Türkiye will host the 21st International Forensic Medicine Days Congress in Antalya from September 21 to 27, bringing together forensic medicine and criminal sciences experts from 40 countries.
The congress, organized by the Council of Forensic Medicine at the facilities of the Foundation for Strengthening the Judicial Organization in Antalya, will be attended by academics, members of the judiciary, and representatives of public institutions and international organizations.
Congress to feature 28 sessions
According to information provided by Council of Forensic Medicine President Dr. Hıdır Aslı Yüksel, the congress will feature 127 domestic and 48 foreign speakers. The seven-day program will include 28 sessions with the participation of 125 researchers.
The main theme of the congress is “Addiction and forensic expertise in the world.” The program will address topics including artificial intelligence applications in forensic sciences, digital evidence, deepfake technology, new-generation narcotics, and DNA analysis.
Identification in mass disasters, medical malpractice, traffic accidents, autonomous vehicles, forensic psychiatry, forensic radiology, and anatomical examinations are also on the congress agenda.
Participation from five continents
Yüksel said the congress was the largest event in the fields of forensic medicine and criminal sciences hosted by Türkiye. Representatives from Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas will attend the congress.
The number of people registered for the congress has reached 831. Members of the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Council of State, and the Constitutional Court, as well as academics from law and medical faculties, will also attend the event.
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye, the Ministry of Health, the gendarmerie, and criminal police units are among the institutions that will participate in the congress.
Work of the Council of Forensic Medicine
Yüksel said the Council of Forensic Medicine had provided forensic expertise services in Türkiye for nearly two centuries and had been affiliated with the Ministry of Justice since 1917. The institution employs 3,500 people, including approximately 1,000 forensic medicine specialists.
The Council of Forensic Medicine finalized 966,000 case files in 2025 and 506,000 case files in the first six months of 2026. The institution also conducts approximately 6,000 autopsies annually in Istanbul and a total of 30,000 autopsies at its branches in Türkiye’s 81 provinces.
Yüksel said a report prepared by the United Nations ranked the institution’s toxicology and narcotics laboratories among the world’s top three out of the 17 laboratories examined.
Yüksel said there were approximately 400,000 detainees and convicted prisoners in Türkiye, one-third of whom were linked to drug offenses, and that addiction and forensic expertise were therefore chosen as the congress’s main theme.
