Franziska Michel
Franziska Michel studied law at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and obtained an LL.M. degree from the University of Glasgow. She completed her first state examination in law in 2020.
Her legal clerkship in the district of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf engaged with gender equality at the European Commission, public commercial law at an international law firm and various tasks at the German Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam. In April 2023, Franziska successfully passed her second state examination in law. She then started working as a Legal Assistant in the field of environmental law at a renowned public law firm.
Since May 2024 she has been a doctoral candidate, working under the supervision of Professor Dr. DDr. h.c. Nußberger. In January 2025, she joined the Academy for European Human Rights Protection at the University of Cologne as a Research Assistant.
- Public International and European law
- International Human Rights Law
- International Refugee Law
- Environmental Law
Franziska is currently writing her doctoral dissertation on the topic : ‘International legal status of individuals in the context of environmentally-induced and cross-border displacement’ (working title).
Description
‘International legal status of individuals in the context of environmentally-induced and cross-border displacement’ (working title).
Movement in response to climatic change and natural hazard-induced disasters is not a new phenomenon and has always been a natural adaption strategy for humans. However due to the far-reaching effects of climate change, it is widely expected that environmentally-induced displacement will increase.
From a legal perspective, uncertainties remain about how to deal with environmentally-induced displacement. There is no international treaty that explicitly addresses this phenomenon. Instead, the existing legal infrastructure is characterised by a multitude of voluntary and fragmented approaches. In light of this problem, Franziska’s dissertation project will focus on the current legal status of individuals in the context of environmentally-induced and cross-border displacement. The dissertation will focus primarily on the applicability and development possibilities of the protection mechanisms in international law."
Blogposts und articles
- Girardini/Stockinger/Michel, Beyond Symbolic Recognition: Readdressing Germany's Long Way Ahead in Taking Responsibility for the Genocide in Namibia, Völkerrechtsblog, 28.5.2026
Sonstiges
Franziska Michel
PhD candidate and Research Assistant
Academy for European Human Rights Protection