Road Cargo Damage in Turkey: CMR Notices, Evidence and Liability Limits

At a glance

1. Establish why CMR applies to this transport contract

Article 1 addresses carriage of goods by road for reward where the contractual collection and delivery places are in different countries and at least one is a contracting country. The parties’ nationality is not the deciding test. A Turkish supplier’s involvement therefore does not, by itself, establish the applicable transport regime. Record the agreed route, collection and delivery places and the nature of the carriage before applying a CMR deadline or limit.

The goods-sale contract and the carriage contract answer different questions. A seller’s failure to provide the promised specification is not automatically cargo damage caused by the carrier. Compare the shipment with the purchase documents and the evidence of its condition when collected. Our Turkish supplier dispute guide addresses the separate conformity claim against the supplier. Both claims can require assessment without making their legal requirements identical.

A journey involving another transport mode requires particular care. Article 2 addresses specified situations where the vehicle containing the goods is carried by another mode without unloading. Do not assume that a ferry segment either removes CMR from the entire journey or makes every maritime event an ordinary road-carrier event. Preserve the actual route and handling records so the relevant liability framework can be identified rather than selected from a generic transport label.

2. Identify the carrier and the person entitled to claim

The company that booked transport, the contractual carrier, the operator of the truck and a freight intermediary can be different entities. Compare the transport order, accepted terms, freight invoice and consignment note. A vehicle logo alone does not identify every person legally responsible. Equally, subcontracting does not automatically release a contracting carrier from the responsibilities imposed by the applicable carriage framework.

Establish the claimant’s position using the shipment and commercial documents. Sender, consignee, buyer, seller and insurer are not interchangeable descriptions. Identify who is exercising the relevant carriage rights and whether an insurer has already paid or acquired a recovery interest. The fact that a finance director calculates the loss does not itself establish that their company is the proper claimant against every participant in the transport chain.

Successive-carrier rules also require their conditions to be met. Articles 34–36 address carriage under a single contract and the relevant acceptance of goods and documentation. Do not describe every subcontractor as a successive carrier without analysis. A sound first account names the known parties, explains each role and marks any missing contract or transfer record instead of filling the gap with an assumption.

3. Use the consignment note without treating it as the whole file

Article 4 states that the absence, irregularity or loss of a consignment note does not invalidate the contract of carriage. Nevertheless, the note is important evidence. Check the goods description, package count, marks, weight, collection and delivery details, special instructions and reservations. Keep all available copies and explain differences between them rather than presenting one incomplete scan as the entire contractual record.

Articles 8 and 9 address checks at taking-over and the evidential significance of the note. Distinguish apparent packaging condition from concealed product condition. A clean collection record does not prove that every internal component worked perfectly before loading. Conversely, a generic assertion of poor packaging should be examined against the actual packaging evidence and any reservation made when the carrier accepted the goods.

Preserve loading photographs, packing lists, weight documents and seals where relevant. Link each item to the particular shipment. A photograph from a previous delivery of the same model is not proof of this shipment’s condition. Keep original files and their chronology so a technical reviewer can identify what was observed before loading, during transport and after unloading.

4. Make the correct reservation when goods arrive

Article 30 distinguishes apparent loss or damage from damage that is not apparent. Apparent problems should be reserved at delivery. For non-apparent loss or damage, the provision addresses written reservations within seven days, excluding Sundays and public holidays. Record the delivery and discovery dates, the nature of the problem and the communication sent to the carrier instead of waiting for a complete monetary valuation.

The consequence of an absent reservation must be stated accurately. Article 30(1) concerns prima facie evidence that the goods were received as described; it is not a universal rule that every unreserved damage claim automatically disappears. Article 30(2) separately addresses a condition check conducted jointly with the carrier and the circumstances for contradicting its result. The particular delivery record therefore matters.

Reservations should describe the observed loss or damage, not just say rights reserved without any explanation of the problem. A damaged outer crate, missing packages and crushed machinery components deserve separate entries. Keep evidence of the carrier’s receipt or the method of sending. A private note circulated only within the buyer’s warehouse is not the same as a reservation communicated to the relevant carrier.

5. Treat delay as a distinct head of claim

Article 30(3) requires a written reservation for delay within twenty-one days after the goods were placed at the consignee’s disposal. Unlike the seven-day non-apparent-damage rule, this provision does not state the same exclusion for Sundays and public holidays. Article 30 also excludes the triggering day when calculating its periods. Do not copy the counting method of one reservation into another without checking the wording.

Establish the agreed delivery time or the circumstances relevant to a reasonable transport duration under Article 19. A customer’s internal production plan does not automatically become a carrier’s guaranteed delivery undertaking. Preserve the accepted booking and any later instructions. A traffic update, revised estimate and agreed contractual extension can have different significance; identify which event the evidence actually establishes.

Delay compensation under the ordinary Article 23(5) framework requires proven damage and is limited by the carriage charges, subject to the applicable exceptions and declarations. It is not automatically a refund of the full commercial invoice for the goods. Separate the delay loss, cargo damage, freight charge and any claimed additional expenditure so the legal basis of each amount can be examined.

6. Preserve the goods and arrange a focused technical inspection

Record the delivered condition before repair, repacking, disposal or resale. The inspection should identify the affected packages, product identifiers, nature of the damage, likely cause and remaining value. Keep safe storage and mitigation arrangements proportionate to the goods. Evidence preservation is important, but it should not be confused with an instruction to continue using unsafe equipment or to ignore an urgent contamination concern.

