Pola Cebulak

Pola Cebulak is an Assistant Professor in European Law at the Transnational Legal Studies Department of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She concurrently holds roles as

• Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law (EU Law)
• Associate Professor at the Kooijmans Institute
• Associate Professor at the Boundaries of Law

. She leads the JUDILL Jean Monnet Chair on 'Judges vs Illiberalism: Legal Mobilization for the Rule of Law'.

Education:

• Law degree from Humboldt University Berlin (2005–2010) with top 10% German First State Exam score
• Undergraduate Diploma in Legal Studies from King’s College London (2008–2009)
• PhD in Erasmus Mundus program (Université libre de Bruxelles & University of Geneva, 2010–2014) with European Commission fellowship
• Visiting scholar at Boston University and Harvard Law School (United States)

Research interests focus on legal mobilization against illiberalism, legitimacy of international institutions, and interaction between EU and international legal systems. She examines how international courts navigate politically charged issues like rule of law challenges and territorial disputes, emphasizing judicial strategies in adversarial environments.

Awards and Fellowships:

• European Commission Fellowship (PhD)
• Emile Noël Program Fellowship at NYU School of Law
• Re:constitution Fellowship
• Embassy Science Fellowship at Dutch Mission to UN/WTO

Teaching and Projects: Coordinates EU law courses across international relations and European studies programs. Current projects include leading the 'Judges vs Illiberalism' initiative (2023–2026) as Principal Investigator and participating in the Swiss PhD School for European and International Law. She has taught at multiple institutions, including the University of Copenhagen (MA level International Human Rights Law) and University of Kobe (Jean Monnet Network).

Maintains an international academic network, serving as

• Global Fellow at iCourts (University of Copenhagen)
• Associated Fellow at Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance

. Fluent in German, English, French, Dutch, and her native Polish, with proficiency in Croatian, Japanese, and Spanish.