Meet the interdisciplinary team behind Work Package 6.
Explore the researchers and collaborators contributing to the HRJust climate work across the University of Bern, the Institute of International Relations Prague, and the University of Trento.
Prof. Elisa Fornalé
Elisa Fornalé is Associate Professor at the World Trade Institute (WTI), University of Bern. She holds a law degree from the University of Trento, Italy, and a PhD in law from the University of Palermo, Italy, and she specialises in international law, climate change, human mobility and human rights...
Elisa Fornalé is Associate Professor at the World Trade Institute (WTI), University of Bern. She holds a law degree from the University of Trento, Italy, and a PhD in law from the University of Palermo, Italy, and she specialises in international law, climate change, human mobility and human rights. She is the Work Package Leader for Climate of the HEurope ‘Human Rights Justification’ project (States’ Practice of Human Rights Justification: A Study in Civil Society Engagement and Human Rights through the Lens of Gender and Intersectionality).
Felicia Meyer
Felicia holds a Master of Law (MLaw) from the University of Bern. In 2023, she joined the team as a research assistant at the World Trade Institute in Bern. The contribution to the WP6 is related to her research on civil society engagement.
Riccarda Heepen
Riccarda is currently working as a research assistant at the World Trade Institute, while finishing her Bachelor in International Relations (BARI) at the University of Geneva. She is working on the database of the WP6, and she is conducting research on civil society engagement.
Martina Pennino
Martina is a law student from the University of Bologna (Italy). After an exchange semester in Bern, in March 2025 she joined the team as a research assistant at the World Trade Institute in Bern. She is currently working on the database of the WP6, and she is conducting research on civil society engagement.
Dr. Federica Cristani
Federica is the Head of the Centre for International Law at the Institute of International Relations Prague (CZ). She holds a PhD in international law from the University of Verona, Italy. She specializes in international law, state responsibility, international economic law and international law of cyberspace. She is a team member of WP6, conducting research and fieldwork activities on civil society engagement. She is also co-Leader of the Empirical Work Package in HRJust.
Prof. Veronika Bílková
Veronika Bílková is Professor in international law at the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in Prague, head of the University Centre for Conflict and Post-Conflict Studies at this faculty and senior researcher at the Centre for International Law at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. She is Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe on behalf of...
Veronika Bílková is Professor in international law at the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in Prague, head of the University Centre for Conflict and Post-Conflict Studies at this faculty and senior researcher at the Centre for International Law at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. She is Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe on behalf of the Czech Republic and member of the Management Board of the EU FRA. In 2022-2024, she was member of four expert missions on Ukraine established under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism. Her research focuses on the use of force, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, international human rights, and the rule of law. Within WP6, she is actively contributing to the research and activities on civil society engagement, as well as to the relevant events, academic publications and policy outputs.
Magdalena Florová
Magdalena is a law student from the Charles University in Prague (CZ). She joined the Institute of International Relations team in March 2025 as a research assistant. She’s taking part in developing the WP6’s climate litigation database and she is conducting research on civil society engagement.
Barbora Lukešová
Barbora is currently finishing her Master’s degree at the Faculty of Law of Charles University (Prague, CZ) and working as a Research Assistant at the Centre of International Law of the Institute of International Relations Prague. She is working on the interview-based part of WP6, and the analysis of the resulting data, while conducting research on civil society engagement.
Chiara Tea Antoniazzi
Chiara Tea Antoniazzi is postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in international law at the University of Trento (Italy). She holds a PhD from the School of International Studies of University of Trento and she was postdoctoral researcher in international law at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. Within the HRJust Project, she focuses on the interrelations between climate change and human rights, including with respect to the extraterritorial human rights obligations of States and the EU in the area of climate change.
Caterina Milo
Caterina Milo is postdoctoral researcher in international law at the University of Trento (Italy), where she is also lecturer in EU law. She holds a PhD from the University of Sannio and she specializes in international procedural law and investment arbitration. As part of the HRJust Project, her research focuses on international trade and investment law, with particular attention to the relevance of climate change and human rights justifications in these areas of international law.
Elena Cristina Fasoli
Elena Fasoli is an Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Trento. She has previously held research and teaching positions at Queen Mary University of London, the University of Edinburgh, and the Ocean University of China. Her scholarly interests focus on international responsibility of States, as well as international and European environmental law. Within WP6, she conducts research on climate change and human rights justifications.
Paolo Turrini
Paolo Turrini is Associate Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Trento. Previously, he was also involved in teaching and research activities at the University of Bologna. His main areas of interest are international economic law, international environmental law and the general theory of international law. In the framework of the HRJust project, he investigates climate-related human rights justifications in the fields of trade and investment.
