'Insurance continues for 15 days after vehicle sale' regulation annulled!

According to the decision published in today's issue of the Official Gazette, the Adana 4th Consumer Court, while hearing a case, applied to the Constitutional Court for the annulment of the regulation in the third and fourth paragraphs of Article 94 of the Highway Traffic Law No. 2918, which states: "The insurer may terminate the insurance contract within 15 days from the date the situation is notified to them. The insurance remains valid for 15 days after the date of termination."

"LIABILITY FOR COMPENSATION EVEN WITHOUT FAULT"

In the application, it was stated that although the property right over the vehicle ends the moment a person sells their vehicle, their responsibility arising from the insurance contract continues under the regulations in question; therefore, they could be held liable for compensation even in cases where they are not at fault.

The objection application pointed out that individuals should only be held responsible for acts they commit or neglect, and argued that there was also a lack of clarity regarding whether the insurance contract would be terminated.

Reviewing the application, the Constitutional Court determined that the regulations in question were unconstitutional and annulled them. The Court ruled that the annulment provision will take effect in 9 months.

RATIONALE FOR THE DECISION

In the High Court's annulment decision, it was stated that after the sale of a vehicle, the previous owner's actual and legal control over the vehicle ends, and the former owner has no supervision or oversight responsibility over the new owner.

The decision noted that if the new owner of the vehicle causes harm to third parties during the specified 15-day period, the former owner could be held responsible for these acts, which was described as "a very heavy intervention."

The decision included the assessment: "It has been observed that there is no constitutional obstacle for the legislator to make a regulation requiring the new operator to obtain mandatory financial liability insurance for the registration or operation of motor vehicles that have been sold or transferred and have changed operators."

Emphasizing that it is not a necessity for a person to be held responsible for the actions of others over whom they have no legal or actual means of supervision and control, the decision included the following statements:

"It has been concluded that the rules allowing the insured, who has lost all control and supervision authority over the vehicle through its transfer and no longer holds the status of operator, to be held responsible for damages caused by the new operator to third parties for the duration of the contract if it is not terminated by the insurance company, or for 15 days from the date of termination even if the contract is terminated, are not necessary."

News Source: AA