On 16 December 2018, RRT in partnership with ICJ, ECRE and Mülteci-Der, organized a nation-wide workshop on the use and potentials of the “strategic litigation” approach to strengthen the legal protection of refugees and migrants. In addition to participants representing bar associations and NGOs from around Turkey, contributions were made by experienced European legal experts and litigators.

The workshop aimed to promote a structured discussion among key national stakeholder representatives on the value of a strategic approach in litigating cases on behalf of refugee and migrant clients with a view to tackling gaps and structural problems in Turkey’s current legislative and implementation framework governing migration and asylum. The “strategic litigation” approach is a relatively new idea among the legal professional community in the Turkey context. This workshop served as the first-ever ocassion for Turkish refugee rights advocates to reflect on their current litigation practices from this angle. The European legal experts and litigators contributing to the event provided valuable experiences and insights from recent “strategic litigation” efforts in various EU countries to inform and inspire the nascent Turkish debate on the approach.

The event was organized in the framework of a project partnership among RRT, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ),  ECRE ve Mültecilerle Dayanışma Derneği (Mülteci-Der) supported by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights Democracy (EIDHR) Turkey Program. The project aims to support legal expertise development among lawyers and legal practitioners in Turkey on asylum and immigration law, with a particular emphasis on applicable international and European standards.