Professor Başak Çalı delivers oral pleadings before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights

On Wednesday 25 March 2026, Başak Çalı, Professor of International Law at the University of Oxford and Head of Research at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, appeared before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Kavala v. Türkiye (no. 2). Professor Çalı represented Mr Osman Kavala alongside Professor Philip Leach.

The case concerns an application brought by Mr Kavala, a Turkish human rights defender, who has been deprived of his liberty since 2017. Professor Çali’s oral pleadings focussed on  several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, including Article 3 (prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment), Article 5 (right to liberty and security), Article 6 (right to a fair trial), Article 7 (no punishment without law), Article 10 (freedom of expression), Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association), and Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights).

The Grand Chamber is the highest formation of the European Court of Human Rights and hears cases that raise a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention.

View a webcast of the Grand Chamber hearing on the ECHR website.