Prof. Dr. Başak Baysal (Kadir Has University Istanbul): The Role of the Judge under the Turkish Code of Obligations

About the Speaker:
Prof. Dr. Başak Baysal holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Istanbul University and an LL.M. degree from Paris II (Panthéon-Assas) University. She obtained her PhD degree with her thesis “Adaptation of Contract in Comparative and Turkish Law” from Istanbul University. Dr. Baysal is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Kadir Has University and also a professor at the university’s Department of Civil Law. Her main areas of research are Contracts, Torts, Consumer Law, Comparative Law, French Law, Civil Liability Systems, and Construction Law.

About the Topic:
Judicial intervention is a controversial issue which is mainly dependent on the jurisdiction. Turkish law provides many opportunities for a judge to intervene in both contract and tort law. For contract law, adaptation of contract can be a great example where the judge holds a great degree of power. Articles 138 and 480(2) of the Turkish Code of Obligations, by creating a legal basis, determine whether or not such intervention is necessary and, if it is necessary, the extent of the intervention. The judge’s power is not limited to contract law. Tort law provides this power while determining the form and extent of compensation with due regard to the circumstances and the degree of culpability.

About the Seminar Series:
The new seminar series “Current Research on Turkish Law” regularly invites outstanding scholars and practitioners working on different topics of Turkish private law to present and discuss their findings. The seminar series particularly aims to create a platform where both international researchers interested in Turkish law and Turkish researchers working on comparative law can come together and exchange scholarly ideas. Participation is open to all interested students and researchers.