Melanie Schneider

Melanie Schneider is a DPhil candidate in Law at the University of Oxford, where her research examines the role of international law in shaping domestic energy security. Her work sits at the intersection of international environmental law, international economic law, and energy governance, with a particular focus on the interaction between international environmental and trade regimes. She is supervised by Professor Dan Sarooshi KC. 

Melanie regularly presents her research at international academic conferences. Recent engagements include the 2025 Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL), where she presented at Agora 10: Planetary Thinking – Revolutionising International Environmental Law?, as well as the National University of Singapore conference on Conceptualising International Energy Law, and the 10th Annual Energy Transitions Conference at the University of Eastern Finland. 

At Oxford, Melanie serves as Research Assistant to the Public International Law Research Group and as Student Convenor of its Public International Law Discussion Group. In 2026, she will assist Professor Dapo Akande at the 77th Session of the International Law Commission. She is also a two-time Graduate Research Resident at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and has provided ad hoc research assistance to Dr Miles Jackson, Dr Federica Paddeu, and Professor Stephan Schill. 

Melanie holds an LL.M. in International and European Law from the University of Amsterdam, where she graduated cum laude. Prior to commencing her doctoral studies, she worked at several leading research institutions. At the T.M.C. Asser Institute, she conducted research on access to justice and arms trade regulation, while at the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion she contributed to human rights advocacy before international bodies. She also worked as a legal advisor at the Amsterdam International Law Clinic, focusing on international human rights and criminal law. 

Alongside her research, Melanie served as Deputy Chairperson of Oxford Pro Bono Publico, where she led research projects in public international law and human rights. She was also a Lab Fellow at the Oxford SDG Impact Lab. Melanie is actively engaged in legal education, with teaching experience in law, politics, and philosophy programmes at Oxford Royale Academy and Oxford Summer Scholars.

Her broader research interests include public international law, international human rights law, international economic and environmental law, energy governance, and the intersection of law, technology, and global governance, including in the context of artificial intelligence.