people
team
Mira Burri
Principal Investigator
Mira Burri is Professor of International Economic and Internet Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lucerne. Mira teaches International Law of Contemporary Media, Digital Copyright, Internet Law and International Intellectual Property Law in Lucerne, as well as offers seminars on digital trade and cyberlaw at the IMD Lausanne, the World Trade Institute and the University of Göttingen.
Mira has been active as a researcher and lecturer in the area of digital trade and data governance for a more than a decade. Relevant publications in the field include The Classification of Services in the Digital Economy (Springer 2012; with Weber); Public Service Broadcasting 3.0 (Routledge 2015), as well as the edited volumes Big Data and Global Trade Law (Cambridge University Press 2021) and Trade Governance in the Digital Age (Cambridge University Press 2012). Other outlets that have showcased Mira’s research include the Journal of International Economic Law, the Georgetown Journal of International Law, the Case Western Journal of International Law, the UC Davies Law Review, the Common Market Law Review, the Journal of Information Policy, and the Internet Policy Review.
Mira is a member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of Cultural Property and the Arts and International Affairs. She has consulted amongst others the European Parliament, UNESCO, the Canadian government, the EFTA and the World Economic Forum on digital innovation and cultural policy issues.
María Vásquez Callo-Müller
Post-doctoral Fellow
María Vásquez Callo-Müller is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lucerne, working on the European Research Council-funded project Trade Law for the Data-Driven Economy (Trade Law 4.0), led by Prof. Dr. Mira Burri. Her work focuses on the evolving interface between digital technologies and international trade law, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence, data governance and data flows, cybersecurity, and intellectual property rights. As of 2025, she serves as co-chair of the Intellectual Property Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL).
María brings extensive expertise as both a researcher and policy consultant on digital trade. Prior to her current role, she was a doctoral fellow at the World Trade Institute (WTI), University of Bern, and a visiting doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. She regularly advises a range of international and regional organizations on matters related to digital trade and data policies.
María holds an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center — a joint initiative of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, the University of Augsburg, the Technische Universität München, and George Washington University Law School — and a Master of Advanced Studies in International Law and Economics (MILE) from the WTI. María earned her law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and pursued part of her undergraduate studies as a visiting student at Peking University’s School of International Relations.
Kholofelo Kugler
Doctoral Fellow
Kholofelo has over ten years’ legal experience, specializing in international trade law and dispute settlement. She previously worked at the Advisory Centre on WTO Law in Geneva, where she advised developing and least developed countries on WTO legal matters, represented them in WTO disputes, and provided capacity building in WTO law. Kholofelo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Politics from the University of South Africa; an LL.B degree from the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa); and a Master’s degree in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern. She is an admitted attorney in her native South Africa.
Anja Mesmer
Doctoral Fellow
After completing her bilingual (English-German) matura in the canton of Basel-Stadt, Anja Mesmer began her bachelor’s degree in law at the University of St. Gallen. During her bachelor’s studies, Anja Mesmer worked as an auxiliary assistant for the Coaching Programme at the University of St. Gallen. For her master’s degree, Anja Mesmer attended the University of Lucerne’s Faculty of Law, where in the summer of 2022, she completed her master with the profile “Law, Technology and Sustainability” (summa cum laude). From March to July 2022, Anja worked as a research assistant for the chair of Prof. Dr. iur. Mira Burri. Since August 2022, Anja is a doctoral fellow with the same chair and works on a dissertation project in the area of international economic and human rights law.
Kristin Jung
Student Assistant
Kristin Jung completed her Bachelor of Science in Business Law at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) among the top 10% of her year, earning Dean’s List recognition. She then went on to study for a Master’s degree in law at the University of Lucerne to further deepen her legal knowledge. Since autumn 2023, she has also been gaining practical experience in a corporate law firm. In February 2025, Kristin Jung began working as a research assistant to Prof. Dr. Mira Burri at the University of Lucerne, where she has since supported research and teaching in the field of international business and internet law.
affiliated fellows
Rodrigo Polanco
Dr Rodrigo Polanco is a senior lecturer, researcher and academic coordinator of Master Programmes at the World Trade Institute (WTI), University of Bern, and a Legal Adviser for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking jurisdictions at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Chile and a lecturer at the University of Lucerne.
Rodrigo has published extensively in leading international academic outlets on investment, trade, tax and environmental law. He is co-founder of the Electronic Database of Investment Treaties (EDIT) as well as co-founder and member of the board of Fiscalía del Medio Ambiente (FIMA), a Chilean non-profit environmental organisation, serving on the editorial committee of their environmental law journal (Justicia Ambiental).
Sanigdh Budhia
Sanigdh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Gujarat National Law University, India, and is an incoming LL.M. candidate at the University of Cambridge. Her work with the Trade Lab Clinic as a student researcher on the European Union’s “Differentiated Integration” policy led to her interest in international economic law. She has also assisted Prof. (Dr.) Prabhash Ranjan, Professor, Jindal Global University, India, with research in the areas of international economic and investment law.
Sanigdh has further contributed to policy work at the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, where her efforts culminated in recommendations on the pricing methodology for imported drugs in India. She was nominated for the prestigious Oxford–HSF International Lecture Programme and has completed a course in Data Protection and Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Apart from international economic law, Sanigdh’s research interests focus on data protection law and international environmental law.
Craig Atkinson
Craig Atkinson is a Research Affiliate with the Centre for Digital Law (CDL) at Singapore Management University and a Non-Resident Fellow with the World Trade Institute (WTI) at the University of Bern. Craig is also an Expert with the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) and regularly consults with clients in both the public and private sectors.
Widely published in academic, international organization, and industry channels, including the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the University of Oxford, Stanford University, the International Trade Centre, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Routledge, Craig’s research investigates legal-technical aspects of digital trade, data governance, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), and the emergent field of Computational Law. With an emphasis on trade and innovation policy, he holds two master’s degrees and was previously a Visiting Research Fellow at the WTI and a Transatlantic Technology Law Forum (TTLF) Fellow with Stanford Law School and the University of Vienna School of Law.
Zaira Zihlmann
Zaira Zihlmann is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lucerne. Her research interests focus on the regulation of new technologies, particularly in the areas of data protection law, genetic engineering law, and intellectual property law.
advisory board
Urs Gasser
TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology
Emily Jones
University of Oxford
William Drake
University of Zurich
Kristina Irion
University of Amsterdam
Bryan Mercurio
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Neha Mishra
Australian National University