Our Students' Success Stories

The Faculty of Law Students Win Award

Third-year law school students Simge Akar, Özgür Azem Karadağ, and Nart Emre Polat, won first place in the Serkan Odaman Article Competition organized by the European Law Students' Association (ELSA) Izmir.
The subject of this year's third edition of the competition was Government Systems in Comparative Constitutional Law. With their article titled " Legislature Against Executive: Dual Legitimacy Problem in Presidential Systems," the award-winning students conducted a comparative analysis of potential problems in presidential systems by examining various countries.


Worldwide Achievements of Bilkent University Faculty of Law in Moot Competitions (2021)
April 2, 2021

Bilkent University participated in the Vis East competition for the first time in its history and became the only Turkish team to reach the quarter-finals. Similarly, in the Vis Moot competition, which it has participated since 2005, it has been the only Turkish law faculty to be ranked among the top 16 teams in the 28-year history of the competition.

Worldwide Achievements of Bilkent University Faculty of Law in Moot Competitions (2021)

Bilkent University participated in the Vis East competition for the first time in its history and became the only Turkish team to reach the quarter-finals. Similarly, in the Vis Moot competition, which it has participated since 2005, it has been the only Turkish law faculty to be ranked among the top 16 teams in the 28-year history of the competition.

Our five students from the Faculty of Law have represented Bilkent on a global scale and returned with their awards from the world's two largest fictional arbitration competitions and prestigious pre-moot competitions they participated in the field of international commercial arbitration.

Bilkent Vis Moot team, coached by Derya Durlu Gürzumar (Istanbul Bar Association Lawyer, LLB '10, LLM '15), was consisted of second year law student Ahmet Furkan Karagölge, third year law student Elifsu Gözen and fourth year law students Emin Tuna Yılmazer, Beyza Nur Adıgüzel and Arslan Faruk Gülsoy.

First of all, in the "18th Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot" (Vis East) competition, which was held between 14-21 March 2021 and attended by 147 law faculties from around the world this year, our students were among the top 8 teams that made it to the quarter-finals and received the "Eric E. Bergsten Best Team Award, Honorable Mention". Elifsu Gözen and Emin Tuna Yılmazer received the Best Speaker - Honorable Mention award (“Neil Kaplan Best Oralist Award”).

Bilkent University participated in the Vis East competition and became the only Turkish team that reached the quarter-finals for the first time in its history. Similarly, it has been the only Turkish law faculty to rise to the top 16 teams in the 28-year history of the competition in the Vis competition, which it has participated since 2005.

These five law faculty students also won the third place in the ICC Vis Pre-Moot organized by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which is considered the most prestigious institution in the field, second place in the 14th PCA Vis Pre-Moot organized by the Permanent Arbitration Court (PCA), second place in the 7th Brno Vis Pre-Moot and first place in the 13th Prague Vis Pre-Moot.

Team members Elifsu Gözen won the third best speaker award at the 7th Brno pre-moot. Beyza Nur Adıgüzel received the third best speaker award at the 6th Madrid Vis Pre-Moot and was awarded the best speaker awards in 7th Brno Vis Pre-Moot and 13th Prague.

Five of our students in the Bilkent Vis Moot team participated in online hearings and completed eight-month intensive study process by representing Bilkent University in the case-conflict arising from a mixed contract concluded on the license and sale of viral vectors used in the production of Covid-19 vaccine. Within the scope of the contest, a total of four lawsuits and response petitions were prepared with the announcement of the contest file, in which the Swiss Arbitration Center (SCAI) Rules and the Vienna Convention (CISG) are applied, in October 2020. In March 2021, the team completed his eight-month intensive study process by participating in online hearings, representing Bilkent University with outstanding success worldwide.


Bilkent University Alumni wins a Prix Relève étoile (Rising Star Award) from the Quebec National Research Funds
February 4, 2021
Didem Doğar, Bilkent Law alumni and a doctoral candidate at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, has won the Relève étoile Paul-Gérin-Lajoie award of January 2021 [2]. Her award-winning publication “On the Use of Asylum Testimonies in Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Proceedings: H. and J. v the Netherlands and Jaballah (Re) [1]” was published by Springer as a peer-reviewed book chapter in "Causes and Consequences of Migrant Criminalization". In her research, Doğar demonstrated how the use of asylum procedures for criminal ends in the Netherlands or national security risks in Canada violates procedural rights.

A Prix Relève étoile Paul-Gérin-Lajoie has been awarded every month by the Fonds de recherche du Québec to recognize the exceptional research contributions of a graduate student or an early-career researcher.


Bilkent University Faculty of Law Receives its Fourth Award from Moot Court Competition
April 9, 2020
Bilkent University Faculty of Law Moot Court team competed in the 27th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition held virtually on 4-9 April 2020. One of its team members, Can Sarp ÖZCAN, received an Honorable Mention in the Martin Domke Best Individual Oralist Award category.

Coached by Mrs. Derya DURLU GÜRZUMAR, an attorney admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association (LLB '10, LLM '15), the Bilkent University Moot Court team comprised of senior year law students Muhammed Hanifi DEĞİRMENÇAY, Mustafa KARADAŞ, Can Sarp ÖZCAN, Nil Zeren ÖZDEMİR and junior year law student Ece Nur YILDIZ.

The competition commenced in October 2019 with the drafting of two legal memoranda on behalf of Claimant and Respondent in a hypothetical legal dispute involving the sale of turbines under the 2014 London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) Arbitration Rules and the CISG. The Bilkent Moot Court team took part in the oral rounds of the competition via online hearings due to Covid-19.

