Elif Erken

Dr. Elif Erken is a Researcher at the Institute of Constitutional, Administrative Law and Legal Theory within the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance at Utrecht University. She is affiliated with the Montaigne Centre for Rule of Law and Administration of Justice and the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM). Her work focuses on the intersection of human rights law, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and national human rights institutions (NHRIs) within the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) framework.

• Expertise: European Convention on Human Rights, NGO participation in Strasbourg judgments, NHRI roles in compliance, empirical legal studies.
• Education: Completed a doctoral thesis in 2024 titled The procedural participation of non-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions within the European Convention system and beyond: An empirical study.

Research Trends: Her publications analyze how NGOs and NHRIs influence the execution of ECHR judgments, with a focus on Rule 9 communications, comparative systems (Inter-American), and methodological innovations in ECHR scholarship. Empirical approaches dominate her work, including case studies and data-driven analysis of compliance mechanisms.

• Activities: Provided consultancy for the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (2020–present) on NGO law expert council opinions.