I’m a researcher at the Asser Institute, where I work at the intersection of business and human rights, international economic law, and climate justice. My work is driven by a core question: whose perspectives shape the global economic system, and whose are left out?
I completed my PhD cum laude at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where I explored how international investment law affects the participatory rights of communities living with the consequences of extractive foreign investment projects. My research has taken me from doctrinal analysis to qualitative fieldwork, interviewing community members whose perspectives are rendered invisible in arbitration processes. My thesis, described as 'innovative, invocative and insightful', won the 2025 Praemium Erasmianum foundation dissertation award.
I now combine academic research with coordination of the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR), and my broader work spans business and human rights, climate change governance, and empirical legal research. I am connected with research communities at the University of Amsterdam, including the SEVEN climate institute, Sustainable Global and Economic Law (SGEL) and the Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES). I engage with students at the University of Amsterdam through supervising the Business and Human Rights law clinic and master theses on public international law topics.
The urgent need to phase out fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner is keeping me busy at the moment. I am currently working on a qualitative case study on the Exxon v Netherlands arbitration concerning the closure of the Groningen gas field and engaging with civil society and policy makers around the Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF) conferences.
Highlighted Publications
S. Triefus, R. Hanel and W. Hommes, ‘International Investment Law as an Obstacle to Climate Protection’ Between Heat and Hope Podcast (8 July 2026)
S. Triefus, ‘Fair Profits for Whom? Community Perspectives of Exxon v Netherlands’ forthcoming in European Law Open (2026)
A. Erol, S. Triefus and B. Verbeek, ‘The Human Face of International Investment Law: Reflections on Qualitative Exploration of Community Experiences of Investment Arbitration’ in B. Grama, M. McVey, S. Goethals and F. Nieri, Empirical Research Approaches to Business Human Rights and the Environment (Springer, forthcoming in 2026)
M.J. Wewerinke-Singh and S. Triefus, ‘Internationaal handels- en investeringsrecht’ in M.J. Wewerinke-Singh (ed) Handboek Duurzaamheid en Recht (Wolters Kluwer, 2026)
M.J. Wewerinke-Singh, K. Bagchi, M. Fermeglia, J. Gupta, A. Heras, A.E. Kourula, J.A.P. Lorenzo, P.A. Nollkaemper, F. van der Ploeg, J.C. Slootweg, S.E. Triefus and I. Venzke, ‘A Fair Fossil Fuel Phase-Out Is Feasible: International Law, Earth- and Climate System Justice, and Practical Pathways for a Managed Global Transition’ (Policy briefing, University of Amsterdam SEVEN, April 2026)
I. Velicu, I. Codreanu, F. Alexandrescu, S. Triefus, O. Rusu and I. Bunescu, ‘The insidious toxicity of investor-state arbitration Gabriel Resources vs Romania’ Globalizations (published online 12 January 2026)
Stephanie Triefus and Irina Velicu, 'Polenta and Cyanide? Investment Arbitration as Prospective Environmental Injustice in Roșia Montană', in Raluca Grosescu and John G. Dale (eds), Re-Envisioning Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Abuses: Civil Society and Transnational Action (Springer, 2025)
Stephanie Triefus, 'International Investment Law from Below: Taking local community rights seriously' (2024) PhD Thesis, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam (unpublished)
Stephanie Triefus, 'The UNGPs and ISDS: Should Businesses Assess the Human Rights Impacts of Investor–State Arbitration?' (2023) 8(3) Business and Human Rights Journal 329-351
