Biographical Sketch

Birgit Hollaus is an Assistant Professor (Universitätsassistentin postdoc) at the Institute for Law and Governance and the Research Institute for Urban Management and Governance at WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business). She holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Business Law from WU Vienna. Alongside her academic work, she gained practical experience in the public sector at Vienna’s environmental protection authority (MA 22) and with the environmental law NGO ClientEarth (London).

Birgit is an active member of several professional associations, including the European Society of International Law (ESIL), the Austrian Society for European Law (ÖGER/FIDE Austria), the World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), the European Environmental Law Forum (EELF), and the Climate Change Centre Austria Working Group on Climate Change Law (ARGE KlimaSchutzRecht).

Research Topics and Interests

Birgit’s expertise lies in environmental law and environmental human rights, with a particular focus on the interaction between domestic, EU, and international legal law. Her research centres on two interrelated themes: (1) the interaction between legal orders and (2) access to justice as an environmental human right.

Birgit has worked extensively on the relationship between international environmental and EU law, and specifically on the role of multilateral environmental compliance mechanisms within the EU legal order. This work situates her within broader debates on international courts and tribunals, the effectiveness of international environmental law, and the EU as a global actor.

Much of her research has focused on the Aarhus Convention, its implications for public participation and access to justice, and its influence on EU and national legal systems. Through this work, she developed a strong interest in the role of courts in implementing and developing the law, and in coordinating distinct legal regimes. Her recent projects on climate change law and climate litigation have increasingly drawn her toward international human rights law. Her current research examines how international courts, through judicial dialogue, contribute to the development and resilience of international human rights law in times of contestation and backlash.

Her broader research interests include EU law, public international law, transnational and global law, human and fundamental rights, environmental and climate change law, sustainability law, external relations law, access to justice, judicial review, and public participation.

Third Mission

Birgit regularly applies her expertise beyond academia. In 2022, she served on the Scientific Advisory Council of the Austrian Citizens’ Council on Climate Change, and since 2024, she has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of WWF Austria.

Publications and Research Projects

A comprehensive list of Birgit’s publications and the research projects she is involved in can be found in the PURE documentation.