CV

PhD Researcher

Maastricht University – UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage and Emerging Crime

• teaching with in the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology
• supervision of undergraduate theses
• attendance of trainings and workshops

Lalive Merryman Fellow in Art and Cultural Property Law

University of Geneva – Art-Law Centre

Four-week research stay as part of the Pierre Lalive and John H. Merryman Fellowship in Art and Cultural Property Law

• research on hominin fossils
• two public lectures in French
• networking with local researchers in law, archaeology, and palaeontology

Researcher

Canvas Art Law

Research and policy work on natural history objects, conservation, and human remains.

Grading Assistant

University of Erfurt – Assistant Professorship of Public International Law and International Administrative Law

Grading exams and papers for courses in International Law and Introduction to Legal Research in Public Law using Wiseflow software.

Visiting Researcher

University of Maastricht – Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage

• shadowed Donna Yates (Associate Professor of Criminology)
• prepared research articles for peer review
• attended academic events and meetings
• presented original research to the Department

Intern

Tallinn University of Technology – Department of Geology

Assisted the curator of Estonia’s largest geological collection with the handling, preparation, and international movement of palaeontological specimens.

Focus Group Member

The Palaeontological Association

Participated in an expert-led group to identify issues in fossil theft and proposed solutions for a workshop on “Social Justice in Palaeontology.”

Intern

Ruhr University Bochum – Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict

Provided editing support for international law journals and conducted literature research for resident researchers.

Student Research Assistant

Technische Universität Dresden – Chair for International Law, European Law and Public Law

Assisted research activities, prepared course materials, and contributed to teaching and administrative tasks at the Chair.

PhD

Maastricht University, Faculty of Law

Law

• structured PhD programme within the Maastricht Graduate School of Law
• tentative dissertation title: Bones of Contention, Stones of Contention: Mapping the Odd Interactions of Law with Ambiguous Substances (Supervisors: Prof Donna Yates and Dr Agustín Parise)

Master in International Law

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

International Law

• two-year programme at a bilingual institution
• dissertation: What’s In A Name: Legal Systems in Biological Nomenclature (Supervisor: Prof Nico Krisch)
• final grade: 5.78/6.00

Bachelor of Arts

Technische Universität Dresden, Center for International Studies

International Relations

• competitive interdisciplinary programme
• final grade: 1.3/1.0
• dissertation: Pardoning War Criminals: The Trump Administration, the Duty to Prosecute, and the Duty to Protect Human Rights (Supervisor: Prof Dominik Steiger)

Bachelor of Arts (unfinished)

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Political Science and Public Law

2024 Pierre Lalive and John Henry Merryman Fellowship in Art and Cultural Heritage Law

International Cultural Property Society, Art-Law Centre of the University of Geneva, and LALIVE Geneva

Fellowship valued at CHF 6,000 for a research stay at the University of Geneva, awarded for my paper ‘Ubirajara’ and Irritator Belong to Brazil: Achieving Fossil Returns under German Private Law

Paper of the Month of Cambridge University Press - History, Classics and Archaeology

Cambridge University Press

Awarded for my paper ‘Ubirajara’ and Irritator Belong to Brazil: Achieving Fossil Returns under German Private Law

First Prize at the Third Edition of the International Symposium on Cultural Heritage in War and Peace

Third International Symposium on Cultural Heritage in War and Peace

Awarded for my manuscript A Classification Unearthed: The History of Palaeontological Objects as Cultural Heritage in International Law, in recognition of an ‘innovative profile of research, outstanding presentation and excellent content.’

ERASMUS+ Scholarship

LEONARDO Büro Sachsen

Financial support for a research internship at Maastricht University.

Scholarship for going abroad to Eastern Europe

Metropolen in Osteuropa programme (German National Academic Foundation and Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation)

Financial support for an exchange semester and internship in Eastern Europe.

Full Scholarship by the German National Academic Foundation

Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes

Full scholarship including financial and ideational support for the entire duration of my studies.

First Prize in the German National Foreign Language Competition

Bildung und Begabung

Awarded first prize in the German National Foreign Language Competition with English, Spanish, French, and Latin; subsequent acceptance into the German National Academic Foundation.

The Legal Classification of Hominin Fossils: Lessons from the Broken Hill Skull

International Journal of Heritage Studies

This article explores the legal classification of hominin fossils, arguing they should be repatriated as cultural objects under international law.

