Legal systems are divided by national borders, yet contemporary challenges such as climate change, economic transformation and social justice transcend them. Through international conferences, seminars and academic cooperation, LexVia brings together scholars, legal practitioners and decision-makers from different legal traditions. The aim is not merely to share comparative legal knowledge, but to develop workable legal approaches to common challenges.
Upcoming event
5–9 October 2026
Istanbul University, Faculty of Law · Istanbul
Istanbul · Kassel · Bielefeld
Sustainable Transformation and Law
Comparative perspectives from Europe, Germany and Türkiye
A five-day academic programme bringing together Istanbul, Kassel and Bielefeld Universities: an academic congress on 5 October followed by an intensive comparative-law seminar from 6 to 9 October. Students and scholars will jointly examine current developments in European, German and Turkish climate, environmental and sustainability law, identify implementation challenges and discuss legally sound solutions.
Key topics
European Green Deal and climate law
Energy transition and emissions trading
Water, nature and biodiversity protection
Environmental criminal law and ecological responsibility
Corporate due diligence and sustainability reporting
Comparative law: implementation challenges and solutions
Format
5 October: academic congress with contributions from scholars and representatives from the German and Turkish institutional and ministerial sphere. 6–9 October: joint comparative-law work by students and scholars from Istanbul, Kassel and Bielefeld Universities.
ARCHIVE
Selected past events
A record of selected international academic events and collaborations.
March 2025Istanbul Kültür University · Istanbul
International Law’s Challenge to Criminal Law: Climate Crimes
International Law Summit
Prof. Dr. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez examined the development of climate crimes in the context of international criminal law and possible future legal frameworks.
The presentation addressed the legal transformation prompted by climate change, legal instruments for environmental protection and the development of climate legislation in Türkiye.
30 November 2023German Consulate General Istanbul · Istanbul
Climate and Law Talks — İklim ve Hukuk Tartışmaları
Environmental criminal law and climate protection
Prof. Dr. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez addressed environmental-criminal-law instruments and sanctions for violations of environmental regulations and climate-protection measures.
14–22 October 2023Fukuoka University · Fukuoka, Japan
Japanese–German Summer School: Climate Justice — New Political and Legal Developments
University of Kassel & Fukuoka University
Focusing on environmental and human-rights law, the summer school comparatively examined governmental obligations under the Paris Agreement, the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, the UN 2030 Agenda and climate litigation from European, German and Japanese legal perspectives.
The Concept and Significance of Preventive Policing Measures in Comparative Law
1st International Symposium on Police and Criminal Law
Prof. Dr. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez delivered a comparative-law paper during the fourth session of the symposium organised by the Police Academy Institute of Security Sciences.
24–25 December 2021Pendik Atatürk Cultural Centre & Mehmet Akif Ersoy Art Centre · Istanbul
International Congress on Animal Rights
Animal protection in Turkish, German and European law
The international congress examined the legal status of animals, offences against animals, new criminal-law provisions, climate change and municipal responsibility from a comparative-law perspective. Prof. Dr. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez contributed as a speaker and accompanied the student field visit held as part of the congress.
The event examined children’s participation in medical decisions, the legal validity of consent and the best interests of the child from the perspectives of criminal law and patients’ rights.
The event comparatively examined the requirements and limits of self-defence and disputed questions arising in German and Turkish criminal-law practice.
Bringing together students from Bielefeld University and Istanbul Gedik University, the congress examined women’s rights and violence against women comparatively under Turkish and German law. Prof. Dr. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez served as its academic and scientific director.
1st Japanese–German Summer School: European, German and Japanese Environmental Law
University of Kassel & Fukuoka University
Held within the academic cooperation between the Universities of Kassel and Fukuoka, the summer school examined environmental, water and energy policy from European, German and Japanese legal perspectives. Prof. Dr. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez delivered three sessions on criminal law and EU law, the interaction between German environmental criminal law and administrative law, and the effectiveness of environmental criminal law.
Concept, legal issues and future perspectives — Part 2
The joint seminar brought together Turkish and German universities to examine environmental justice, water and air protection, climate protection, waste management and the enforcement of international environmental law from a comparative perspective. Prof. Dr. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez delivered a presentation on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Economic Criminal Law and Private Business Law in Türkiye and Germany
German–Turkish block seminar by Yeditepe and Bielefeld Universities
Conducted in German, the block seminar comparatively examined breach of trust, the criminal liability of company directors, computer fraud, collusion in procurement and product liability under Turkish and German law. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez, LL.M. was a member of the teaching team.
26–29 April 2009Yeditepe University & Bielefeld University
Comparative Contemporary Issues of Private and Criminal Law in the Field of Medical Law
International comparative medical-law symposium
Organised jointly by the two law faculties, the symposium addressed consent to medical intervention, the duty to inform patients, the legal liability of private healthcare institutions and the criminal liability of medical personnel from Turkish and German perspectives. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez, LL.M. contributed to the organisation and presented a paper on the validity of consent in medical criminal law. All symposium papers were published in a special issue of the Journal of Yeditepe University Faculty of Law.
The German-language international certificate programme examined sports law from comparative and European-law perspectives. Gülsün Ayhan Aygörmez was a member of the organising team.
