Defne Halil
Defne Halil holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree in Corporate and Commercial Law from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where she has graduated cum laude and with honours. She also obtained a Bachelor’s degree in European Law (LL.B.), complemented by a minor in Business and Law, from the same university, graduating with excellence. Her academic background and research are centered on the interplay between law and technology, with a particular focus on the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, supporting SMEs, and the regulation of artificial intelligence.
Summary
Defne Halil, LL.M. is a Legal Expert at the Law and Internet Foundation. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Corporate and Commercial Law from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where she graduated cum laude and with honours. She also obtained a Bachelor’s degree in European Law, complemented by a minor in Business and Law, from the same university, graduating with excellence.
During her studies, Defne participated in the Maastricht Research-Based Learning Excellence Programme, where she conducted a research project titled “Fight the Power (with Data): Looking Behind the Scenes of Big Tech with the Digital Services Act.” Her work was later presented at Digital Legal Talks 2024 (Utrecht, the Netherlands) and at an event hosted by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. Based on this project, she co-authored a paper with distinguished scholars, published in the Internet Policy Review and submitted recommendations to the European Commission on the Delegated Act for Data Access Requests.
She has also authored two further publications on environmental law in the Maastricht Student Law Review. Her research background includes participation in the Our Rule of Law Academy, where, as a Policy Researcher, she conducted a study with other peers on academic freedom and presented the findings before key decision-makers in Brussels, Belgium. Additionally, she contributed as a National Legal Researcher to the International Legal Research Group on Law and Sustainability, organised in collaboration with ELSA International and the Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie.
Professionally, Defne has been a Student Consultant for the Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation, supporting the development of the Fair Pharma Cancer Scoreboard. Her research focused on analysing pharmaceutical companies’ registration, marketing, and pricing practices for essential cancer medicines in the Netherlands, Kenya, and South Africa, assessed against legal and ethical criteria. This work was carried out within the framework of the PREMIUM Honours Programme for high-performing master’s students.
She also has experience in Financial Crime Compliance, particularly in anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF), gained during her internship at De Lage Landen (DLL) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Additionally, she completed an internship in criminal law at the Regional Prosecution Office in Varna, Bulgaria.
Beyond her academic and professional work, Defne is committed to civic engagement. As a Rule of Law Trainer, she has volunteered to educate high school students in the Netherlands on the importance of the rule of law, statelessness, and the right to nationality.
She speaks fluently English and Turkish.
