Limitation Periods in Cross-Border Sales Claims Involving Türkiye: How Long Do You Have?

The CISG does not contain a general limitation period for bringing claims, so a foreign party pursuing a claim against a Turkish counterparty needs to identify which domestic limitation law applies under the forum's conflict-of-laws rules, since Türkiye is not a party to the separate international convention on limitation in the sale of goods.

Even where a claim is valid on the merits under the CISG, it can be lost entirely if brought after the applicable limitation period expires. Because the CISG deliberately left limitation periods outside its scope, cross-border sales disputes involving Türkiye require a separate analysis of which country's limitation rules govern the claim.

Turkish private international law, principally the Code of International Private and Procedural Law (MOHUK) No. 5718, contains conflict-of-laws rules that determine which country's substantive law, including its limitation rules, governs a given claim. Where Turkish limitation law applies, the general default limitation periods and specific shorter periods for certain claims are set out in the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098. Because limitation periods differ meaningfully between jurisdictions, the outcome of this conflict-of-laws analysis can be decisive.

Turkish courts hearing CISG-governed disputes apply the CISG to the substance of the sale but turn to the forum's own conflict-of-laws rules, and ultimately the substantive law those rules point to, when determining whether a claim is time-barred. Arbitral tribunals seated in or outside Türkiye undertake a similar, sometimes contract-specific, analysis depending on the arbitration rules and the parties' choice of law clause, if any.

Commentators note the practical difficulty this gap creates: parties negotiating a CISG contract sometimes assume, incorrectly, that the two-year notice period for non-conformity claims under the CISG functions as a general limitation period, when in fact those are separate concepts serving different purposes. There is also debate over whether a limitation period should be characterised as procedural or substantive for conflict-of-laws purposes, which affects which country's rules apply.

Before filing a claim, the claimant should determine which country's law the forum's conflict rules point to for limitation purposes, distinguish this from the CISG's separate non-conformity notice requirement, and calculate the relevant period from the correct starting point, which may be the breach, the discovery of the breach, or another triggering event depending on the applicable law.

Because the answer depends on which law applies, claimants should not assume a single universal period. Where Turkish law governs limitation, a general default period applies to most contractual claims unless a more specific, sometimes shorter, period applies to the particular type of claim. Acting well within any plausible limitation period, rather than relying on the most favourable interpretation, is the safer practical course.

The court or arbitral tribunal with jurisdiction over the underlying dispute also determines the limitation question, typically as a threshold or procedural issue that can dispose of the claim before its merits are examined.

Evidence should establish the date the cause of action arose, correspondence or conduct that may have interrupted or suspended any limitation period under the applicable law, and the contract's own choice of law and jurisdiction clauses, since these often influence which conflict-of-laws analysis is used.

A frequent and costly mistake is confusing the CISG's two-year notice period for non-conforming goods with the general limitation period for bringing a legal claim; these serve entirely different functions and often have different lengths. Claimants also sometimes assume their home country's limitation rules automatically apply, without confirming this through the forum's actual conflict-of-laws analysis.

Does the CISG set a limitation period for claims? No. The CISG deliberately excludes limitation periods from its scope, leaving the question to domestic law identified through conflict-of-laws rules.

Is the two-year non-conformity notice period the same as a limitation period? No. That period concerns notifying the seller of a defect; the limitation period concerns the deadline for filing a legal claim, and the two can differ significantly.

How do I know which country's limitation law applies to my claim against a Turkish party? This depends on the forum's conflict-of-laws rules, the parties' choice of law clause, and the nature of the claim, and should be assessed specifically for each dispute.

Is it safer to act early rather than rely on the longest possible period? Yes. Given the uncertainty in this area, claimants should act well within the shortest plausible limitation period rather than risk the claim being time-barred.

We routinely map out the applicable limitation analysis for cross-border sales claims involving Türkiye at the earliest stage of a dispute, since a claim that is otherwise strong on the merits can be lost entirely if the limitation question is misjudged or left too late.