Laboratories

Criminal Law and Criminology Laboratory

The Criminal Law and Criminology Laboratory conducts studies and activities aimed at both academic scholarship and legal practice with an interdisciplinary approach in the field of national and international law. Through scientific methods, the laboratory seeks to contribute to the resolution of issues related to criminal law and to promote harmony between the fields of human rights and criminal law.

The laboratory also aims to conduct scientific research, analysis, applied studies, educational activities, and documentation work in the fields of criminology and sociology, covering both public and private dimensions at national and international levels. In addition, it seeks to collaborate with relevant public institutions and private sector organizations to guide scientific research and investigations in line with practical needs encountered in the field and to ensure that the results of such research are effectively adopted in practice.

Animal and Nature Law Laboratory

The Animal and Nature Law Laboratory (HDH-ANL Lab), established in January 2022 within the Faculty of Law at Bahçeşehir University, is a legal laboratory dedicated to examining and researching the legal status of non-human natural entities. The contemporary legal system, which finds its foundations in the bourgeois economic structure and the values of the Enlightenment, is built upon the notions of human uniqueness and superiority. Current legal systems grant rights exclusively to human beings and attribute legal value only to them. This perspective, which separates humans from nature, has led to the establishment of a legally protected system of exploitation over other living and non-living entities. Today, it is increasingly debated that the failure to recognize rights for non-human entities has resulted in a significant and widespread injustice that has long been overlooked. Another consequence of this approach, which deprives animals and nature of rights, is the climate crisis we currently face.

The HDH-ANL Lab was established to seek legal solutions to this unjust legal order and to the climate crisis. The laboratory focuses on the legal dimensions of the animal liberation movement, which has gained momentum since the 1970s, as well as on how the climate crisis, whose impacts have become increasingly visible in recent decades, may be mitigated or even reversed through legal mechanisms. Within this scope, the laboratory plans to carry out academic activities such as organizing reading and discussion sessions with students,  organizing debates, conducting literature reviews and archiving, carrying out research and providing research resources, preparing reports, compiling judicial decisions related to animal and nature law cases in Türkiye and abroad, providing legal support to lawyers in ongoing cases, preparing amicus curiae briefs for courts, translating news and academic publications in foreign languages, publishing these materials on the laboratory’s website or in print, organizing conferences, panels, and talks.

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Comparative Civil Law Laboratory

The Comparative Civil Law Laboratory was established under the Human Rights and Freedoms Application and Research Center. It aims to carry out public-oriented informative activities in the field of civil law, particularly with a focus on comparative law, to prepare expert opinions and amicus curiae briefs (friend of the court opinions) within the framework of relevant legislation, and to contribute to national and international academic work in civil law.

The laboratory particularly aims to organize activities focusing on condominium law as its primary area of study for the current year. In this context, workshops addressing legal problems encountered in this field and proposing possible solutions will be organized. In addition to carrying out these activities, the laboratory also aims to publish the outcomes of its research and studies in this field.

Artificial Intelligence Law Laboratory

The Artificial Intelligence Law Laboratory conducts studies on issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and law, examining the legal implications of technological developments through scientific methods. In this context, students collaborate in researching existing international regulations in the fields of artificial intelligence and information technologies. Based on these regulations, the corresponding provisions in Turkish law are evaluated and potential gaps in the legal framework are identified. The results of these legislative studies are planned to be published as scientific publications. The laboratory also provides legal support for artificial intelligence applications and projects developed both within Bahçeşehir University and in other universities and institutions. Furthermore, in order to achieve its objectives, the laboratory cooperates with national and international institutions working in the field of AI law, conducts high-quality research and projects, and organizes academic meetings and events.

International Trade Law Laboratory

The International Trade Law Laboratory focuses on studying international law as shaped and transformed by the needs of international trade. Within the scope of its activities, developments related to international trade law in both Türkiye and worldwide will be monitored, and legislative changes and innovations related to international trade will be examined from a comparative law perspective.

The laboratory aims to conduct scientific research on contemporary and significant issues in international law, including protection of foreign investments, harmonization of private international law, electronic commerce, lex mercatoria, INCOTERMS, ICC Model Contracts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in international disputes, particularly arbitration and med-arb. The laboratory also seeks to evaluate the relevant regulations within Turkish law and comparative law and to organize activities in close interaction with legal practice. In line with these objectives, the laboratory will collaborate with non-governmental organizations, public institutions, and private sector entities engaged in international trade law in order to organize publications, symposiums, and workshops.