Dr. Ozcan Ozbey

Dr. Ozcan Ozbey serves as a Legal Expert at Merit Law LLP, where he provides academic and expert legal analysis, consulting support and expert reports in matters involving Turkish law, international human rights law, constitutional law and related cross-border legal issues. He brings decades of experience as an attorney, public prosecutor, senior appellate judge, constitutional court judge, legal scholar and educator.

Dr. Ozbey began his legal career as an attorney admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association and subsequently served for many years as a Public Prosecutor in Türkiye. He later served as a judge in the Criminal Chambers and the General Assembly of Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation, Türkiye’s highest appellate court.

He subsequently served as a Judge at the Constitutional Court of Türkiye, where he prepared legal analyses concerning fundamental rights, constitutional protections and complex issues of constitutional law. Dr. Ozbey also served as a Lecturer at the Justice Academy of Türkiye, contributing to the education of future judges and prosecutors in human rights, constitutional law and criminal law.

Throughout his career, Dr. Ozbey has prepared expert reports for proceedings before Turkish courts, the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee and other United Nations bodies, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and courts and tribunals in foreign jurisdictions exercising universal jurisdiction over international crimes. He has authored five books and numerous academic articles on constitutional law, criminal law and fundamental human rights.

Dr. Ozbey earned his LL.B. from Istanbul University Faculty of Law and completed his first master’s degree in law at TODAIE (Turkey and Middle East Public Administration Institute), with a concentration in human rights law. He earned his Ph.D. from Kocaeli University, focusing on remedies for violations of international human rights treaties and constitutional rights, and completed a second Master of Laws (LL.M.) at Chapman University in California. He also completed a certified course on justice at Harvard University and his Pedagogical Formation at Anadolu University.

Any legal matter requiring attorney licensure is handled by attorneys duly licensed in the applicable jurisdiction.