Department of Law
Koç University Law School aims to nurture creative and sophisticated lawyers with its content-rich courses in public law, private law, and its core program, which enables students to excel in a variety of disciplines. The law school program responds adeptly to meet Türkiye’s need for lawyers who possess both professional language competency and an international perspective. Law school students have the opportunity to meet professional lawyers in regular seminars for their academic and career development.
Further, exchange programs in partnership with outstanding universities around the world and international internship opportunities are designed to support international experiences for students. The law school also works to instill professional ethic values in its graduates thus enabling them to work in all fields of law- public or private- without exception.
By the end of the Postgraduate Law Programs, graduates are expected to have acquired:
- Improved legal analysis skills in the area of public law that are in conformity with international and national competency requirements
- A sophisticated and elaborate perspective as to different areas of public law by the enhancement of theoretical knowledge with practical sessions
- Intellectual proficiency and awareness of existing as well as emerging legal principles taught by a nationally and globally influential academic cohort specializing in legal research and practice
- A thorough understanding of legal institutions and legal methods
- Skills facilitating a comprehensive approach to legal policies and developments through seminars organized by distinguished scholars from respected universities around the world
- Ability to carry out written and oral academic work enhanced through the implementation of an integrated teaching model
- Skills to easily identify the social concerns and values behind legal principles and rules
- A global perspective through a comparative approach to the study of law
- Proficiency in the use of formal legal terminology both in English and in Turkish
- Ability to conduct comprehensive legal research to provide reliable legal advice
- Competence to give legal advice as to the potential outcomes of a legal dispute
- Ability to identify the distinctions between legal justification and policy-based arguments
- Awareness as to the ethical considerations in legal practice
- Improved competency in academic legal research based upon doctrinal, empirical, comparative, international and interdisciplinary methods
- Proficiency in publishing good quality research outputs in reputable national and international research arenas
- Improved project-based working capacity (particularly for Ph.D students and LL.M with Thesis students) by taking part in national and international research projects
By the end of the Postgraduate Law Program, graduates are expected to have acquired:
- Improved legal analysis skills in the area of private law that are in conformity with international and national competency requirements
- A sophisticated and elaborate perspective as to different areas of private law as well as to harmonization of private law by the enhancement of theoretical knowledge with practical sessions
- Intellectual proficiency and awareness of existing as well as emerging legal principles taught by a nationally and globally influential academic cohort specializing in legal research and practice
- A thorough understanding of legal institutions and legal methods
- Skills facilitating a comprehensive approach to legal policies and developments through seminars organized by distinguished scholars from respected universities around the world
- Ability to carry out written and oral academic work enhanced through the implementation of an integrated teaching model
- Skills to easily identify the social concerns and values behind legal principles and rules
- A global perspective through a comparative approach to the study of law
- Proficiency in the use of formal legal terminology both in English and in Turkish
- Ability to conduct comprehensive legal research to provide reliable legal advice
- Competence to give legal advice as to the potential outcomes of a legal dispute
- Ability to identify the distinctions between legal justification and policy-based arguments
- Awareness as to the ethical considerations in legal practice
- Improved competency in academic legal research based upon doctrinal, empirical, comparative, international and interdisciplinary methods
- Proficiency in publishing good quality research outputs in reputable national and international research arenas
- Improved project-based working capacity (particularly for Ph.D students and LL.M with Thesis students) by taking part in national and international research projects
Graduates from Postgraduate Law Programs can find positions in leading law firms and public bureaucracy, as well as in non-governmental organizations, international organizations and academia.
