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Background
Elena Kosolapova was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1980. Prior to her legal studies in The Netherlands, she studied Linguistics and Cross-cultural Communication at Moscow State Pedagogical University and graduated with an honours MA degree at the top of her class. Elena studied law at Utrecht University (2002-2007) where her academic drive was rewarded with two merit-based scholarships (UES - 2005, SYLFF - 2006) and an LL M degree. In 2006, Elena represented Utrecht University at the Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law Competition where she received the best speaker nomination; the following year she was invited to coach a new team of participants from her university. Elena spent the next two years working at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Trial Chamber I), the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (Office of the Legal Adviser), and the International Criminal Court (Appeals Division) in The Hague.
Public international law and international environmental law are Elena's main professionalinterests. She is currently working on her PhD dissertation on liability for climate change-related damage and participates in the UNFCCC negotiating process as an observer.
Research
As of now, no interstate cases invoking climate change liability have been tried by international courts and although there have been attempts to include the polluter-pays principle in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, attempts they remained, and at present there is no international treaty on climate change liability. The PhD dissertation addresses the question whether states can be held liable for the failure to take adequate mitigation measures (even in the absence of specific treaty obligations). The present research examines how national courts deal with climate change lawsuits focusing, in particular, on injunctive relief due to its mitigation-related potential. The research further assesses the suitability of the state responsibility framework for addressing climate change at the international level.
Education
- 2007: LL M honours (International Law), Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- 2005: BA cum laude (International Law), University College Utrecht, The Netherlands
- 2002: MA honours (Linguistics and Cross-cultural Communication), Moscow State Pedagogical University, Russia
- 2001: BA honours (Linguistics and Cross-cultural Communication), Moscow State Pedagogical University, Russia