Panagiotis (Panos) Merkouris is an Assistant Professor of International Law at the University of Groningen.

He holds an LLB from the University of Athens, 2 LLMs on International Law from the University of Athens and UCL respectively, and a PhD from Queen Mary, University of London. He has taught as guest lecturer at UCL, Queen Mary and the University of Thrace

He is one the six Greek researchers among the 406 European researchers that will be supported by the European Research Council (ERC) with grants to continue their research. ERC’s purpose is to support talented early-career scientists, who have already produced excellent supervised work, into becoming independent researchers and the research leaders of tomorrow. The funding, worth €605 million in total and up to €1.5 million per grant, will enable them to set up their own research teams and pursue ground-breaking ideas.

His research is on the rules of interpretation of customary international law. “The rules of interpretation in the laws defined by international treaties are based on specific texts and that is why they are understood. But what if the law is unwritten and emerges, for example, through the practice of states? How does an international court decide?” he told the Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

His research interests include public international law, law of treaties, sources of international law, dispute settlement and environmental law. His doctoral thesis, ‘Article 31(3)(c) VCLT and the Principle of Systemic Integration: Normative Shadows in Plato’s Cave’, was published in 2015 by Martinus Nijhoff in the Queen Mary Studies in International Law book series.

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The European Research Council supports with grants 6 Greek researchers