You are cordially invited to the seminar organised by Bilkent University Faculty of Law.
“Civil Liability for Climate Damages”
Dr. Kaan Can Yıldırım
22 June 2026, Monday – 13:30
Art Gallery, Main Campus Library
The seminar will be held in English.
Climate change is generally addressed primarily by means of public law mechanisms. However, due to its limitations, the search for alternative legal mechanisms has increasingly intensified. One of the main tools discussed in this context is tort liability. Tort liability generally regulates compensation claims between parties that do not have a prior relationship. It is the primary cause of action where contractual or other liability regimes are not applicable. The applicability of tort liability in climate change related compensation claims is highly controversial. As a harm-producing phenomenon with global and diffuse effects, climate change related compensation claims face significant and unique challenges. While awarding compensation for climate change-related events such as heatwaves or glacier melting may contribute to climate change mitigation efforts, tort law is not readily designed to address problems of this scale and complexity. The seminar examines the role that tort liability can play in addressing climate change, with particular emphasis on its limits and potential functions within climate litigation.
Dr. Kaan Can Yıldırım completed his law degree at the Istanbul University, in 2017. Following his graduation, he completed his first master’s degree in civil law at the same university in 2020 with his thesis titled “Taşınmaz Mülkiyetine Gerçekleşen Müdahaleler ve Elatmanın Önlenmesi Davası”. Dr. Yıldırım also completed the Legum Magister im deutschen und europäischen Recht (LL.M.) program at Heidelberg University with his thesis titled “Nachrüstungs- und Reparaturpflichten aus deliktischer Produzentenhaftung” and received his second master’s degree in 2021. Lastly, he was awarded a PhD in Private Law after successfully defending his dissertation titled “Haksız Fiil Sorumluluğunda Olumsuz Davranışın Hukuka Aykırılığı” in 2026. Since 2021, he has been working as a research assistant at the Department of Civil Law at Kadir Has University.
Dr. Yıldırım has national and international publications in the field of civil law, especially in property law, liability law, and climate change law. He has conducted research as visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Law and Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. He is also a member of the Corporate Climate Litigation Platform run by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Kadir Has University Faculty of Law. His current research topics include law of obligations, tort law, climate liability and product liability.