Team
Our Team
Director
Professor Assunção Cristas holds a PhD in Private Law from NOVA School of Law. She was the Minister of Agriculture, Sea, Environment and
Spatial Planning (2011-2013) and Minister of Agriculture and Sea
(2013-2015) of the XX and XIX Portuguese Governments, period when she was responsible for the development of important legislation and public policies focused on the marine environment, such as the Portuguese legal framework on maritime spatial planning and management, and the National
Strategy of the Sea 2013-2020.
Published relevant work on the
matter, such as the paper “One Cannot Change the Wind, but One Can
Always Adjust the Sail: The Role of Legal Framework in Developing a Blue
Economy”, in the book Ocean Law and Policy: 20 years under UNCLOS.
Currently, Professor Assunção Cristas is a lawyer and an Associate
Professor at NOVA School of Law. She is the co-coordinator of the
Master’s in Law and Economics of the Sea – Ocean Governance, where she
lectures Ocean Policies and a researcher at CEDIS.
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Professor Jorge Oliveira e Carmo holds a PhD in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Politics. He is an environmental engineer with a vast experience in politics of the sea, environmental politics, marine technologies, national and European integration in economics of the sea and marine fundings. He participated as a researcher in various projects related to the marine environment. Currently, he is a Professor of Economics of the Sea and Natural Resources at NOVA School of Law and a researcher at CEDIS.
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Professor Vasco Becker-Weinberg is Dr. iur. (Hamburg University), LL.M (Lisbon University). He was Legal Adviser to the Secretary of State of the Sea of the Portuguese Government and researcher at the International Max Planck Research School for Maritime Affairs (Hamburg). Currently, he is co-coordinator of the Master’s in Law and Economics of the Sea – Ocean Governance at NOVA School of Law and a researcher at CEDIS. He has extensive research on law of the sea.
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Júlia Schütz Veiga is a PhD student in Law at NOVA School of Law (NSL), Portugal. She holds a Master degree in Law and Economics of the Sea from NSL and also a postgraduate degree in International Law from UFRGS (Brazil). Júlia is a visiting fellow at the Ocean Voices Programme, University of Edinburgh and The Nippon Foundation. She works as a voluntary consultant for the Brazilian Government (on the protection of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction), as well as a member of the advisory panel for the MARBLES project (EU Framework Horizon 2020).
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Manuela Bocayuva is a lawyer and a PhD student in Law at NOVA School of Law. She holds a Master in Law and Economics of the Sea (NOVA School of Law) and a Master's in International Law and International Relations (University of Lisbon). She is a researcher at the Centre for Studies in Law of the Sea "Vicente Marotta Rangel" (CEDMAR - São Paulo University), and at NOVA Ocean Knowledge Centre and at CEDIS.
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Oluwatoyosi Abikoyeis currently a PhD student at NOVA School of Law and pursues her keen interest in the oceans as a researcher at NOVA Ocean Knowledge Centre. She has built a strong and principled career as a legal practitioner, licensed as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She has over a decade's experience as a Senior Prosecutor and an efficient legislative draftsman. She is also a specialist in dispute resolution.
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Francisca Cid Souto graduated in Port Management in the Portuguese Nautical School – Escola Superior Náutica Infante D. Henrique (2019). She holds a Master degree in Law and Economics of the Sea at NOVA School of Law in Lisbon, Portugal (2022). Currently is an Eurocean’s Youth Ambassador, a project leaded by Surfrider’s Foundation France.
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Beatriz Filipe is currently finishing her Master’s in Law and Economics of the Sea (NOVA School of Law). BA in Political Science and International Relations (NOVA University Lisbon). MA in International Relations (Leiden University). She was an intern at Estado Maior da Armada Portuguesa and NATO Defense College in Rome. Beatriz is a researcher at NOVA Ocean Knowledge Centre.
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Sara Apresentação is currently finishing her Master’s in Law and Economics of the Sea (NOVA School of Law). BA in Biology, with a specialization in marine environmental sciences (Faculty of Sciences Lisbon University). She was the Community Engagement Officer and Science Communicator at GhostNetWork (Non-profit organization). Sara is a researcher at NOVA Ocean Knowledge Centre.
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Liz Pitta Spinola is a student at NOVA School of Law and is currently in the first year of the Master in Law and Economics of the Sea. She has graduated in Law at University of Coimbra (2021) and is postgraduate in European Union Law at Coimbra’s European Studies Association (2022). Liz is also a member of the Partnership and Event’s Committee at University of Coimbra’s Student Intellectual Property League.
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Carolina Paulino finished her Bachelor´s Degree in Marine and Coastal Management, in July 2022 (Algarve University – Faculty of Sciences and Technology). She also did a curricular internship at Portuguese Environment Agency, in Lisbon (2022). In July 2021, she attended a Summer Course about “Coastal dunes - dynamics and habitat conservation”, at CIMA/UAlg (Centre for Marine and Environmental Research).
Currently, she is a 1st year student at Nova School of Law – Master´s in Law and Economics of the Sea.
Beatriz Abrantes is enrolled in the 1st year of the Masters in Law and Economy of the Sea.
She holds a Law degree from Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa. During her 3rd year of law school, she did an internship in a law firm.
Beatriz was a member of the ELSA (European Law Students' Association) team in the 2021-2022 academic year. Where she was a collaborator during 2021 .
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João Maria Botelho is an undergraduate student at the NOVA School of Law, a Research Assistant at NOVA's Business, Human Rights and the Environment, an Energy Transition Researcher at the U.S. Coalition on
Sustainability, a Policy Intern at The Global Alliance for a Sustainable
Planet and the NOVA School of Law Sustainability Ambassador.
Mr. Botelho is interested in ESG, Sustainable Finance, and Blue Economy and
has been pursuing training in that field. He participated in the Global
Internship Program by Clifford Chance as their Sustainable Finance Intern, where he gained essential insights on Private Environmental Governance and corporate ESG Policy. Hence, he pursued several courses
in this field, including a Summer School on "Sustainable Finance" by the European Commission, Financial Market courses at Yale, and Business Management courses at London King's College and CBS.
He recently concluded an ESG Specialisation Course at Wharton University, and his goal is to have an international career in sustainability.
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João Casaca is currently in his final year of the Sociology degree at NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Intending to follow a path in the ocean governance field, his interests lay in the socioeconomic aspects of the sea and its exploration through international commerce and maritime spatial planning.