Melissa Elechiguerra Labarca

Melissa Elechiguerra Labarca is a Lecturer in Taxation Education at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London. She is a licensed lawyer in Venezuela and Spain, with a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Deusto. Her research focuses on International Taxation, Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights, and mechanisms for Exchange of Tax Information. She has held academic roles including teaching at the Central University of Venezuela and visiting research appointments at the European University Institute, University of Strasbourg, and the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Law, University of Deusto
• Masters in Administrative and Tax Law (Complutense University of Madrid, 2003-2004)
• Expert Course in Tax Law (Complutense University of Madrid)
• Masters in Business Legal Advising (University of Deusto, 2004-2005)
• Erasmus Mundus Masters in Transnational Trade Law and Finance (Universities of Deusto-Tilburg & Strasbourg, 2009-2011)

Research Interests: Melissa’s work bridges International Taxation with Human Rights frameworks, emphasizing taxpayer rights protection and cross-border tax transparency. She explores how global tax policies intersect with public finance and international legal structures to promote equitable systems.

Professional Collaborations: She organizes a workshop on Taxation and Human Rights with Vienna University. Her past roles include in-house legal work at Venezuela’s Central Bank, tax consultancy, and a traineeship at the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Division.

Advising & Grants: Melissa supervises PhD students and has collaborated with institutions like the Max Planck Institute. No specific grants are listed in the provided text.

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with leading tax law research institutes during her visiting roles, including the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance (Munich).