Dr Danae Azaria
Director
Dr Danae Azaria is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Laws, University College London (UCL), and the Director and Principal Investigator of the State Silence Project funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
She is a laureate of the Guggenheim Prize in Public International Law (2017) for her first monograph, which has also received two more prizes: the 2015 Tenekides Prize of the Hellenic Society of International Law and Relations, and the 2016 Greek Energy Forum research prize. She also held a scholarship of the Academy of Athens for her doctoral research.
Her publications have appeared in various journals including the European Journal of International Law, British Yearbook of International Law, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, American Journal of International Law, AJIL Unbound, International and Community Law Review, and Cambridge International Law Journal.
She is the Book Reviews editor of the British Yearbook of International Law, Co-Rapporteur of the ILA Committee on Submarine Pipelines and Cables, member of the ILA Committee on Use of Force by Invitation, and member of the Advisory Panel of Public International Law of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). She regularly holds prestigious Visiting Professorships and Fellowships around the world, including as Visiting Scholar, Harvard Law School (2023); Senior Global Hauser Fellow, NYU Law School (2023-2024); Senior Humboldt Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Humboldt University Berlin, 2019-2021); Visiting Professor at the University of Trento (2022). In 2026, she will be Director of Studies at The Hague Academy of International Law.
She has given talks, including multiple keynote speeches, at international conferences around the world, including North America, China, Chile, Germany, France, and the UK, as well as at the United Nations Headquarters (as a speaker invited by the Indian delegation to the United Nations Headquarters at the informal Legal Advisors Meeting of the Legal Committee of the UN General Assembly).
She is on the EU’s list of potential Arbitrators and Experts on Trade and Sustainable Development in the EU’s bilateral disputes under trade agreements with third States; and she has been proposed by the EU to be on the list of arbitrators for the EU-Kazakhstan trade agreement (currently being considered for inclusion to more). She regularly advises international organisations and governments on issues of public international law, and trains government officials including on the regional courses on international law of the United Nations. Her lecture on State Silence has been included in the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law.
Dr Danae Azaria
Director
Dr Azaria is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Laws, University College London (UCL), and the Director and Principal Investigator of the State Silence Project funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
She is a laureate of the Guggenheim Prize in Public International Law (2017) for her first monograph, which has also received two more prizes: the 2015 Tenekides Prize of the Hellenic Society of International Law and Relations, and the 2016 Greek Energy Forum research prize. She also held a scholarship of the Academy of Athens for her doctoral research.
Her publications have appeared in various journals including the European Journal of International Law, British Yearbook of International Law, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, American Journal of International Law, AJIL Unbound, International and Community Law Review, and Cambridge International Law Journal.
She is the Book Reviews editor of the British Yearbook of International Law, Co-Rapporteur of the ILA Committee on Submarine Pipelines and Cables, member of the ILA Committee on Use of Force by Invitation, and member of the Advisory Panel of Public International Law of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). She regularly holds prestigious Visiting Professorships and Fellowships around the world, including as Visiting Scholar, Harvard Law School (2023); Senior Global Hauser Fellow, NYU Law School (2023-2024); Senior Humboldt Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Humboldt University Berlin, 2019-2021); Visiting Professor at the University of Trento (2022). In 2026, she will be Director of Studies at the Hague Academy of International Law.
She has given talks, including multiple keynote speeches, at international conferences around the world, including North America, China, Chile, Germany, France, and the UK, as well as at the United Nations Headquarters (as a speaker invited by the Indian delegation to the United Nations Headquarters at the informal Legal Advisors Meeting of the Legal Committee of the UN General Assembly)
She is on the EU’s list of potential Arbitrators and Experts on Trade and Sustainable Development in the EU’s bilateral disputes under trade agreements with third States; and she has been proposed by the EU to be on the list of arbitrators for the EU-Kazakhstan trade agreement (currently being considered for inclusion to more). She regularly advises international organisations and governments on issues of public international law, and trains governments officials including on the regional courses on international law of the United Nations. He lecture on State Silence has been included in the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law.
The team under the direction of Dr Azaria is a vibrant and growing community of early career researchers of international law:
Céline Chausse
PhD Candidate
Céline Chausse (LLM UCL distinction) is a PhD candidate fully-funded under the State Silence Project (2021-20224). Her research focuses on a comparative study of the non-appearance rules before inter-State international court proceedings.
Alastair Stewart
Research Assistant
Alastair is a Research Assistant with the State Silence Project. His publications have appeared in journals such as the UCL Human Rights Review and Dispute Resolution International. He read law at the University of Edinburgh (LL.B.) and University College London (LL.M.) and won the Gill Hollis Tercentenary Award and the Cambridge International Law Essay Prize. Dual-qualified as a Solicitor in England & Wales and as an Attorney in New York, he has practiced at leading international law firms in London and Paris, as well as in the public and civil society sectors.
