Cezalandırıcı Tazminat (Punitive Damages) İçeren Yabancı Mahkeme Kararlarının Türk Hukukunda Tenfizi

Abstract

The purpose of awarding damages in civil law countries, including Turkey, is to compensate the loss suffered by the injured party. On the other hand, in common law countries, the court may award punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, together with compensatory damages in order to punish the wrongdoer and deter the people from doing the same act. Enforcement of the foreign judgments, especially the US court judgments, awarding punitive damages whose amount is a few times more than the actual loss of the injured party, may cause several problems in civil law countries. Firstly, it is controversial if these judgments are regarding civil law or criminal law. And secondly, it is disputed whether these judgments are contrary to public order of these countries. This article aims firstly, to explain punitive damages in English law and US law, and then to examine the enforcement of the judgments awarding punitive damages according to Turkish law in comparison with the other civil law countries.…