LAW 501 / COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RIGHTS, INSTITUTIONS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW | Comparative constitutional study of constitutional endurance, constitution-making, and constitutional designs and redesigns; constitutional identities; Türkiye, continental law countries, European Union (EU), the United States, Latin American experiences and other global case-studies of adopting a comparative institutional analysis approach; rise of comparative constitutional review (abstract and concrete review as well as individual applications) and judicialization; constitutional interpretation with respect to transnational approaches; constitutional leadership, deparliamentarization and presidential power; major case-law and common standards as to institutional choices, judicial policies, equal protection and non-discrimination, gender and citizenship, constitutional rights and freedoms. |
LAW 502 / EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW | Overview of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe; the normative framework of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR); the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR); the supervisory mechanism of the ECHR; general concepts and doctrines like positive obligations and the margin of appreciation; execution of the ECtHR judgements. |
LAW 503 / TRANSNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE | Classical topics of international criminal law, such as international prosecutions and international criminal tribunals, substantive law of international crimes, principles and procedures of international prosecutions, alternatives and complements to criminal prosecution; the norms of European criminal law, including Eurocrimes, European criminal procedure, European co-operation and enforcement; the nature of transnational organized criminality and transnational crimes, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in human beings, migrant smuggling, cybercrimes and terrorism, and the treaties that create obligations for States with respect to their suppression; matters of enforcement including jurisdiction and mechanisms of international co-operation with respect to fighting criminality, such as mutual legal assistance. |
LAW 504 / INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN CONTRACT LAW | An introduction to international and European private law; similarities and discrepancies between civil law and common law traditions; contract law from an international and European perspective. UNIDROIT Principles; United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG); Principles of European Contract Law (PECL); Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). Comparison of different solutions for selected problems of contract law, envisaged by relevant international and European legal instruments and selected national legal systems. |
LAW 505 / DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS IN INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE LAW | International jurisdiction of the Turkish courts in private matters having cross-border implications. Any means of settling disputes outside the courtroom; most common methods of ADR: arbitration and mediation. Legal aspects of arbitration and mediation by a comparative approach; rules & regulations regarding ADR methods in EU and Türkiye. The recent Turkish legislation on Mediation and its peculiarities as well as the other ADR methods introduced with the recent amendments to the Turkish Lawyers Code, Turkish Code of Civil Procedure and Turkish Criminal Code. Systematic and comparative study on the prerequisites, effectiveness and enforcement of exclusive jurisdiction and arbitration agreements in international dispute resolution. Recognition and enforcement of foreign court decisions and foreign arbitral awards in Türkiye. |
LAW 506 / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE | selected legal regimes with a special focus on the competing interests among the creators/inventors, investors and the users/consumers in the global business environment. Fundamental concepts of IP law and the historical background; the Mode of implementation of several WIPO and WTO administered international conventions in different legal regimes such as EU, Türkiye, US and BRICS countries. The legal conflicts and dilemmas arising with the widespread adoption of information technologies and the advances in genetics and other life sciences. |
LAW 507 / GLOBAL COMPETITION LAW | Competition Law and Competition Policy. International Dimension of Competition Law. Involvement of international organizations in the field of Competition. Differences between competition law regimes around the world. Competition Enforcement. EU Competition Law Regime. US Antitrust Law Regime. Competition Law: Concept, Framework, Goals, Characteristics and Nature. Market Definition and Analysis. Cartels, Agreements and Concerted Practices. Abuse of Dominant Position. Merger Regulation. Competition Enforcement in Particular Sectors. |
LAW 511 / UNITED NATIONS (UN) HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION SYSTEM | Discussion of the core United Nations (UN) human rights standards and their universality; the structure of UN treaty bodies which monitor compliance with UN human rights treaties; the Human Rights Council as well as its mandate and the Council’s subsidiary bodies; the obligations of states to uphold universal standards and the mechanisms in place to transform national injustices into international concerns giving rise to recommendations (but hardly sanctions) to governments; accountability tools to civil society. |
LAW 514 / PRIVATIZATION LAW | Definition of privatization; differentiation of privatization from similar and related conceptualizations such as liberalization; application of private law in public services) relationship of privatization with public service, concessions and monopolies; differentiation of legal approach for privatization from economic approach; juridification of economic considerations; privatization of public service; legal priorities for privatization of pure economic-commercial activities; relationship of privatization with public-private partnership and differing privatization from public-private partnership; development of privatization law in Türkiye and interaction of legislation, executive and judiciary in development process of privatization; methods of privatization in Türkiye; selected case studies of privatization experiences. |
LAW 590 / SEMINAR | A series of presentations by faculty, outside speakers and students. |
LAW 595 / THESIS |
Public Law Courses | L1 | L2 | L3 | L4 | L5 | L6 | L7 | L8 | L9 | L10 | L11 | L12 | L13 | L14 | L15 | L16 |
LAW 501 / COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: RIGHTS, INSTITUTIONS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 502 / EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 503 / TRANSNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 504 / INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN CONTRACT LAW | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 505 / DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS IN INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE LAW | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 506 / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 507 / GLOBAL COMPETITION LAW | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 511 / UNITED NATIONS (UN) HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION SYSTEM | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
LAW 514 / PRIVATIZATION LAW | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||
LAW 590 / SEMINAR | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
LAW 595 / THESIS | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
- Program Fee is 750.000 TL. (2024/25)
- Thesis Program: The fee covers 7 courses and two-years of education. If there is need for an extension, there will be no additional charges for the 3rd year.
- Non-Thesis Program: The fee covers 10 courses and two-semesters of education. If there is need for an extension, there will be no additional charges for the 3rd semester.
- Admitted students may receive a partial or full scholarship based on academic merit.
- Scholarships are determined by the admission jury and are limited.
- The first half of the tuition is paid at the beginning of the Fall semester upon enrollment and the second half is paid at the beginning of the Spring semester.
- The tuition fees do not cover other costs such as food, dormitory accommodation, books or transportation.