On 14 April 2021, in its second OUT-LINES webinar on international law, Garden Court North Chambers, in association with Accountability Unit and the University of Manchester’s International Law Centre and Justice Hub, explored the role of the European Court of Human Rights and its relationship with Turkey:
“From Britain in the West to Russia in the East previously unchallenged international laws and norms are being contested. Turkey’s relationship with the Court, arguably, personifies and encapsulates the challenges for the Court and the consequences for victims of rights violations. Is there a balance to be struck and how might it be achieved? What are the implications for other States? Are there more radical solutions?” Watch the video recording of the webinar (below) for this very timely and important discussion.
Michael Ivers QC provided an analysis of the Court’s case law in the context of national emergencies and the difficult considerations it faces. Ezgi Basaran presented on the magnitude of the emergency measures in Turkey, their impact on ordinary people and on press freedoms. Hasan Bakirci discussed the challenges the Court faces and the particular difficulties in respect of the situation in Turkey today. Clare Ovey presented on what happens after a judgment, how decisions are enforced and what challenges are faced in the execution of the Court’s judgments. The seminar was chaired by Leto Cariolou and hosted by Işıl Aral from Manchester University’s International Law Centre.
The seminar was organised by Aarif Abraham, Convener, International Law at Garden Court North Chambers & Acting Director at Accountability Unit; Dr John D. Haskell, Co-Director at Manchester International Law Centre; and Dr Philip Drake, Director of the University of Manchester’s Justice Hub. With many thanks to Benedetta Locatelli for assisting in organising the event.
Panelists’ biographies
Michael Ivers QC is a barrister specialising in criminal defence and international human rights law currently practising at Garden CourtChambers. He has extensive expertise in murder, terrorism, human trafficking, drug offences, revenue fraud and sexual offences trials, including at the European Court of Human Rights. Previously, he was Chair of the Kurdish Human Rights Project and Treasurer of the Bar Human Rights Committee. He became Queen’s Counsel in February 2016.
Ezgi Basaran is a Turkish journalist and author of “Frontline Turkey: The Conflict at the Heart of the Middle East”, a book exploring Turkey’s relationship with the Kurds in the context of the Middle Eastern Crisis. She was the youngest ever editor of Radikal Newspaper, the biggest centre-left newspaper in Turkey, and is now Research Associate at the University of Oxford, where she is examining the interplay between North African Islamist movements and Turkish Islamism.
Hasan Bakirci is a Senior Lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights and currently Deputy to the Registrar of the Filtering Section at the Court. He is the author of a practitioner’s handbook on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. He studied law in Istanbul and Oxford, where he graduated with a distinction both times.
Clare Ovey is currently Head of Department for the Execution of the Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Previously, she worked at the Registry of the Court and at the Committee of Ministers as Secretariat. She is the author of the book “The European Convention on Human Rights”, a comprehensive guide of the work of the Strasbourg Court and the Convention. Clare is a Cambridge University law graduate and qualified solicitor.
Leto Cariolou is a specialist human rights and criminal law practitioner and an Associate Member at Garden Court North Chambers. She has previously worked at the European Court of Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague.
Isil Aral is a public international law lecturer at Koç University and co-founder of the Women in International Law Network at the Manchester International Law Centre. She obtained an LLM in human rights law at the London School of Economics and conducted a PhD research at the University of Manchester on unconstitutional changes of government and international legal theory. She was called to the Istanbul bar in 2012 and practised criminal law for three years at Bayrakta Law Firm in Istanbul.
Aarif Abraham is a barrister specialising in international criminal law and public international law at Garden Court North Chambers. He is the co-founder of Accountability Unit. He is regularly instructed by IOs, NGOs, parliamentarians and individuals in relation to violations of rights and commission of crimes during armed conflict and, in particular, cases relating to the crime of genocide. Aarif is rostered as an expert by a number of United Nations bodies. He frequently writes, lectures and advises on issues related to foreign policy and international affairs.
Dr John D. Haskell is a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester Law School and junior faculty at the Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP, Harvard Law School). Prior to Manchester, he was a Fulbright Scholar and held tenure track academic appointments in UK and US law schools. When not working, he enjoys being a dad and negotiating.