Felicitas is a Lecturer in Law at the School of Law within University College Cork in Ireland. Her research focuses on international and comparative law, with particular interests in self-determination of peoples and supranationalism.

She has contributed to research on human rights and constitutional law, including the protection of the inner self, freedom of thought, privacy and mental integrity in the digital age as part of the Law and Inner Self Project, funded by a Research Ireland Laureate (Consolidator) Grant (2022–2026, IRCLA/2022/2628). For more information about the LAWINSEL project see this link: https://www.lawinnerself.org/.

While primarily grounded in legal methodology, her research incorporates interdisciplinary perspectives from philosophy, sociology and the wider humanities.

My research interests are broadly located in the areas of international and comparative constitutional law.

I consider myself a scholar on the ‘self’ in law, with continued interest in exploring how the law conceptualises, regulates and protects the notion of ‘self’. In my research I explore this in both individual as well as collective dimensions.

Regarding the individual self, my work has delved extensively into the rights to freedom of thought and private life (including categories developed within this right by the European Court of Human Rights) as well as so-called personality rights and their re-assessment in light of the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, both within the European context and in comparison with international human rights law. My focus on European human rights law includes studies of CJEU jurisprudence on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, as well as the interaction of the legal regimes of the EU and international law.

Regarding the collective self, I am particularly interested in the principle of self-determination of peoples in various contexts – be this general international law, indigenous peoples’ rights or regional and national frameworks. I have completed my PhD thesis on self-determination of peoples in the context of supranational governance and written a monograph on Self-Determination in International Law: Supranationalism, The European Union and African Union (Routledge, in print).

Besides human rights law in international and regional frameworks, my expertise and research interests include European and African Union law, the effects of different forms of governance on human rights and their development through practice, scholarship and jurisprudence and vice versa; the laws and policies of international organisations; supranational and regional integration, and legal processes.

While mainly adopting the methodology of legal research, I like to incorporate interdisciplinary research approaches from neighbouring disciplines, such as philosophy, sociology and the wider humanities.

With knowledge in eight languages to different extends and having worked in teaching and research in three countries (Germany, the UK and Ireland), I am furthermore interested in incorporating sources from various languages in my research as well as exploring the link between law and language.

My teaching interests coincide with my research interests, but I am equally passionate about combining my experiences in legal practice, which does not necessarily coincide with my active research agenda, with my teaching. I like doing so by including interactive and legal clinical exercises in my sessions.

I have experience teaching under- and postgraduate student cohorts, as well as interdisciplinary modules that form part of programmes not only for law students, but for example students of the political sciences or business and law students. Modules/subjects I have taught include: international trade law (laws and policies of the World Trade Organisation); UK and European human rights law; human rights and sustainable development; legal writing and research; and alternative dispute resolution.

I consider it a fulfilling and rewarding experience to supervise students and to support them as they develop and refine their independent research projects, even on topics that fall more on the periphery of my research spectrum. I have supervised dissertations on topics concerning the powers and enforcement structures of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act in relation to EU constitutional principles, the lawfulness of European Commission decisions in the context of the EU-UK “Brexit” deal, and the EU Renewable Energy Directive III through the lens of the Aarhus Convention. 

Enterprise Ireland Grant (€ 15.860) to support ERC application (2025-2027)