Lahey Kuralları'ndan Rotterdam Kuralları'na Sefere Elverişlilik Yükümlülüğü'nün Gelişimi

Abstract

Taşıyanın gemiyi sefere elverişli halde bulundurma yükümlülüğü deniz ticaret hukukunun en temel prensiplerinden biridir ve nitekim denizcilik tarihi boyunca da her deniz yoluyla mal taşıma sözleşmesinin temel unsurlarından biri haline gelmiştir. Bu yükümlülük, başlangıçta İngiliz Hukuku’nda mutlak bir garanti sorumluluğu olarak değerlendirilmiş olsa da gemi sahiplerinin ve kargo sahiplerinin ticari çıkarları arasında bir denge bulmaya ilişkin çeşitli girişimlerin akabinde, taşıyanın sadece gerekli özeni gösterip göstermeği olgusuna indirgenmiştir. Gerekli özeni gösterme yükümlülüğü ise, ilk kez esasen Harter Yasası ile benimsenmiş olup, Lahey Kuralları ile uluslararası tanınırlık kazanmıştır. İşbu makalede, taşıyanın sefere elverişli bir gemi bulundurmak borcunun genel anlamda mahkemeler tarafından nasıl yorumlandığı ve sorumluluğun esası bakımından, Lahey/Lahey-Visby Kuralları, Hamburg Kuralları ve Rotterdam Kuralları arasındaki farklar incelenecek olup, buna ilişkin karşılaş-tırmalı bir değerlendirme sunulacaktır.

Keywords

• Sefere elverişlilik
• Gerekli Özen
• Uluslararası Sözleşmeler
• Sorumluluğun Esası
• İspat Yükü

The Evolution of the Obligation of Seaworthiness from the Hague Rules to the Rotterdam Rules

Abstract

Carrier’s duty to provide a seaworthy vessel has been one of the most fundamental principles in maritime law and hereby a core element of every contract of carriage of goods by sea throughout maritime history. Notwithstanding the duty was initially appraised to be absolute obligation under common law, it has been then boiled down to whether exercising due diligence by the carrier as a result of several attempts to find the balance between the commercial interests of carriers and shippers. The obligation of exercising due diligence was introduced in the Harter Act for the first time though, it has, in essence, gained international recognition through the Hague Rules. This paper hereby will comparatively scrutinize how the obligation of seaworthiness has been interpreted by courts, and whether there is a remarkable difference amongst the Hague/Hague-VisbyRules, the Hamburg Rules and the Rotterdam Rules in the sense of the nature of the carrier’s duty to provide a seaworthy vessel.

Keywords

• Seaworthiness
• Due Diligence
• International Conventions
• Basis of Liability
• Burden of Proof

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