We are excited to welcome our newest cohort of Ph.D. students to Católica Global School of Law. Laura Lellau, Lucile Marcou and Marcello Marcello form a talented group of scholars, which have demonstrated a commitment to addressing some of the most pressing legal issues of our time.
The three students will be embarking on their doctoral journey through our Global Ph.D. Programme in Law. This is a programme designed to nurture the next generation of thought leaders in law by providing the resources necessary to explore complex research questions. With a curriculum that includes rigorous coursework – including seminars on Legal Methodology and Legal Research –, our students will become prepared to engage in meaningful research in law, while they immerse themselves in our intellectual community at Católica.
Check out their profiles and get to know more about their research interests.
Laura Lellau completed her LL.B. at Maastricht University and an LL.M. at Católica Global School of Law, both focusing on European law. She later pursued a second LL.M. degree at King’s College London, specialising in Intellectual Property law, where her master’s thesis examined the copyright exceptions of parody and pastiche. During this time, she was also the European Representative of the Postgraduate Law Society at KCL.
As a Ph.D. candidate at CGSL and recipient of the CEP Scholarship, she will conduct further research in IP law, more specifically on the pressing issues surrounding the copyright protection and liability of AI-generated content.
In addition to her academic work, Laura is co-coaching the Comparative Law in Action competition at IE Law School with Prof. Giovanni de Gregorio, this year focusing on the intersection of copyright and AI.
Lucile Marcou graduated from Tours University with an LL.B. on International Public Law and European Union Law, and from the Catholic University of Lille with an LL.M. in International Human Rights, Security, and Development, where she wrote her master thesis on the representation of international humanitarian law violations in cinema.
She gained valuable field experience through a five-month internship with the Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association (OLLAA), advocating for the rights of the Oromo people in 2022, and a six-month internship at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Victims Participation and Reparations Section, focusing on victim engagement and their recognition within the Court in 2023. In addition to her professional roles, Lucile has contributed to legal education as a coach for the Moot Court Concours Cassin 2024, mentoring students in international human rights advocacy.
Building on these experiences, Lucile's upcoming research will explore the intersection of transitional justice and cinema, examining how film can serve as a powerful medium to document, interpret, and critique processes of reconciliation and accountability in post-conflict societies.
Marcello Marcello studied Law at the Pontifical Lateran University, the university of the Holy See (Vatican City), where he received his master’s degree in 2022. His thesis focused on analyzing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established at the end of the conflict in Timor-Leste, a country he visited as a volunteer and field researcher in 2017.
After graduating, Marcello attended the Hague Academy of International Law and served as an intern at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York. In 2024, he went to Northern Ireland to work with a local NGO focusing on promoting transitional justice and peacebuilding in the region.
Now he is excited to start this new journey at Católica, in which he will be able to continue his research on transitional justice in Timor-Leste, expanding the topic and testing its possible new applications for fostering complex peace processes.
