Within that context, her research will focus on the opportunities of citizen participation and judicial instruments for fundamental rights protection in the climate crisis and how this influences dissensus surrounding liberal democracy in the climate crisis.

Prior to beginning her PhD, Irthe worked at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University as a research associate on climate justice and climate litigation. She holds an LLM in international and European human rights law and an MA in legal philosophy, both obtained at Radboud University Nijmegen. She has previously worked at a legal 500 firm in Amsterdam and is active in the Dutch Youth Climate Movement (Jonge Klimaatbeweging).