Lady Tulkens is the former Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights. She is a leading expert on criminal and penal law, teaching as a university professor at the UCLouvain (Belgium) and abroad.

Lady Tulkens has written on and heard a number of notable cases that have addressed free speech, freedom of religion, and national security. She was formerly an Independent Expert for the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and sat on the Human Rights Advisory Panel of the UN Mission in Kosovo. She is also an Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.