Our scholars 2019 – Irmak Koruculu

What is your legal background, your current occupation and country of work?
I work as a research assistant in Sakarya, Turkey.

How do you use European law in your current work?
To learn current developments in criminal law and recent case law of the Court of Justice is very important for my profession: Turkey is a current candidate for the EU. Because of this situation, the Turkish criminal law system was adopted to the European criminal law system in the process of harmonization with the European Union. It's not possible to ignore criminal system effect of EU during our candidacy.

What was your motivation for attending this particular event?
Because Turkey is not a member of the European Union, I was not familiar with the institutions of European criminal law, and the summer course allowed me to gain a lot of new knowledge. For a criminal lawyer, this was a particularly valuable experience. The topics of the training fit perfectly in my area of study. Learning about the recent developments of EU legal system will contribute to my general perception of European law.

How did you benefit from the scholarship?
Taking part of this summer course made me able to increase my knowledge about EU Case and Criminal Law. Thanks to the rich portfolio of documents prepared by ERA, I will now be able to write articles concerning European criminal law. The summer course gave me an in-depth understanding and practical application from important experts. Thus, I can apply the gained knowledge on these topics in my academic and professional life.
The chance to practice my English was yet another great opportunity for me. I have been able to meet with many criminal lawyers from different parts of Europe and to talk with them about their professional experiences. For all these reasons, I think that attending the Summer Course has contributed to my professional development in many ways.