Gastforscher:innen

Alessandra Accogli is a visiting researcher from University College Dublin, Sutherland School of Law, where she recently submitted her doctoral thesis on the legal protection of carbon sinks. Specifically, her work lies at the intersection of climate change law, environmental law and human rights law. With the help of a case study on peatlands in Ireland, she investigates the tensions and synergies between protecting and restoring peatlands as important carbon sinks in Ireland and respecting the human rights of local people who depend on the ecosystem for their livelihoods and/or culture.

During the three-month research stay as a 2024 Climate Change Fellow at the University of Graz, Alessandra will be involved in a number of ongoing activities at the Research Center ClimLaw: Graz. In particular, she will work under the guidance of Prof Oliver Ruppel on a joint publication that aims to investigate how the findings of Alessandra’s doctoral thesis – which promote integrating a human rights lens into legal measures on ecosystem protection and restoration – can serve as a general framework for analysing the tensions between global demands for carbon sink protection and local realities, thereby allowing for application in diverse contexts. She will also hold two sessions as part of the Lecture series on “International Climate Change Law, Policy and Litigation”.

Willem Odendaal obtained his PhD in Law from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland in January 2023. He is an admitted legal practitioner in the High and Supreme Courts of Namibia. He was the project coordinator of the Land, Environment and Development project at the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Namibia’s only public interest law firm from 2006 until December 2019. Willem has conducted extensive socio-legal research on topics such as the Namibian Land Reform Programme, mining, climate change, the Community Based Natural Resources Management Programme (CBNRM) and Indigenous Peoples’ land and environmental rights. Willem has also done comparative research on post resettlement support in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. He also has research experience in Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon and Ghana. He is currently setting up a new public interest law firm in Namibia, to continue supporting the human, land and environmental rights of the people of Namibia.

Ms. Luna is a lawyer and PhD candidate in Political Economy at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra. She specialises in "Public Policies, Social and Collective Rights" and has MA in Regional Economics and Public Policy (UESC), Brazil. She has been a Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology PhD fellow (2023-2027). Her research interests relate to studies about the Right to the City and public policies for urban development focused on formal settlements by encompassing social and economic indicators to improve local public policies. Currently, her PhD research involves urban informality and the climate crisis from the perspective of mitigation of the consequences of climate change through the lens of social justice in two medium-sized Brazilian cities. The research aims to use multi-level governance concepts and law regulation to discuss policymakers' responsibilities to manage and evaluate measures to face the vulnerabilities of risk areas within the context of climate change.
 

Associate Professor Ebru Demir holds a full-time position and is a Lecturer at the International Law Department of Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey. She also holds a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at Aarhus University, Denmark, where she is currently researching climate change applications before the European Court of Human Rights. Associate Professor Demir specializes in International Human Rights Law; International
Environmental Law; and International Criminal Law. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table, and her unique insights promise to make this session an enlightening one. This is a fantastic opportunity to delve into the intricacies of systemic integration and the role of the European Court of Human Rights, and to explore the nuances of interpreting conventions within this context.

Matjaz Nahtigal is head of the Chair in International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. He teaches courses in international law and international development. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, where he also completed his doctorate. He continued with his graduate studies at Harvard Law School, in the United States, where he finished his master's and doctoral program and obtained a degree in Science Juris Doctor (SJD) in 2001. He studied the areas of legal reforms and inclusive and transparent institutions in the Central and East European Countries during the period of transition and post-transition.

Dr. Zoran Turza, an Associate Professor of Theology at the Catholic University of Croatia, served as a Research Guest Professor at the Research Center for Climate Law from February to August 2024. His research focused onecological ethics, particularly within Catholic theology andPope Francis's teachings, as they relate to the moralimperative of caring for creation. During his time at the Center, Dr. Turza critically examined how theological reflections, especially those in the papalencyclicals and speeches, address global calls for climate justice. His research provided valuable insights into thelegal challenges and ethical dimensions of climate legislation, both nationally and internationally. This academic engagement deepened his understanding of the complexities involved in creating fair and sustainable climate laws. His work highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to lawmaking, recognizing theneed for ethical principles to support the development of just legal frameworks, while remaining mindful of the broader legislative and policy implications.