The Team
Our People
Dr. Mihaela Maria Barnes
International Law · Business & Human Rights · Sustainability & Corporate Governance
Dr. Barnes advises on matters of international law, business and human rights, sustainability and corporate governance.
Dr. Barnes earned her Ph.D. in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. She also holds an LL.M. in International and European Law (specialization: International Trade and Investment Law) from the University of Amsterdam as well as undergraduate degrees, legal qualifications and experience in both common law and civil law.
Dr. Barnes was a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge and a member of the Coordinating Committee of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on Business and Human Rights.
She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and given lectures and presentations at universities, research institutes and industry bodies in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Australia and Romania on various topics of international law, business and human rights and sustainability.
A revised version of her Ph.D. dissertation (State-Owned Entities and Human Rights: The Role of International Law) was published by Cambridge University Press in November 2021.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Barnes worked for a law firm in Perth, Western Australia and interned with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.
Legal Education
Doctor of Philosophy in International Law
Thesis: State-Owned Entities in International Law
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
Master of International and European Law (International Trade and Investment Law)
Thesis: Sovereign Wealth Funds as Protected Investors in International Investment Law
University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice
College of Law, Australia
Bachelor of Laws
University of Western Australia
Licensed in Juridical Sciences (Licentiata in Stiinte Juridice)
University "1 Decembrie 1918" Alba Iulia, Romania
Bar Admissions
- Supreme Court of Western Australia
- Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
Other Courses
Certificate of Proficiency in Natural Resources for Sustainable Development
Columbia Centre on Sustainable Investment, Natural Resource Governance Institute and the World Bank
Mineral Project Appraisal and Finance
Imperial College London, Royal School of Mines
Appointments
Selected as a Legal Expert by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (since July 2024).
Independent Director of BULGOLD Inc. (TSX.V: ZLTO) - Chair of the Environmental, Social, Governance and Nomination Committee; Member of the Audit Committee (since March 2023).
European Society of International Law Interest Group on Business and Human Rights: Member of the Coordinating Committee (2018-2022).
Peer Reviewer
- Journal of World Investment & Trade
- Laws
- Review of European, Comparative International Environmental Law
Memberships
Languages
Academic & Industry
Publications
Academic & Industry
Lectures and Presentations
"Human Rights Obligations of State-Owned Enterprises" – Invited Speaker at the Workshop on "Human Rights and Environmental Aspects in Mining: State Obligations and Business Opportunities". Workshop organised by the Council of Europe, Grant Thornton and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, Yerevan, Armenia (18 June 2025).
"The 2024 Revised Guidelines on the Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises", Greenpertise Collaboration Café (10 April 2025).
'How and to what Extent could Heightened Corporate Due Diligence Guide the Implementation of ILC PERAC Principle 10?' – Invited speaker at the workshop on "Corporate Due Diligence and Liability for Natural Resources Supply Chains in/from Conflict-affected Regions," The Hague, Netherlands (22 June 2023).
'Sustainability, National Security and International Law' – Invited Speaker at the Conference "Smart Diaspora: Diaspora in Higher Education, Science, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Diaspora and Her Friends." Conference organised under the High Patronage of the President of Romania, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation, the Timisoara University Alliance, UEFISCDI in partnership with the Romanian Academy (11 April 2023).
'Research Methodologies in International Law: The Use of Empirical Data' – Invited Guest Lecturer at the School of Advanced Studies of the Romanian Academy (SCOSAAR), Department of Economic, Social and Legal Sciences, Institute for Legal Research "Acad. Andrei Rădulescu" (13 February 2023).
'The Social License to Operate and Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights Violations: National and International Law Perspectives' – Invited Speaker at the Workshop hosted by the Centre for Law, Sustainability & Justice, Department of Law, University of Southern Denmark (19 May 2022).
'State-Owned Enterprises and Social Responsibility' – Invited Guest Lecturer at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva for the course "State-Owned Enterprise: Trade, Competition and Investment-Related Issues" (11 April 2022).
'The Legal Regime for State-Owned Enterprises in France' – Invited Speaker at Authors' Workshop organised by the Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg and Centro de Derechos Umanos, Universidad Diego Portales (20 September 2021).
'State-Owned Entities and the European Convention on Human Rights' – Speaker – Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, Cambridge University – Fellows' Roundtables (22 August 2019).
'The Social License to Operate in the Extractive Industries: An International Law Perspective' – Invited Speaker at the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Conference on Sustainable Development in the Minerals Industry held in Sydney (26 – 28 May 2019).
'Strengths and Weaknesses of the 'Zero Draft' Treaty on Business and Human Rights' – Speaker – Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law, University of Manchester (13 – 15 September 2018): 'Rethinking Limited Liability in Light of the Universality of Human Rights' (13 September 2018).
Academic & Industry
Organisation of Academic Workshops
- 2021
Online Workshop of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on Business and Human Rights: 'International Business and Human Rights: Changes in International Law-Making' (8 September 2021).
- 2020
Online Workshop of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on Business and Human Rights: 'Business and Human Rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impact, Responses and Future Implications' (9 September 2020).
- 2019
Research Workshop on Business and Human Rights – Joint organiser with the BHRights Initiative, International Association for Business and Society and the European Society of International Law (Chair of the sessions: 'Business and Human Rights and Regional Challenges' and 'Business and Human Rights and Tort Liability') (University of Geneva, 23 & 24 November, 2019).
- 2019
'Sovereignty and the Extraterritorial Obligations of States under Human Rights Law' – Workshop organiser on behalf of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on Business and Human Rights held at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (12 September 2019).
- 2018
'Rethinking Limited Liability in Light of the Universality of Human Rights' – Workshop organiser on behalf of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on Business and Human Rights, University of Manchester (13 September 2018).