Guernica 37 Chambers

Melina Antoniadis was called to the Ontario Bar in 2020 and the Bar of England and Wales in 2024. She is a graduate of Leiden University (LL.M, cum laude) and McGill University (B.C.L and LL.B/J.D).

Melina specialises in public international law. She has a diverse practice in international law, human rights, climate change, and cultural heritage law. Particular areas of interest are also international criminal law, including related to crimes affecting cultural heritage, and international arbitration.

Melina has appeared and advised in proceedings before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court of Human Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Melina is an Editor of the European Human Rights Reports.

Melina is the Founder of NOSTOS Strategies, the world’s first dedicated strategic consultancy offering advice to governments, organisations, communities, and individuals on the repatriation of cultural heritage. She is also developing a legal practice in matters relating to cultural heritage, especially in international law governing the protection of cultural heritage, and welcomes instructions in this area.

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Melina is of Greek and Khmer heritage. Melina can also accept instructions in both French and Greek.

Melina’s areas of expertise include:

Arts and cultural heritage

Climate change and the environment

International arbitration

International criminal law

International human rights law

Public international law

During her pupillage, Melina gained broad experience across various criminal and extradition law matters, including advocacy in the Magistrates’ Courts, Crown Courts and High Court. Melina is eager to grow her practice in extradition law.

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Prior to being called to the Ontario Bar, Melina completed her legal training in Toronto, at the Crown Law Office of the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario, the civil litigation office for the government of Ontario. She has previously held positions at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg, the Office of the UN Prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh, where she assisted with the final submissions in Case 004 (Investigation of Yim Tith), and as part of the international arbitration team at Wilmer Hale LLP in London.

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​Melina’s LL.M thesis at Leiden University examined the three core rules of attribution under the ILC’s Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, within the context of investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS). Her research aimed to provide guidance for host States to successfully challenge investor attempts to attribute breaches of investment treaty obligations to them.

English (Fluent), French (Fluent), Greek (Fluent), Spanish (Working knowledge), Russian (Beginner)

2024: BPP Law School, Bar Transfer Test (Distinction)

2019: Leiden University, LL.M (Cum laude)

2017: McGill University, B.C.L and LL.B/J.D (J.W. McConnell Entrance Scholarship)