Júlia Miklasová

Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Cologne

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Academy for European Human Rights Protection at the University of Cologne Germany. I obtained a PhD in International Law (2021, summa cum laude avec félicitations du jury) from the Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID). My doctoral thesis explored the increasing relevance of international law to cases of unilateral secession, particularly when connected to breaches of peremptory norms (jus cogens). It also emphasized the critical role of post-Soviet secessionist practice within this legal context. Building on my doctoral research, Secession in International Law with a Special Reference to the Post–Soviet Space has been published as an open-access monograph by Brill.

Previously, I was a Visiting Researcher at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge, a Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna, a Research Assistant at the Global Migration Centre in Geneva, and a Legal Assistant to a Member of the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC). I have also worked as a Junior Associate at a law firm and served as a Project Assistant at a regional think-tank. Additionally, I represented the Slovak Presidency of the European Union during expert meetings related to the Espoo Convention in Brussels and Geneva.

I completed a two-year Master’s Program in International Law at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, in addition to earning both BA and MA degrees in law from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. I also had the opportunity to study abroad during exchange semesters at Boston University Law School (USA) and Université Paris Descartes (France).

Research Interests

My research interests encompass public international law with a focus on the law of statehood and secession, territorial disputes, the use of force, peremptory norms of international law, and the law of international responsibility (covering states, international organizations, and other non-state entities). I am also interested in international and European human rights law and their intersection with general international law. My work especially centres on international legal developments in the post-Soviet space and Russia.

Teaching Experience

• Introductory courses: Fundamentals of Public International Law in the 21^st Century, International Human Rights
• Advanced course: Current Challenges to Public International Law