Our Team
Prof. Yücel Acer is a distinguished academic and legal expert with a wealth of experience in the field of international law. With a doctorate from the University of Bristol and a postgraduate degree from the University of Sheffield, both specializing in International Law, Prof. Acer has received a comprehensive education in his field. He also completed his undergraduate studies at Ankara University, majoring in International Relations.
Prof. Acer has held various academic positions throughout his career, including professorships at Yıldırım Beyazıt University and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. He has also served as an associate professor and assistant professor, contributing significantly to the development of the field of international relations.
In addition to his academic roles, Prof. Acer has gained valuable administrative experience. He has held positions such as department head, dean, director of institutions, and vice dean at different universities. Notably, he served as the rector of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University from 2015 to 2019, demonstrating his leadership and management skills.
Currently, Prof. Acer serves as the head of the Department of International Law at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University. He has been involved in various administrative roles and continues to make significant contributions to the academic and legal communities. With his extensive knowledge, research expertise, and leadership qualities, Prof. Yücel Acer has established himself as a respected figure in the field of international law and academia.
Prof. Dr. Nil Kula graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University School of Law in 2005. She has acted as a maritime lawyer in between 2006-2010 in Sacaklioglu Law Firm in İzmir. In 2008, she has completed her master thesis named “The execution of the prevention of the marine pollution and compensation of the damages occurred upon the pollution by Turkish public authorities” that has been prepared in Dokuz Eylul University Social Sciences Institute Public Law Program. The same year, she has commenced her doctorate education in the same university and same institute under Maritime Business Administration Program and concluded the program in 2012 with her doctorate thesis named as “An Evaluation on the Liabilities and Liability Insurance Cover of Freight Forwarder as a Multimodal Transport Operator”. In 2013 she has studied in University of Texas School of Law with TUBITAK Post-Doctorate Scholarship and in 2018 she has studied in University of San Francisco School of Law with FULBRIGHT Academic Scholarship.
In 2010 she has been appointed as research assistant to Dokuz Eylul University Maritime Faculty. In 2013 she has been appointed to the same institution as assistant professor. In 2016 she has been granted as Associate Professor in Maritime Law by the Turkish Inter-Universities Council and in 2022 she has been appointed as Professor to Dokuz Eylul University Maritime Faculty. Since 2010 she has been giving maritime law, transport law, international commercial law and marine insurance law courses in Turkish and English languages in various universities. She has 7 books and 32 single author articles and many papers that have been submitted to national and international conferences.
Prof. Kula has also given lectures as invited speaker in United Nations Inland Transport Security Forum (Geneva, Switzerland) in 2016 and United Nations Regional Conference for Logistics Service Providers (Busan, Korea) in 2018. Since 2023, she is giving “Port State Control and Jurisdiction” lectures in The Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy (Rhodes, Greece). Between the years of 2022 and 2025 she served as the director of the Dokuz Eylul University Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology. In March 2025, Prof. Kula has been appointed as the Head of Department of Maritime Law in Dokuz Eylul University School of Law. She is serving as a member of the board of directors of Ankara University National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM) since 2020 and is appointed as the leading researcher of DEHUKAM in 2025. She is also serving as the director of the Dokuz Eylul University Aegean Region Application and Research Center since 2020.
Prof. Ademuni-Odeke is a distinguished scholar and legal expert with extensive international experience. Prof. Ademuni-Odeke holds a remarkable academic record, including:
He completed his LLB in Law from the University of Dar es Salaam in 1978. He obtained his LLM from the Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton, in 1979. In 1982, he completed his PhD in Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton.
He possesses several professional qualifications, including a Certificate in Management Curriculum from the United Nations. Prof. Ademuni-Odeke has served on the editorial boards of prestigious journals like The Denning Law Journal, Maritime Policy and Management, and DEHUKAMDER. He has held visiting professorships and scholar positions at numerous universities worldwide, including the University of Vienna, Central European University in Budapest, and Universitie Paris X. He has also been associated with the UN/IMO World Maritime University and UN/IMO International Maritime Law Institute for several years. Since 2018, Prof. Ademuni-Odeke has held the position of Professor of International Maritime Law and Policy and Special Advisor at DEHUKAM. Previously, he held positions as a visiting scholar at the Institute of Maritime Law at the University of Southampton, a Fulbright/Lloyd’s of London Insurance Scholar & Visiting Professor at Tulane University Law School, and a Visiting Research Professor in International Maritime Law and Policy at Southampton Solent University. He also served as an In-House Legal Consultant at the United Nations Secretariat in New York and the UN Procurement Division. Prof. Ademuni-Odeke has an extensive list of publications, including books, articles, and chapters in books. His book titles include “The Law of International Trade,” “Bareboat Charterparties,” “International Trade HLT,” and “Commercial Law HLT,” among others.
Dr. Ceren Cerit Dindar graduated with LLB from Ankara University in 2009. Following her graduation and legal internship period, she was called to Ankara Bar in 2010. She obtained her LLM degree in International Commercial and Maritime Law at Swansea University, United Kingdom in 2013. She was later awarded the degree of PhD in Maritime Law by the same university in June 2019. Her PhD research mainly focuses on legal issues concerning delivery and redelivery of the vessel in time charters. Full scholarship was provided by Turkish Ministry of Education for her LLM and PhD studies. She held the position of research assistant at the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL), Swansea University during her PhD period.
