Filling a Law Suit Against the Turkish Motor Insurers’ Bureau based on Green Card Insurance, due to the Accidents Caused by Vehicles with Foreign Licence Plates
Musa AygülVehicles with foreign license plates can only be accepted in Turkey if they are insured with compulsory automobile liability insurance at the border gate or with Green Card Insurance valid for Turkey as required by regulations. The Green Card System was established to facilitate the international mobility of motor land vehicles and to ensure the compensation of damages borne by third parties because of an accident caused by vehicles with foreign license plates; however, this is subject to the limitations and conditions of the mandatory liability insurance in the country where the accident occurred. The Turkish Motor Insurers’ Bureau (TMIB) executes and oversees Green Card Insurance operations in Turkey. In traffic accidents involving vehicles with foreign license plates with a Green Card, damages borne by third parties are compensated by the TMIB on behalf of foreign insurance companies or offices. Victims can directly apply to the TMIB instead of filing a lawsuit against foreign insurance companies or the office that issued the Green Card. The study elucidates the legal basis of the liability and particularly analyzes the legal status of the TMIB against victims.
Yabancı Plakalı Motorlu Kara Taşıtlarının Karıştıkları Kazalardan Dolayı Yeşil Kart Sigortası Kapsamında Türkiye Motorlu Taşıt Bürosuna Dava Açılması
Musa AygülTürkiye’ye giriş yapmak isteyen yabancı plakalı araçların işletenleri, mevzuat gereği ya sınır kapılarında zorunlu malî sorumluluk sigortası (ZMSS) yaptırmak zorundadır ya da Türkiye’de geçerli Yeşil Kart Sigortasına sahip olmalıdır. Yeşil Kart Sistemi, motorlu kara taşıtlarının milletlerarası hareketliliğini kolaylaştırmak ve yabancı plakalı araçların işletilmesi esnasında verdikleri zararların, kazanın meydana geldiği ülkede ZMSS limitleri ve şartları dâhilinde tazmini sağlamak amacıyla oluşturulmuştur. Türkiye’de Yeşil Kart Sigortası işlemlerini yerine getirmek amacıyla Türkiye Motorlu Taşıtlar Bürosu (TMTB) kurulmuştur. Yeşil Kartlı yabancı plakalı bir aracın Türkiye’de karıştığı bir trafik kazasından dolayı başkalarının uğradığı zararın tazmini, yabancı sigorta şirketi ya da büro adına TMTB tarafından gerçekleştirilmektedir. Zarar görenler Yeşil Kartı düzenleyen yabancı sigorta şirketi ya da ilgili büro yerine doğrudan TMTB’ye müracaat edebilmekte ya da dava açabilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, zarar görenler karşısında TMTB’nin sorumluluğunun hukukî dayanakları ve davadaki konumu üzerinde durulmuştur. Türkiye’de görülmekte olan davalarda TMTB’nin yabancı sigorta ya da ilgili büroya yöneltilen davaların hukuki dayanağı incelenmiştir.
Vehicles having foreign license plates can enter Turkey with several requirements. According to applicable legislation, all vehicles having foreign license plates shall be accepted in Turkey if they are insured with obligatory automobile liability insurance at the border gate or with Green Card Insurance valid for Turkey. Article 91/5 of Highway Traffic Law regulates that compulsory automobile liability insurance must be done at the border gate under circumstances determined by Undersecretariat of Treasury for vehicles, providing that vehicles having foreign license plates have no valid insurance in Turkey.
Obligatory automobile liability insurance taken in Turkey is only valid within the borders of the Turkish Republic. Taking out an insurance abroad is also possible. However, specific provisions are in place for taking out an insurance that is valid outside the country. For example, Article 14 of the Turkish Insurance Law specifies the requirements of insurance taken outside the country. Therefore, for the insurance to be valid outside the country, either separate insurance must be taken in that state or valid insurance contracts should be present for usage in the country as well as abroad. After World War II, not only international trade but also international tourism has prospered. Thus, the use of motor land vehicles between European countries has increased too. Hence, the Working Party on Road Transport of the Inland Transport Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations was established to diminish the problems. The Committee drawn up Recommendation No. 5, in which the basis of the Green Card System was founded. With such recommendation, the working group recommended to the governments of the member states to establish uniform and easily enforceable policies to ensure that drivers will be satisfactorily insured upon entering countries where drivers must have insurance. Alternatively, in the recommendation, member states agreed to establish a central organization under the name “bureau” to ensure the operation of such insurance system in each member state.
The Green Card System aims to facilitate the passage of motor land vehicles across international borders with an internationally valid insurance certificate and protect victims of accidents that involve vehicles with foreign license plates in the country where they are traveling to. In 1959, the European Convention on Compulsory Financial Liability Insurance for Motor Vehicles was prepared and opened for signature by the Council of Europe. The contract entered into force in September 22, 1969. The Convention was signed, with some reservations, in 1974 and confirmed in 1999 by Law No. 4477. Thus, as stipulated in the Convention, Turkish Motor Insurers’ Bureau (TMIB) has been founded to exercise Green Card Insurance operations in Turkey. Damages borne by third parties are compensated by the TMIB on behalf of foreign insurance companies or offices in cases of traffic accidents involving vehicles with foreign license plates with a Green Card. Victims can directly apply to the TMIB instead of filing a lawsuit against foreign insurance companies or the office that issued the Green Card. The article examines the legal basis of the liability and particularly analyzes the legal status of the TMIB against victims within the scope of the paper. The article indicates which law applies to dispute in accidents involving vehicles with foreign license plates and specifies the role of the mandatory rules in applicable law.
