MELINA ANTONIADIS
Melina Antoniadis is a lawyer specialised in public international law. She has appeared and advised in proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCTHPR).
Melina practises as barrister in London, UK. She is a member of the Bar of England and Wales, and the Law Society of Ontario.
Melina is a graduate of Leiden University (LL.M., cum laude) and McGill University (B.C.L. and LL.B./J.D.). She completed her legal training at the Crown Law Office of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto, and has held positions at the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg, the Office of the UN Prosecutor at the ECCC in Phnom Penh, and the Consulate General of Greece in Montreal.
Melina is the Founder of NOSTOS Strategies, the world’s first strategic consultancy solely dedicated to the return of cultural heritage. NOSTOS offers strategic advice to governments, organisations, communities, and private individuals to facilitate the repatriation of cultural artefacts.
Born and raised in Montreal, Melina is of Greek and Cambodian heritage. She is fluent in English, French and Greek, and has a working knowledge of Spanish and Russian.
SELECTED CASES
Request by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) for an Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States with respect to the Climate Change Crisis: Counsel for an African state (led by Professor Makane Moïse Mbengue) (ACtHPR)
Request for an Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change: Counsel for the African Union (led by Professor Makane Moïse Mbengue) (ICJ)
Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law: Assistant counsel to the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (led by Professor Makane Moïse Mbengue) (ITLOS)
Delimitation of the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives): Assistant counsel to the Republic of Maldives (led by Professor Payam Akhavan and Amy Sander) (ITLOS)
Request for an Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change: Advisor to Blue Ocean Law representing the Republic of Vanuatu (led by Professor Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh) (ICJ)
Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v Chile): Assistant counsel to the Plurinational State of Bolivia (led by Professor Payam Akhavan) (ICJ)
Case 004 (Investigation of Yim Tith): Legal assistant the Office of the International Co-Prosecutor (led by Prosecutor Nicholas Koumjian and Andrew Boyle) (ECCC)
Areas of expertise
- Arts and cultural heritage
- Climate change and the environment
- International arbitration
- International criminal law
- International human rights law
- International humanitarian law
- Public international law
Education
2024: Bar Transfer Test (Distinction), BPP University
2019: Master of Laws in Public International Law (LL.M., cum laude), Leiden University
2017: Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B./J.D.), McGill University
Memberships
2024: Bar of England and Wales
2020: Law Society of Ontario
Languages
- English (native)
- French (native)
- Greek (native)
- Spanish (moderate)
- Russian (basic)
Awards
2025: The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Pegasus Scholarship Paris Bar Exchange
2019: Telders International Law Moot Competition
- Leiden University Finalist Team Award
- Max Huber Award for Best Overall Score
- Carnegie Foundation Award for Best
- Memorial on behalf of the Respondent
- Award for Best Oral Argumentation on behalf of the Applicant (news release here)
Selected publications and conferences
Present: Editor, European Human Rights Reports, Thomson Reuters
November 2025: M Wewerinke-Singh and M Antoniadis, ‘Human rights, climate change and remedies’ in K Henrard and M Duin (eds), Research Handbook on Accountability for Human Rights Violations (Edward Elgar Publishing)
November 2025: Panellist, African Union ‘Post-Advisory Opinion Workshop on the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change’ (African Union HQ, Addis Ababa)
October 2025: Guest Lecture, “Climate Change and Human Rights” Course, NYU Center for Global Affairs
March 2025: Panellist, American Society of International Law (ASIL) Asia-Pacific Interest Group, ‘New Moves for the Repatriation of Historically Displaced Cultural Property in Asia’
Melina Antoniadis
E. melina.antoniadis@protonmail.com