MORAL DAMAGE OF A JURISDIC PERSON ARISING FROM UNFAIR COMPETITION

Abstract

Our law does not consider human beings as the only entities that can enter into debt. Besides the human being expressed as a real person; although they do not have material assets, there are also some individuals or groups of property attributed to being a person by the legal order. The finite and limited power of human life in achieving certain goals has created a need for legal entities that emerge as a requirement of social life and have an independent personality from those who constitute them. An association that establishes a kermis to give scholarships to students with its income, a bank that opens a new branch, an airline company that carries out passenger transport, a holding that establishes a facility to generate electrical energy, is on the legal scene just like real persons and carries out various activities in the free market. The legislator has introduced unfair competition provisions to establish an enviroment that legal entities can freely engage in economic activities in the market, and do not distort the competitive environment by acts contrary to goodwill. With these provisions, it has been stated that, if the conditions are met, the plaintiff who suffers damage as a result of an act that can be described as unfair competition may request non-pecuniary damages by referring to the provisions regarding the determination, rejection of unfair competition, return of the former, pecuniary compensation and protection of personal rights. However, there are opinions stating that legal entities will not suffer moral damage because they do not have feelings of pain, and sadness like real persons. In this statement, the concepts of legal person and unfair competition, and in the light of the different ideas in the doctrine and the decisions of the Supreme Court, the conditions under which the legal person may claim moral damages arising from unfair competition will be explained.