M. Breskaya

Maria is a PhD candidate and tutor at the Department of Private Law at Maastricht University. Her PhD research project aims to study the legal relevance of smart contracts and to create a more transparent understanding of their potential in formalising and shaping commercial relationships in global trade. She conducts her research under the supervision of Prof. Jan Smits and Dr. Caroline Cauffman.

Since joining the Faculty in August 2023, she has been teaching Academic Writing, Introduction to Private Law, and Legal Argumentation and Reasoning to bachelor students of European Law School, as well as supervising BA theses. She is also a member of Maastricht European Private Law Institute (M-EPLI) and Maastricht Law&Tech Lab, and participates in the Ius Commune Research School. 

Previously, Maria worked at the College of Europe where she assisted teaching and led seminars and study visits.

Maria holds MA in European Interdisciplinary Studies (major: European Public Policies and Affairs) from the College of Europe in Natolin, and LLM in European Law from Wroclaw University. She also studied at the University of Glasgow as an exchange student.