People

Claudia Lo Cascio is a PhD student in Criminal Law at the University of Bari Aldo Moro. Her work focuses on criminal law and cultural heritage, with particular attention to the illicit trafficking of archaeological artifacts and works of art and the threats posed by organized crime. Currently, she is exploring the impact of disorganized and opportunistic crime in the illicit trafficking of cultural objects.

This research closely aligns with the work of Dr. Donna Yates, as both are interested in understanding the dynamics of the illicit trade in cultural objects. Claudia's work analyzes the specific operational methods and threats posed by different forms of crime. Together with Donna, their research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon and its global implications.

If you are interested in this research or would like to collaborate with Claudia, please reach out to claudia.locascio@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Celina S. Lubahn Greppler is Schmittmann-Wahlen Scholar and researcher at the Institute for International Peace and Security Law at the University of Cologne. Her PhD project focusses on the violent appropriations of “ethnographica” during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the corresponding restitution claims thereafter (supervision: Prof. Claus Kreß). Here in Maastricht, she is working on the topic of plundering of cultural objects in German colonial territories in the period 1900-1918, from a legal-historical perspective. As a scholar of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, she graduated in Law at the University of Cologne (Staatsexamen) and received her BA in Philosophy from Saarland University. Her main areas of interest include international humanitarian law, international cultural heritage law, political philosophy, and the history of international law. 

Paul P. Stewens is a guest researcher at the Faculty of Law's Department of Criminal Law and Criminology (until 4th of July 2022) , working with MACCH affiliated researcher Donna Yates among others. His work focuses on the illicit trade in fossils and its regulation under public international law to counteract harmful extractive practices in palaeontology (such as parachute science) and to address the widespread phenomenon of colonial fossil looting. He is an undergraduate student of international relations at Technische Universität Dresden and an incoming student of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. If you are interested in his research or would like to collaborate with Paul, please reach out to paul.stewens@maastrichtuniversity.nl.