International law’s encounters with Türkiye and Türkiye’s encounters with international law have a long-standing and rich history. Yet, scholarship that takes a comprehensive look at international law’s encounter with Türkiye and Türkiye’s encounter with international law is underdeveloped. How has Türkiye contributed to international law and how has international law shaped Türkiye’s encounters with international relations, law and legal reasoning? Is there a Turkish approach to international law and if so, what are the core features and markers of such an approach? The Center for Global Public Law of Koç University invites you to the inaugural Workshop on Türkiye and International Law, which aims to find answers to this dual research question and contribute to a better understanding of Türkiye’s engagement with international law.

FOUNDERS HALL, KOÇ UNIVERSITY ISTANBUL 14 DECEMBER 2017,THURSDAY

PROGRAM

08.30 – 09.00 Registration & Coffee

09:00 – 09:30 Welcome speech by Başak Çalı, Director of CGPL “Türkiye and International Law through the lens of three Paradigms: Acculturation, Instrumentalism and Suspicion”

09:30 – 11:00 SESSION I “TURKEY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES, CONTINUITIES, AND RUPTURES”

Chair:

Dilek Barlas, Koç University

Discussant:

Umut Özsu, Carleton University

Speakers:

Habip Ünyılmaz, Uludağ University “Ottoman Roots of Universality in International Law?
Cem Tecimer, Harvard Law School “On the “Outward” and “Inward“ Uses of International Law in Late Ottoman Political Discourse: The Case of the Ottoman Parliament”
Kerem Gülay, University of Amsterdam “Authors, Authoritarians and Authority in International Law – Divorzio Alla Turca”
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45 SESSION II “TURKEY’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS GENERAL INTERNATIONAL LAW: IUS COGENS, PERSISTENT OBJECTOR AND RESERVATIONS”

Chair:

Rauf Versan, İstanbul University

Discussant:

Başak Çalı, Koç University & Hertie School of Governance

Speakers:

Ali Emrah Bozbayındır, Sabahattin Zaim University “Türkiye as Persistent Objector”
Merve Erdem & Nasıh Sarp Ergüven, Ankara University “Türkiye’s Persistent Objector Status in the Light of the Jus Cogens Rule in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties”
Zeynep Elibol Brönneke, Koç University “Türkiye’s Approach to International Law and Treaty-making within the Context of Its Reservations to Multilateral Treaties”
12:45 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 15:30 SESSION III: “TURKEY’S ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW MAKING: USE OF FORCE, REFUGEE LAW, AND INVESTMENT”

Chair:

İlter Turan, Bilgi University

Discussant: Meliha Altunışık, Middle East Technical University

Speakers:

İdil Işıl Gül ,Bilgi University “Reading the Mind of the Turkish State: Türkiye’s State Practice regarding the Prohibition on the Use of Force”
Gamze Ovacık, Bilkent University “Türkiye’s Engagement with and Role in Shaping International Law on Asylum and Migration”
Beril Arı, University of Paris II Pantheon-Assas “Evolution of Investment Treaty Law and Practice in Türkiye”
15:30 – 15.45 Coffee Break

15.45 – 17:15 SESSION IV: “HUMANISATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: TURKISH EXPERIENCE WITH INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAW”

Chair:

Murat Önok, Koç University

Discussant:

Kerem Altıparmak, Ankara University

Speakers:

Valentina Rita Scotti, Koç University “Türkiye and the Council of Europe: a mutual influence in the definition of the European standard for rights’ protection”
Serkan Yolcu Manisa Celal, Bayar University “Between Theory and Practice: Judicial Neglect of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Türkiye”
Christina Velentza, Mirekoç, Koç University & Christos Kypraios, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law; University of Basel “Türkiye and International Refugee Law: Historical and Contemporary Reflections”
17:15 – 17:45 Closing Session and Wrap Up

To access a pdf version of the poster and program click here.

To register, please email kuremer@ku.edu.tr – by 5 December 2017

Contact and queries: Zeynep Elibol – zelibol@ku.edu.tr