uniform rules are adopted within the framework of international conventions. However, which rules and laws should be applied to the multimodal transport contract involving a foreign element still remains unclear. Due to the lack of a widely accepted uniform set of rules on the multimodal transport contract, the existing international conventions, specific to road, rail, air and sea transport, have been interpreted in different ways and applied to multimodal transport. But, this practice undermines the purpose of uniformity and leads the parties to seek a court where they can obtain a favorable decision. Additionally, transport law conventions may be subjected to a risk of misinterpretation, conflicting with their own provisions. The study consists of three parts aiming to evaluate the applicable law. Firstly, multimodal transport relations and contracts are reviewed generally. Secondly, international transport law conventions are evaluated in terms of multimodal relations. Court decisions and the problems in the interpretation of conventions will be pointed out in this section. Lastly, it is aimed to determine the applicable law to the multimodal transport contract and to state recommendations within the framework of European Union and Turkish conflict of laws rules.