Rate My Professor Dora Velenczei

Dora Vanda Velenczei is a PhD candidate and sessional academic in the Faculty of Law at Monash University. She earned a Bachelor of Laws from Swansea University and a Master of Laws from University College London. Under the supervision of Dr. Simon McKenzie, her doctoral thesis is titled 'The Analogue International Criminal Law in a Digital World of Warfare; A Deficient Relationship.' Her research addresses the obsolescence of international law's normative framework in relation to emerging technologies of military significance, aiming to identify deficiencies and propose remedies. Due to the rapidly evolving security architecture, Velenczei emphasizes that international law must adapt to changing circumstances and serve as a gap-filler. Her areas of expertise encompass international cyber law, law of weaponry, state responsibility, and international criminal law. She specializes in cyber blockades and the law on the use of force.

Velenczei has authored several key publications in her field. In 2024, she published 'Recognising Cyber Blockades as Crimes Against Humanity: Can International Criminal Law Keep Up?' presented at the International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security, which examines whether large-scale cyber blockades could qualify as the crime against humanity of 'other inhumane acts' under Article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute, highlighting the vulnerability of states and civilians to cyber attacks causing human suffering. In 2025, her article 'Emerging State Practice in the Role of Unmanned Maritime Systems in Maritime Blockades' appeared in the Military Law and the Law of War Review. Also in 2025, she contributed 'The Madleen Incident and the Gaza Naval Blockade' to the Lieber Institute at the United States Military Academy West Point. An earlier work, 'A Progressive Programme of Starvation: The Gaza Strip Blockade as the Crime against Humanity of Extermination,' was published in the ELTE Law Journal in 2022. These contributions engage with critical intersections of cyber operations, blockades, and international criminal law.