Dr. Dindar is currently working as an assistant professor at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University (AYBU), Law Faculty. She is the head of the Maritime Law Department since 2022. She is also the coordinator of LLM programme in Maritime Law which has been offered at AYBU, Law Faculty since September 2021. She teaches “Carriage of Goods by Sea” and “The Law of Charterparties” modules under the LLM programme. As of 2023, she also serves as a dedicated senior researcher at DEHUKAM. She is the coordinator of the project titled “Legal Problems Relating to the Autonomous Vessels in Turkey and Potential Solutions” funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey under the “1001-Supporting Scientific and Technological Research Projects Program”. As a keen public speaker, Dr Dindar has presented papers at various conferences and has published several articles in the field of Maritime law in academic journals such as Journal of International Maritime Law.
Büşra Deniz completed her undergraduate studies at Ankara University Faculty of Law in 2020. Since 2021, she has been pursuing her master’s degree in the program “The Sea and Maritime Law,” conducted in English at Ankara University Institute of Social Sciences. Her master’s thesis focuses on “The Protection of the Marine Environment under the Bucharest Convention and the Position of Türkiye”
In addition to her academic pursuits, Büşra Deniz serves as a Researcher at DEHUKAM, contributing to various projects and studies. Currently, she is involved as a Marine Envrionment Law Expert in the “Project for Capacity Development in Marine Environment Law within the Framework of the Barcelona Convention and Other International Documents” and the “The Project for Exploring Potential Natural Sites with the Aim of Increasing the Protected Areas in Türkiye” in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change.
Furthermore, she is actively engaged as a Project Scholar in the TÜBİTAK 1001 project titled “Research on Alternative Resolution Methods in Maritime Disputes and Establishment of a Maritime Arbitration Center in Türkiye”. Büşra Deniz is proficient in advanced-level English.
Çağrı Ünal graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law in 2023. During his bachelor’s degree, he worked as intern student at DEHUKAM between 2021 and 2023. In 2023, he founded the Maritime, Polar and Climate Law Research Society at Ankara University and assumed the presidency. Since 2024, he continues his master’s degree in the “Sea and Maritime Law” program at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Institute of Social Sciences. In addition to his academic studies, Çağrı Ünal, as a Researcher at DEHUKAM, carries out activities in the field of marine environment law and contributes to various projects and studies.
Currently, he is working as Marine Environmental Law Expert in the “Project for the Research of Mooring Buoy Systems and Marine Inspection Processes” with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and as a Project Scholar in the “Research on Alternative Resolution Methods in Maritime Disputes and Establishment of a Maritime Arbitration Center in Türkiye” under the TUBITAK 1001 call. He is proficient in advanced-level English.
Derya Ulutürk completed her undergraduate studies at Başkent University Faculty of Law in 2019. Since 2021, she has been pursuing her master’s degree in the “Sea and Maritime Law” program at Ankara University Institute of Social Sciences, which is conducted in English. Her thesis focuses on “The Legal Implications of Climate Change in the Mediterranean: Evaluation of Adaptation and Mitigation Measures.”
Working as a researcher within DEHUKAM, Ulutürk is actively engaged in various activities related to education, conferences, and projects within the institution. Currently, she serves as a marine environmental law expert in the “Project for Capacity Development in Marine Environment Law within the Framework of the Barcelona Convention and Other International Documents” and the “The Project for Exploring Potential Natural Sites with the Aim of Increasing the Protected Areas in Türkiye” conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.
Additionally, she is a project scholar in the TÜBİTAK 1001 project titled “Research on Alternative Resolution Methods in Maritime Disputes and Establishment of a Maritime Arbitration Center in Türkiye.” Derya Ulutürk is proficient in advanced English and lower-intermediate German.
Halil İbrahim AKCAN graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law in 2020. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Maritime Law at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University. In 2021, he started working as a research assistant at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Faculty of Law, Department of Maritime Law, and continues in that position. In 2023, he began working as a part-time researcher at DEHUKAM. He is proficient in English.
İlkay Baş completed her undergraduate degree in Computer Education at Kocaeli University, Faculty of Technical Education in 2000 and began working as a computer teacher in Kocaeli in 2001. She also holds additional bachelor’s degrees in Computer Engineering and in Public Relations and Advertising. She is currently a PhD candidate in Public Relations and Publicity at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Graduate School of Education, and is in the thesis stage of her studies. Her areas of expertise include national and international projects, professional life and career coaching, and educational administration.
As of November 24, 2025, she has started her role at Ankara University National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM) to coordinate projects developed in cooperation with maritime vocational high schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education and to support the educational activities and other related operations of the Center.
Zeynep Mirvan Korunç successfully graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Language and History-Geography, Department of American Culture and Literature in 2020. Following her undergraduate studies, she pursued further academic advancement and was admitted to the English-taught, thesis-based Master’s program in International Relations at Hacettepe University, Institute of Social Sciences, where she continues her education.
Since 2021, Zeynep Mirvan Korunç has been working at Ankara University National Center for the Sea and Maritime Law (DEHUKAM). Combining her expertise in international relations with maritime law, she actively contributes to the institution’s efforts in fostering international collaborations, managing academic and institutional activities, and closely following global developments in the field of maritime law.