Xiao Mao
Research Fellow
Xiao Mao studied at the University of Oxford (MPhil and DPhil in Law, awarded with Rhodes Scholarship), University College London (LLM, Distinction), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (MSc, awarded with Orange Tulip Scholarship), and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (LLB, Distinction). She has practice experience in cases before the ICJ, the ICC, and the ITLOS, and has taught international law courses at University of Oxford, Jindal Global University (India), and several universities in China.
Isobel Blakeway-Phillips
Student Fellow
Isobel Blakeway-Phillips is a Student Fellow with the State Silence Project (since 2023). She is an alumna of UCL (MA Legal and Political Theory, 2018), and is currently completing a JD at the University of Michigan.
Alumni of the ERC State Silence Project:
Roel Walravens
Research Assistant
Roel Walravens (LLM QMUL distinction) was a Research Assistant of the ERC State Silence project (2021).
Paula Nuno Balmaceda
Research Assistant
Paula Nuno Balmaceda (LLM UCL distinction) was a Research Assistant under the ERC State Silence project (2021-2022). Prior to joining, the State Silence team, Paula has been legal advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile and lecturer of Public International Law at the Universidad de Chile.
Sarah Katrina D’Aran Banton
LLM Student Fellow
Sarah Banton (LLM NYU ’22; LLB UCL ’21) was a Student Fellow with the State Silence Project. Prior to joining the State Silence team, she was an alumnus of both UCL Laws and the State Silence Education Project (2021).
The team under the direction of Dr Azaria is a vibrant and growing community of early career researchers of international law:
Céline Chausse
PhD Candidate
Céline Chausse (LLM UCL distinction) is a PhD candidate fully-funded under the State Silence Project (2021-20224). Her research focuses on a comparative study of the non-appearance rules before inter-State international court proceedings.
Alastair Stewart
Research Assistant
Alastair is a Research Assistant with the State Silence Project. His publications have appeared in journals such as the UCL Human Rights Review and Dispute Resolution International. He read law at the University of Edinburgh (LL.B.) and University College London (LL.M.) and won the Gill Hollis Tercentenary Award and the Cambridge International Law Essay Prize. Dual-qualified as a Solicitor in England & Wales and as an Attorney in New York, he has practiced at leading international law firms in London and Paris, as well as in the public and civil society sectors.
Xiao Mao
Research Fellow
Xiao Mao studied at the University of Oxford (MPhil and DPhil in Law, awarded with Rhodes Scholarship), University College London (LLM, Distinction), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (MSc, awarded with Orange Tulip Scholarship), and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (LLB, Distinction). She has practice experience in cases before the ICJ, the ICC, and the ITLOS, and has taught international law courses at University of Oxford, Jindal Global University (India), and several universities in China.
Isobel Blakeway-Phillips
Student Fellow
Isobel Blakeway-Phillips is a Student Fellow with the State Silence Project (since 2023). She is an alumna of UCL (MA Legal and Political Theory, 2018), and is currently completing a JD at the University of Michigan.
Alumni of the ERC State Silence Project:
Roel Walravens
Research Assistant
Roel Walravens (LLM QMUL distinction) was a Research Assistant of the ERC State Silence project (2021).
Paula Nuno Balmaceda
Research Assistant
Paula Nuno Balmaceda (LLM UCL distinction) was a Research Assistant under the ERC State Silence project (2021-2022). Prior to joining, the State Silence team, Paula has been legal advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile and lecturer of Public International Law at the Universidad de Chile.
Sarah Katrina D’Aran Banton
LLM Student Fellow
Sarah Banton (LLM NYU ’22; LLB UCL ’21) was a Student Fellow with the State Silence Project. Prior to joining the State Silence team, she was an alumnus of both UCL Laws and the State Silence Education Project (2021).
Dr Azaria welcomes approaches for PhD candidates and post-doc researchers under her supervision in connection to the State Silence project with external funding.
She also welcomes research supervision requests outside the State Silence project in the field of international law.
For such requests please contact:
d.azaria@ucl.ac.uk
StateSilence@ucl.ac.uk
More positions funded by the ERC for the State Silence project, PhD scholarships, research assistant positions, and post-doc funding will be available in the future.
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates for new positions.
Dr Azaria welcomes approaches for PhD candidates and post-doc researchers under her supervision in connection to the State Silence project with external funding.
She also welcomes research supervision requests outside the State Silence project in the field of international law.
For such requests please contact:
d.azaria@ucl.ac.uk
StateSilence@ucl.ac.uk
More positions funded by the ERC for the State Silence project, PhD scholarships, research assistant positions, and post-doc funding will be available in the future.
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates for new positions.
The project collaborates with academics across the world, including in academic institutions in the UK, North America, the EU, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The PI welcomes approaches from academic colleagues from anywhere in the world interested in State Silence and being affiliated with the project.
The project liaises with government legal advisors across the world to conduct inclusive research and to disseminate widely the research outcomes.
For collaborating with the State Silence project and Dr Azaria, please email:
d.azaria@ucl.ac.uk
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