6th Kırımlı Dr. Aziz Bey International Humanitarian Law Competition and Advanced School, Istanbul, Türkiye

The Kırımlı Dr. Aziz Bey IHL Competition and Advanced IHL Summer School (the Aziz Bey) is an educational programme organised by the Istanbul Center for International Law (ICIL) and Türk Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent) with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It aims to promote international humanitarian law among advanced undergraduate and master's students and to help them broaden their knowledge of IHL as well as improve their ability to apply the law in practice.

The programme is named after Kırımlı Dr. Aziz Bey, the physician who led the formation of the Hilal-i Ahmer Cemiyeti, the first national red crescent society and the predecessor of today's Turkish Red Crescent. The first two editions were held entirely online; from the third edition onwards the programme has been held in person at Heybeliada, Istanbul.

ICIL and Türk Kızılay, with the support of the ICRC, will organise the sixth edition in person in Heybeliada, Istanbul, Türkiye between 30 October and 4 November 2026. The main theme of the 2026 edition is Accountability under IHL, and the lectures and the competition scenario are built around that theme.

• Arrival at the venue: 30 October 2026
• Advanced IHL School: 31 October to 2 November 2026
• IHL Competition: 2 to 4 November 2026

Sessions announced for the schedule include the foundations of accountability in IHL, state responsibility for IHL violations, accountability for war crimes and international criminal law in practice, the grave breaches regime under the Geneva Conventions and universal jurisdiction, fact-finding, evidence and investigations in armed conflict, military AI technologies and accountability, accountability for non-state armed groups and private military actors, and the role of the ICRC and of national societies. A keynote lecture on rethinking accountability in contemporary armed conflicts is also listed. The organisers note that the topics and schedule may change and that the faculty will be announced in due course.

The IHL Competition accepts applications from undergraduate or graduate-level law students. Students from other relevant areas may apply only if they prove their interest and background in IHL. Applicants must submit an official document proving that they are, or were, enrolled as students in the current calendar year at the time of application.

Applications must be submitted individually and no team applications will be accepted. There is no limit on the number of participants from the same country. An academic advisor or coach is not required; where an applicant works with one, the advisor may assist only until the Advanced School begins and will not be admitted to the programme venue.

Participants are required to attend the Advanced IHL Summer School, which is a prerequisite for competing. The organisers do not accept separate applications for the Advanced School alone or for the Competition alone.

Applicants should send the following as one PDF file to azizbeyihl@icil.org.tr before the deadline:

• A CV
• An official document proving they are or were enrolled as students in the current calendar year
• A motivation letter of about 500 words explaining why they are interested in participating in the programme
• The completed application form

All documents must be in English or supplemented with an English translation. There is no application fee. The organisers aim to send a confirmation email within 48 hours of receiving an application, and ask applicants who do not receive one to check their spam folder and then write to the secretariat.

• 60 per cent: the overall quality of the CV and background in IHL
• 40 per cent: assessment of the applicant's motivation letter

The regular registration fee is EUR 300. The early-bird registration fee of EUR 200 applied to applications submitted by 1 September 2026, a tier that has now closed. Students applying from partner universities benefit from a 25 per cent reduction. For students studying at a Turkish university the early-bird fee is TRY 2,500 and the regular fee is TRY 7,500. The registration fee must be paid only if the application is accepted, and the organising committee states that an application will be deemed invalid if the fee is not paid by the deadline given.

A limited number of partial scholarships are available for applicants who require financial assistance. Applicants who wish to be considered should submit an additional motivation letter briefly explaining their financial need and how participation would contribute to their academic or professional development. Scholarship requests are assessed individually and are subject to the availability of funds.

The Advanced School is designed as preparation for the Competition and is open only to participants of the Competition. It covers the main themes of the Competition so that participants become familiar with the relevant legal issues before the Competition begins.

The Competition is based on role-playing exercises built on a fictional case study, with an introductory part shared at the start and further sections released before subsequent rounds. Participants receive directives about their roles and tasks for each round, and are evaluated mainly on their legal knowledge and their ability to role-play. The exercises are not limited to court settings and may include settings such as an internal government discussion or a fact-finding inquiry, which is what distinguishes the programme from a regular moot court. There is no written memorandum; the Competition is based on oral rounds.

Teams are formed by the Organising Committee through a lottery at the end of the Advanced School, and all teams compete in three preliminary rounds. Each participant receives an individual score during the preliminary rounds, and the two finalist teams comprise the six or eight highest-scoring participants. Participants may not attend other teams' exercises as audience except in the final round, and the Organising Committee holds feedback sessions during the Competition.

The venue is the Heybeliada Youth Camp run by Türk Kızılay, located on one of the Princes' Islands off the coast of Istanbul. The organisers provide accommodation at the venue in shared rooms along with meals during the Summer School and the Competition. Türk Kızılay, as co-organiser, provides the accommodation and sponsors a variety of administrative expenses as part of its work to disseminate international humanitarian law in Türkiye.

All other expenses are borne by the participants, who are responsible for arranging their own travel to Istanbul and to the venue. Participants are solely responsible for the validity of their travel documents and for the visa process where one is needed. The Organising Committee may provide an invitation letter for visa purposes on request, and encourages applicants who need such a letter to apply as early as possible.

Students who participate in the Advanced School and take part in the Competition are awarded two separate certificates of attendance. Participants who reach the final round receive additional certificates for their performance.