Özlem Gürakar-Skribeland

Academic interests

Özlem Gürakar Skribeland’s PhD is part of “Transnationalism from above and below: Migration management and how migrants manage” (MIGMA), a 2015-2019 research project funded by the Research Council of Norway. As part of the sub-project “The Legality of Return”, Özlem will explore the legal obligations of host states vis-à-vis people they are seeking to return. This exploration will involve understanding and mapping out how large bodies of national laws, international and human rights laws, and EU and Schengen rules interact in the context of transnational migration and return.

Background

Özlem grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) from Galatasaray University, Turkey, and did her Master of Laws (LL.M.) as a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Law School, USA. Özlem is qualified as a lawyer in Turkey, England and the USA, and has practiced law at international law firms in Istanbul and London. She is the author of the report "Seeking Asylum in Turkey: A Critical Review of Turkey's Asylum Laws and Practices", published by the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) in April 2016. Özlem joined the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law as a doctoral research fellow in August 2016.