A Tale of Two Museums: Restitution and the Genealogy of the False Dichotomy between Natural History Museums and Cultural Museums

International Journal of Cultural Policy

This article examines the disconnect between cultural and natural history museums regarding restitution, tracing the genealogy of museum diversification.

Seizure without Restitution: Antiquities Dealer Leonardo Patterson’s Collection before the Munich Administrative Court

Harvard Art Law Review

This article discusses court cases surrounding the seizure of antiquities from Leonardo Patterson’s collection in Bavaria.

Foreign Sovereign Immunity in Exequatur Proceedings – Notes on the Hague District Court’s Decision of 5 June 2025

Cuadernos de Derecho Transnacional

The District Court of The Hague refused to recognise and enforce a Ukrainian ruling against Gazprom on foreign sovereign immunity grounds, highlighting the interplay between private and public international law.

Not a Toothless Law. Countering Illicit Fossil Trafficking under Regulation (EU) 2019/880

transfer – Zeitschrift für Provenienzforschung und Sammlungsgeschichte | Journal for Provenance Research and the History of Collection

This case study analyzes a French customs seizure of Moroccan fossils, evaluating the legal framework under EU Regulation 2019/880.

A Classification Unearthed: The History of Palaeontological Objects as Cultural Property in International Law

London Review of International Law

This article traces how fossils became protected as cultural property under international law under the auspices of the League of Nations.

My Genocide, My Responsibility -- The 100’s Massacre at Mount Weather and International Criminal Law

Opinio Juris

This blog post explores the depiction of genocide and international criminal law in the TV series The 100.

Law Will Find A Way: Legal Research at the Intersection with Palaeontology

Interaktionen: Internationalität, Intra- Und Interdisziplinarität 63. Junge Tagung Öffentliches Recht

This book chapter outlines Law and Palaeontology as a field addressing legal issues related to fossils and emphasises both the need for and potential of interdisciplinary collaboration.

'Ubirajara' and Irritator Belong to Brazil: Achieving Fossil Returns Under German Private Law

International Journal of Cultural Property

This article explores private law as an alternative to repatriate unlawfully exported Brazilian fossils from German museums.

The Return of Fossils Removed Under Colonial Rule

Santander Art and Culture Law Review

This article examines the colonial removal of fossils and potential avenues for their return under public international law and international human rights law.

Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the Rescue Aid Society: Imagining the UN Through Disney’s The Rescuers

Opinio Juris

This blog post uses Disney’s The Rescuers to discuss popular perceptions of international organizations.

Pardoning War Criminals: The Trump Administration, the Duty to Prosecute, and the Duty to Protect Human Rights

IFHV Working Paper Series

This working paper assesses Trump’s pardons for war criminals against the duty to prosecute grave violations of international humanitarian law.

Ethics, Law, and Politics in Palaeontological Research: The Case of Myanmar Amber

Communications Biology

This article highlights how Myanmar amber research is linked to political, legal, and economic changes.

Two Ways of Thinking About Fossils: Palaeontological Objects Between Fossil Nationalism and Fossil Internationalism

Völkerrechtsblog

This blog post discusses the dual perspectives of fossil nationalism and fossil internationalism in legal and ethical debates.

Billigkeit, Sittlichkeit, Menschlichkeit: Versuch einer Kritik der Generalklauseln im Völkerrecht

Studentische Zeitschrift für Rechtswissenschaft Heidelberg -- Wissenschaft Online

This article critiques the politicization of law through general clauses in international law, applying Franz Neumann’s criticism.

Is Your Dating App Swiping Left on Human Rights?

Völkerrechtsblog

This blog post examines how dating apps’ algorithms and policies may facilitate sexual and gender-based violence or violate privacy rights.

The Moral and Legal Imperative to Return Illegally Exported Fossils

Nature Ecology & Evolution

This article argues for the return of illegally exported fossils, highlighting their scientific and cultural value.

Burmese Amber: Palaeontology’s Blood Diamonds Through the Lens of International Law

Völkerrechtsblog

This blog post compares Burmese amber to blood diamonds, discussing ethical and legal challenges in its trade.

Now or Never: The Arms Trade Treaty at Crossroads

Völkerrechtsblog

This blog post assesses the Arms Trade Treaty’s successes, challenges, and the urgent need to strengthen its implementation.