Ask a technical specialist questions relevant to the claim. Was the damage consistent with impact, moisture, inadequate securing, temperature variation or a pre-existing defect? Which components are repairable, and what evidence supports the proposed cost? A statement that the shipment is damaged is less useful than an explanation connecting the observed condition with the carriage period and the amount of loss.

Article 30 requires reasonable facilities for the necessary investigations and checks. Document invitations and access arrangements. If the other party does not attend, preserve the communication and the reason any urgent work proceeded. The evidence-preservation guide explains the separate Turkish court procedure when formal determination is needed before the condition changes.

7. Examine carrier responsibility and the particular defence

Article 17 addresses loss and damage between taking-over and delivery, as well as delay, while identifying grounds and special risks relevant to relief from liability. Packaging, loading by the sender or consignee and the nature of the goods therefore need factual examination. They are not interchangeable excuses. Identify the defence actually relied upon and the records said to support it.

Article 18 allocates relevant evidential burdens and addresses special circumstances, including temperature-controlled transport. A refrigeration dispute needs the instructions, settings, equipment and available temperature records. Do not assume that a delivery reading alone establishes the temperature throughout the journey. Equally, an equipment-failure explanation should be tested against the carrier’s applicable obligations rather than accepted merely because the vehicle was hired from another business.

For a loss involving several causes, identify the contribution alleged for each. An inaccurate loading instruction and a later transport incident can require separate analysis. A technical report should distinguish what can be established from what remains uncertain. The legal argument is stronger when it explains those limits than when it claims a single cause without addressing contradictory evidence.

8. Distinguish proven loss from the 8.33 SDR weight limit

The 1978 Protocol replaces the original gold-franc limit with 8.33 Special Drawing Rights per kilogram of gross weight short where that amended framework applies. The UN treaty record lists Türkiye as a party. Older printings of the original Convention still display the historic formula, so the applicable instrument must be checked before preparing a calculation.

The figure is a limit, not a guaranteed minimum payment. Article 23 addresses valuation of lost goods, and Article 25 addresses diminution in value for damage with the relevant ceilings. Identify the affected weight and established loss. Do not multiply the entire truck’s weight where only a particular part of the consignment is affected without examining the applicable rule and factual consequences.

Declared value, special interest in delivery and Article 29 conduct require separate assessment. An invoice supplied for customs purposes is not automatically the Convention declaration carrying all the effects of Articles 24 or 26. Nor does calling handling careless establish wilful misconduct or its legally equivalent form. State the actual basis for any departure from the ordinary limitation instead of promising full invoice recovery in every damaged-cargo case.

9. Keep the action period separate from reservations and negotiations

Article 32 provides an ordinary one-year limitation period, with a three-year period for the specified wilful-misconduct or equivalent situation. Starting points differ between partial loss, damage, delay, total loss and other claims. A universal instruction to sue within one year of the invoice date is therefore wrong. Prepare a timeline showing the relevant carriage and delivery events before calculating the period.

A written claim has a specific suspensive effect under Article 32(2), linked to the carrier’s written rejection and return of attached documents. Preserve the application, its receipt, the reply and the accompanying records. Do not assume that every telephone discussion pauses time or that repeated claims with the same object repeatedly restart protection. The provision expressly addresses repeated claims and proof of the relevant communications.

Jurisdiction, parallel proceedings and arbitration require review under Articles 31 and 33 and the relevant procedural law. A claimant’s preferred city does not automatically provide a competent court. Where Turkish proceedings are proposed, identify the claim type and any applicable pre-action step without assuming an informal insurance investigation is statutory mediation or a lawsuit.

10. A hypothetical lost-pallet calculation

Assume a covered shipment includes a missing pallet with an established gross weight of 200 kilograms and the ordinary Protocol limit applies, without a relevant declaration or Article 29 exception. The weight calculation produces 1,666 SDR. This invented example identifies a ceiling component, not an automatic award or a fixed Turkish-lira amount. The claimant must still establish liability, value and the applicable calculation.

The file separates the pallet’s value from recoverable carriage-related charges and any other legally supported item. If the actual compensable goods loss is below the ceiling, the weight formula does not increase it automatically. If it is above the ceiling, the difference is not automatically payable merely because the supplier’s invoice records the higher price. Insurance coverage requires its own policy and payment assessment.

The Protocol’s conversion rule also needs attention: the national-currency value relates to the judgment date or an agreed date within its terms. A rough exchange-rate screenshot is not a binding valuation. The settlement should identify the currency and conversion basis so both parties understand the same payment rather than agree to an ambiguous number described only as the CMR amount.

11. Coordinate the cargo claim from abroad without duplicating recovery

Provide the transport order, consignment note, commercial invoice, packing list, condition evidence, reservations and a quantified schedule. Add insurer correspondence and any payment already received. An insurance claim and a carrier claim can overlap factually without permitting inconsistent accounts or double recovery of the same loss. Identify the remaining claimant and the rights being pursued after any insurance settlement.

Bakırcı & Keskin Law Office has physical offices in Istanbul and Mersin. Turkish-law cargo matters concerning routes and parties elsewhere in Turkey are coordinated from our Istanbul and Mersin offices within the applicable jurisdiction and mandate. Expert inspection and local procedures are arranged for the actual file. English reporting does not imply a guaranteed recovery or completion date, and sending documents alone does not preserve a reservation or court deadline.

Related English guides

Turkish supplier non-conformity · Evidence before repairs · International contract disputes

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

UNIDROIT: CMR Convention text; United Nations: certified 1978 CMR Protocol; United Nations Treaty Collection: Protocol status. The applicable treaty and legislation control. This is general English-language information, not an individual claim assessment.