The Comparative Tort Law Conference, organized by Prof. Başak Baysal, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Prof. Bénédict Winiger, honorary professor at the University of Geneva Faculty of Law, took place at Bilkent on October 16–17.
Marking the centenary of the Turkish Civil Code and Code of Obligations, the conference reflected on a century of legal development and the enduring connection between modern Turkish law and Swiss legal traditions.
The conference opened with remarks by Prof. Başak Baysal, Rector Prof. Orhan Aytür and H.E. Guillaume Bertrand Scheurer, Ambassador of Switzerland to Türkiye.
The conference brought together leading tort law experts and prominent scholars from Türkiye, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland and the UK to examine tort law from a comparative perspective.
International speakers included
Prof. Bénédict Winiger and Prof. Thomas Kadner-Graziano from the University of Geneva, Prof. Bernhard Koch from the University of Innsbruck, Prof. Marko Baretić from the University of Zagreb, Prof. Jean-Sébastien Borghetti from Paris-Panthéon-Assas University, Prof. Eugenia Dacoronia from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Assoc. Prof. Marta Infantino from the University of Trieste, Prof. Neda Zdraveva from the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje,
Prof. Bjarte Askeland from the BI Norwegian Business School, Prof. Ewa Bagińska from the University of Gdańsk, and Prof. Ken Oliphant from the University of Bristol. The program featured a keynote session, followed by six sessions and a general report, in which scholars addressed key issues in tort law from comparative and national perspectives.
Throughout the conference, speakers presented their research on various aspects of tort law, examining approaches to tort liability across different jurisdictions. The discussions also gave international participants an opportunity to learn more about contemporary developments in Turkish tort law and to consider these within the broader context of comparative legal scholarship. The conference also strengthened international cooperation among law faculties.
