I am writing a doctoral thesis on the interpretation of customary international law under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Andreas L. Paulus, former Justice of the German Federal Constitutional Court. The thesis — The Hermeneutics of the Unwritten — advances a dualist argument: not every rule of custom is interpreted. Where practice is settled, the orthodox conduct-based method of identification holds. But where argument organises around canonical verbal formulations such as the ARSIWA, the Friendly Relations Declaration or the Definition of Aggression, states and courts reason hermeneutically instead.
I studied law at the University of Göttingen from 2018 to 2025, specialising in international and European public law. Alongside my studies I worked as a student assistant at the Chair of Roman Law, Civil Law and Modern History of Private Law (Prof. Dr. Inge Hanewinkel) from 2020 to 2021. I have been at Prof. Paulus's chair since 2021, first as a student assistant and, since April 2025, as a researcher.
In 2026 I organized the Junge Tagung Öffentliches Recht, the annual conference of young public law scholars, in Göttingen. In 2025 I co-founded the Forum für Wehrhafte Demokratie e.V., an initiative for strengthening democratic and constitutional resilience, together with Viola von Cramon, former Member of the European Parliament, among others.
Research Interests
- General international law, in particular the doctrine of sources
- Constitutional Law
- Legal history in its European and international dimensions
- Philosophy of language and hermeneutics in legal reasoning
Teaching
- Summer term 2026: Begleitkollegien (accompanying courses) in German Constitutional Law II - Fundamental Rights
- Winter term 2025/26: Begleitkollegien in German Constitutional Law I
- Summer term 2025: Begleitkollegien in German Constitutional Law II - Fundamental Rights
Publications
- (Un)Common Understandings - Systemic Integration and State Consent in the ICJ's Right to Strike Advisory Opinion, 30.07.2026, Völkerrechtsblog, mit Simon Geiersbach, DOI: 10.17176/20260730-144647-0
- From Rome With Love – Preliminary Observations on the Corte Costituzionale’s Judgment of July 21st and its Effects on “Jurisdictional Immunities 2.0”, 14.09.2023, Völkerrechtsblog, with Maximilian A. Mitter, DOI: 10.17176/20230914-220712-0
- In preparation: Book review of Wiesche, Kathrin, Schweigen im Völkerrecht, Tübingen 2026. In: Vereinte Nationen 2026(6)
Presentations
- 'The Hermeneutics of the Unwritten', Paris PhD Workshop 2026: The Rule of Law in International Law and European Law, Joint Workshop by the Universities Paris (Sorbonne), Oslo and Göttingen, April 9th 2026.
- 'Die Frage einer deutschen Kriegsbeteiligung' (German Participation in War), Jahrestagung des Göttinger Vereins zur Förderung des internationalen Rechts 2022.
Moot Court and Academic Service
- Judge, Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, national and international rounds, since 2026
- Coach, Göttingen Jessup team, 2022, 2023 and 2025
- Participant, Göttingen Jessup team, 2021
- Conference organiser, Junge Tagung Öffentliches Recht 2026, Göttingen
Memberships
- Göttinger Verein zur Förderung des Internationalen Rechts
- Junge Tagung Öffentliches Recht e.V.
- Arbeitskreis junger Völkerrechtler:innen e.V.
- Forum für Wehrhafte Demokratie e.V.