A total of 249 university teams participated in the Virtual Vis Hearings held on 4-9 April 2020. Bilkent University Faculty of Law has brought the fourth Honorable Mention award in the Martin Domke Best Individual Oralist Category, with Öncü SERTER (LAW '08) winning it in 2008 and Derya DURLU GÜRZUMAR winning it in 2009 and 2010.


Elif Gökşen wins IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer Award 2019
October 1, 2019

2010 Bilkent Law Alumna Elif Gökşen wins the 2019 Outstanding Young Lawyer Award of the International Bar Association. The award is sponsored by LexisNexis and organized by the IBA Young Lawyers’ Committee. Ms. Gökşen holds two LL.M. degrees; one from the London School of Economics and Political Science with Chevening Scholarship, another from Galatasaray University. Ms. Gökşen has been working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 2014. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Ankara University Faculty of Law. In the 2018-2019 academic year, Ms. Gökşen continued research as a Fulbright fellow at Columbia Law School. The award will be presented to her at the International Bar Association’s Annual Conference in Seoul, South Korea on 26 September 2019. Ms. Gökşen will continue her career as a Visiting Professional at the Prosecution Division of the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court.


Senior Law Student Won Award in Article Competition About Sport Law
May 23, 2019
This year, the research title of the 2018/19 Sports Law Article Competition, organized by the Center for Sports Studies of Kadir Has University, was selected as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On May 2019, Bilkent University Faculty of Law senior year student Dilara Kantaş was awarded the third prize at the Sports Law Article Competition, which included doctoral students, with her article named: “A Critical Perspective on the Rules and Procedures of Court of Arbitration for Sport from Human Rights Framework”.



Faculty of Law Students Won Award in ISTAC Arbitration Competition
On April 20-21, 2019, a team composed of Faculty of Law students Hande Bingöl, Doğukan Hepmayda, Münevver İlayda Şirolu, Fatma Dilara İşler, Gökçe Filiz Çavuşoğlu and Havva Nur Getiren represented Bilkent University at the 3rd Young ISTAC Future Arbitration Counsel Competition held in Istanbul and organized by the Young Istanbul Arbitration Center (Young ISTAC).
Coached by Attorney Derya Durlu Gürzumar, Dr. Gizem Alper and Elçin Aktan, the team reached the semi-finals once again, and this time won the third-place award in the competition, making it a tradition for Bilkent University to be the sole Turkish university to have won an award in the oral rounds of this competition for three consecutive years.
This year, a record number of 59 teams comprising 311 students from 28 law faculties from across Turkey participated in the competition.
http://bilnews.bilkent.edu.tr/law-students-win-award-in-arbitration-competition/

Law Graduate Named One of Turkey’s 10 Outstanding Young People
03 DECEMBER 2018 

Bilkent alumna Didem Doğar has been named one of this year’s “Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Turkey.” Ms. Doğar, a 2010 law graduate who has worked for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and also for the Council of Europe, is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the McGill University Faculty of Law in Canada. She was selected for the honor based on her achievements in the area of legal, political and governmental affairs.
http://bilnews.bilkent.edu.tr/law-graduate-named-one-of-turkeys-10-outstanding-young-people/


Law Faculty’s Alumni Talk Series Gets Underway
22 OCTOBER 2018 

The new Alumni Talk Series being conducted by the Faculty of Law offers students an excellent opportunity to meet with Law graduates working in different areas of various sectors. For the series, the Faculty is inviting graduates to campus to share insights into their post-graduation jobs and to advise current students regarding future career prospects.
The speaker for the first talk in the series, which took place October 15, was İrem Tümer, a Law graduate who is currently working as a technical analyst at the United Nations Population Fund. Among the topics she discussed were possible career paths; she also brought to students’ attention the names of a number of international law firms.
Ms. Tümer’s talk drew a large audience. The Alumni Talk Series will continue throughout the academic year and is open to all students.
http://bilnews.bilkent.edu.tr/law-facultys-alumni-talk-series-gets-underway/

Law Graduate Speaks at Global Conference on Environmental Taxation (GCET)

N.Nilay Dayanç Kuzeyli, Bilkent graduate (LAW'10, LLM in Law and Economics'11) and continuing Ph.D student attended the annual Global Conference on Environmental Taxation (GCET) as a speaker. The 19th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation was held on September 26-28, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. Her Article, titled "Taxation as a Preventative Measure for Environmental Protection - A Design for Revenue Neutral Carbon Tax", is going to be publihed in Thomson Reuters.
Over the past 20 years, the Global Conferences on Environmental Taxation have become a useful and important meeting place for experts and scholars from all parts of the world who are interested in experiences and insights relating to environmental taxation and other market-based instruments.
This year, the conference was organized and hosted by the CEU Universidad San Pablo.  Its theme, Environmental Tax Challenges in the 21st Century: Urban Concentration and Increasing Transport, allowed participants to discuss principles and practices of environmental taxation and other market-based instruments relevant for greening of the economy and a more sustainable development.


Law Students Take First Place in Arbitration Competition
07 MAY 2018 

On April 28-29, a team composed of Faculty of Law students Ali Kemal Kula, Melike Nurefşan Yardımcı, Merve Nur Aşkar, Sıla Karakoç, Doruk Erhan and Zeynep Özmenler represented Bilkent at the “Arbitration Lawyer of the Future” competition organized by the İstanbul Arbitration Center (ISTAC).
In the competition, 48 teams represented hypothetical clients in the resolution of a simulated legal dispute. The Bilkent team, coached by Prof. Bilgin Tiryakioğlu, Dr. Pınar Altınok and Dr. Arif Barış Özbilen, took first place.
http://bilnews.bilkent.edu.tr/law-students-take-first-place-in-arbitration-competition/










Copyright © 2024, Bilkent University.