Product Liability & Certification
CISG and the Turkish Law
The provisions of CISG are applied before other international law legislations and the parties can bring their international trade disputes before Turkish judicial authorities.
Harm from an AI-enabled product may stem from design defects, training data, an update or user intervention. This layered structure complicates the application of classic liability rules.
Potential defendants
| Party | Possible ground of liability |
|---|---|
| Final product manufacturer | Defective product, consumer law, tort |
| Model / software provider | Contractual liability, recourse |
| Importer / distributor | Product safety and market surveillance duties |
| Deploying organisation | Duty of care, misuse |
Defect and safety expectations
Whether a product is defective relates to the safety a user may reasonably expect. For systems that make autonomous or semi-autonomous decisions, that expectation is assessed together with marketing, instructions for use and the possibility of human oversight.
Practical recommendations
- Review the contract chain (model provider – integrator – customer) for recourse and limitation of liability.
- Retain certification and testing records; they are the backbone of any defense.
- Keep marketing claims aligned with the product’s real capabilities.
- Prepare an incident response plan that pre-defines recall and notification steps for security flaws or faulty outputs.
Regulation in this area is evolving quickly; for products operating across borders, several legal regimes must be assessed together.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.
