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Law students and academics from Istanbul, Marmara and Bogazici universities attended hearings at Europe's leading international judicial bodies as part of the International Law Journey Project. A 40-member delegation carried out fieldwork in Strasbourg, Luxembourg, Paris and The Hague from September 1 to 10.

The programme, run by the Rindan team and backed by several Turkish institutions, combined 12 weeks of classroom teaching with visits to courts including the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

Selected students complete 12 weeks of training

The project was launched under the patronage of the Rindan team, known publicly as "Kahve", a group that brings together figures from art, literature and business. Students were chosen through written examinations and interviews, and joined academics on the trip after finishing a 12-week course of theoretical instruction.

The delegation of 40 students and academics visited the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Court of Justice of the European Union, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Chamber of Commerce. The participants sat in on hearings described as historic and examined the work of each body up close.

Alongside interactive classes, the selection process involved an English exam and interview. The academic programme also included book analysis sessions and film criticism, aimed at strengthening skills in philosophy, logic and legal argumentation.

Pre-dawn queue for seats at the ICJ

Lawyer Kamil Ugur Yarali, an adviser to the project, said the initiative grew out of discussions on law and literature that he held with young people at his office. He said the aim was to give students a chance to apply what they had learned in class in the field.

The visit schedule was arranged around a case being heard at the ICJ, said Hasan Basri Bulbul, the project's general coordinator and an assistant professor at Bogazici University's Faculty of Law. Students attended a hearing on the preliminary objections in a case Nicaragua brought against Germany, alleging German support for what Nicaragua described as genocide in Palestine.

Only 15 people from around the world were admitted to the public gallery under the court's first-come, first-served rule, and no reservations were possible, Bulbul said. "Our students got up at 5 a.m. to wait at the courthouse door so they could get into the hearing at 10 a.m.," he said. "Over three or four days they entered in turns and followed the case."

Hearings in The Hague and the Kosovo trial

Bulbul said the group also followed proceedings at the ICC in The Hague over alleged crimes committed during the war in Sudan. "We did not aim merely to visit the buildings of these courts and collect dry information. We wanted the students to experience what actually happens inside these courts," he said.

The students also attended the closing hearings in the trial of former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci. Bulbul said this gave them a sense of how international judicial mechanisms and the international justice system function in practice.

Yarali said the students sat through hearings and received briefings from officials. Their questions during the hearings and meetings showed that the theoretical classes had been effective, he said.

Organizers seek stronger international representation

Yarali said the project's central aim is to raise the visibility and representation of Turkish lawyers internationally and to contribute to qualified representation. The initiative was carried out with the support of the Rindan team, which grew out of a literature cafe tradition, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Directorate of Religious Affairs.

Organizers want to give the work an institutional structure and continue it with the participation of other universities, Yarali said.

Students describe the experience

Ahmet Doruk Akbas, a student at Istanbul University's Faculty of Law, said the project offered opportunities, training and experience that could help build careers in international judicial bodies, international defence mechanisms and international organizations. Yuza Olcer, a student at Bogazici University's Faculty of Law, said it was striking to see Jose Arguello Gomez, who taught one of their classes during the 12-week course, arguing for Nicaragua at the ICJ. Olcer said the share of lawyers educated in Turkey who represent the country abroad is very low, and that seeing the proceedings in person strengthened the belief that participants could reach such positions themselves.

Mehmet Eren Kozali, a student at Marmara University's Faculty of Law, said the interactive teaching made distant international institutions seem accessible. The defence arguments presented by the parties at the ICJ were instructive, Kozali said.

Nurefsan Akbas, an Istanbul University law graduate now studying for a master's degree in international law at the University of London, was among the first participants when the project started in 2021. "This trip was like a dream for us, and I was very happy to see it completed years later," Akbas said, calling the visit to the courts and the Nicaragua v. Germany hearing especially valuable. Muhammed Yusuf Kaba, a master's student at Istanbul University's Faculty of Law, said the programme also covered culture and art, with participants giving each other presentations during bus journeys between cities and institutions.

Key takeaways

• A 40-member delegation of students and academics visited the ECHR, the ICJ, the ICC and other international judicial bodies from September 1 to 10.
• Students attended the ICJ hearing on preliminary objections in Nicaragua's case against Germany after queueing from 5 a.m. for limited public gallery seats.
• The group also followed ICC proceedings on alleged crimes in the war in Sudan and closing hearings in the trial of former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci.
• Organizers say the goal is to raise the visibility and representation of Turkish lawyers in international institutions.