She built a solid legal foundation by completing a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) program at Marmara University (Turkey), and then specialized in international criminal law by earning a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Transnational Crime and Justice from the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in Italy and the United Nations-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica.
Her experience includes an internship at the Office of the Prosecutor of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), the successor to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, where she participated in war crimes investigations and litigation analysis. She further deepened her knowledge of international governance and human rights by conducting policy analysis as a research intern for the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), focusing on the inclusion of vulnerable groups.
Early in her career in Turkey, Melisa Kurter gained specialized experience in criminal litigation as well as maritime and environmental crimes, working at reputable law firms in Istanbul.
