Utku TOPCAN

Dr. Utku TOPCAN is an Assistant Professor at İzmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi's Adalet Meslek Yüksekokulu, teaching courses in Commercial Law, International Arbitration, and Legal Systems. He holds a PhD in Law from Hacettepe Üniversitesi (2022), an LLM in International Trade Law from King's College London (2012), and a Law degree from Ankara Üniversitesi (2009). His research focuses on corporate rights in anonymous companies, arbitration validity, and international investment law. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and authored a book on shareholder rights in anonymous companies. Dr. Topcan currently serves as MYO Müdürü (Director of Academic Affairs) at İzmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi and previously held roles such as Provincial Human Rights Committee member (2018–2019).

• Education:
• Bachelor of Law, Ankara Üniversitesi (2009)
• LLM in International Trade Law, King's College London (2012)
• PhD in Law, Hacettepe Üniversitesi (2022)
• Research Interests: Commercial Law, International Arbitration, Anonim Şirketler Hukuku (Law of Anonymous Companies), and International Investment Disputes.
• Grants: Max Planck Institute Research Grant (2020–2021) for thesis research in Hamburg.

His recent work includes analyzing arbitration validity under national and international frameworks, as well as investigating abuse-of-rights doctrines in investment treaties. He has contributed to multiple edited volumes, including a chapter on AI-generated intellectual property rights (2025).