Ayşe Işıl Karakaş (8 December 1958 – 24 January 2024) was a Turkish academic, professor of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, and former judge at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

in respect of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Career

In 1983, she graduated from the Department of Political Science of

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

, and between 1984 and 1993, she worked as a research assistant in the same institution. In 1986, she gained her first master's degree in Public Law, Istanbul University. In 1986, she gained her second master's degree in the field of

European Law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

at the Centre Européen Universitaire at the Nancy II University. In 1990, Karakaş graduated from the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...

, and was admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association in 1990. In 1992, she received her PhD degree in Public Law at Istanbul University. Between 1993 and 1999, Karakaş was an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of Istanbul University. She also worked at the Faculty of Law at the

Galatasaray University Galatasaray University (, ) is a public university established in Istanbul, Turkey in 1992, following an agreement signed in the presence of President François Mitterrand of France and President Turgut Özal of Turkey during a ceremony at Gala ...

between 1999 and 2003. Between 2002 and 2008, Karakaş was the Director of the Research and Documentation Centre on Europe at the Galatasaray University. Between 2003 and 2008, she worked as a full professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law of the Galatasaray University. She was a visiting professor at the University of Aix-Marseille III, of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, of Montpellier II, of

Université Robert Schuman The Robert Schuman University (), also known as Strasbourg III or URS, was a university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. In 2007, there were nearly 10,000 students enrolled at the university, including more than 1,500 foreign students. The university ...

, and vice dean of the Faculty of Law at the Galatasaray University between 2004 and 2008. She was a judge of the

in respect of the

since 1 May 2008. Her term ended in 2017, but due to difficulties in finding a successor, she remained in office on an interim basis until

Saadet Yüksel Saadet Yüksel (born 7 December 1983) is a Turkish judge at the European Court of Human Rights Education Yüksel entered the faculty of Law of the Istanbul University in September 2000, where she obtained a Bachelor of Laws in 2004 and a Mast ...

was elected as her successor in 2019.

Viewpoints

Karakaş was a supporter of allowing the

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

in Turkish universities. She took part in the conferences of the 'Abant Platformu' foundation, which has close ties to

Fethullah Gülen Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (27 April 1941 – 20 October 2024) was a Turkish Ulama, Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement who as of 2016 had millions of followers. Gülen was an influential Neo-Ottomanism, neo-Ottomanist, A ...

. Politically she was known as a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

. She belonged to the 'Second Republicans' (Group with liberal and

marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

political views in Turkey), who support the AKP and its political goals like allowing for the hijab at universities.

Personal life and death

Karakaş was born in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey on 8 December 1958. She died on 24 January 2024, at the age of 65.Ayşe Işıl Karakaş kimdir, nereli? AİHM’in ilk Türk kadın yargıcı Ayşe Işıl Karakaş neden öldü?

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karakas, Ayse Isil 1958 births 2024 deaths Istanbul University alumni Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Nancy-Université alumni Marmara University alumni Judges of the European Court of Human Rights Turkish legal scholars Turkish women academics Turkish judges Academic staff of the University of Montpellier Academic staff of the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne Academic staff of Istanbul University Academic staff of Galatasaray University Turkish judges of international courts and tribunals Women legal scholars Lawyers from Istanbul