Dr. Niki Siampakou is a researcher at T.M.C. Asser Instituut, specialising in international criminal law, counter-terrorism, and transitional justice, with a focus on victims’ rights. She is part of the research strand 'In the public interest: accountability of the state and the prosecution of crimes'.  She has several years of experience in conducting research, providing evidence-based policy advice, counselling (international) institutions on international (criminal) law, international human rights law, and transitional justice.

Prior to her current position, Niki was a joint research fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) and T.M.C. Asser Instituut working on the appropriate legal responses against violent extremism and terrorism, with a particular focus on (inter)national criminal justice and human rights considerations. 

From 2021 to 2023, Niki led research and training projects on transitional justice at the IFJD-Institut Louis Joinet in France and participated in two field missions in the Central African Republic. Earlier, she was a contractual researcher (doctorante contractuelle) at Aix Marseille University. 

Niki holds a PhD in international criminal law (2020) and a master’s degree in public international law (2016) from Aix Marseille University and a bachelor’s degree in law from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2014) which included an Erasmus exchange at Lisbon School of Law of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (2013). Her doctoral dissertation, entitled ‘Against all hopes: The untenable promise of reparations of the International Criminal Court’, provides a critical analysis of the ICC’s reparation mandate. She has been a visiting scholar at New York University (JSD Program, 2018-2019) and the University of Amsterdam (ACIL, 2017-2018). She also interned with the Victims participation and reparations section of the International Criminal Court and the Greek Ministry of Justice. She speaks English, French, Spanish, Greek, and Dutch.