Dr Alex Dela Cruz

Dr Alex P Dela Cruz holds concurrent appointments as Postdoctoral Researcher in International Law at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and Blue Security Fellow (remote) at La Trobe Asia in Australia. Following his recent PhD in International Law from the University of Melbourne, he now works on a project that maps the use and effects of legal and managerial expertise in global contexts, including marine plastic pollution. His recent work includes chapters in The Oxford Handbook of International Law and Development (OUP, 2023) and Public International Law: A Multi-Perspective Approach (Routledge open-access, 2024) – the world’s first open-access teaching textbook in public international law. In recent years, Alex was a member of the Australian delegation to bilateral dialogues with Philippine counterparts to discuss shared maritime security concerns over the South China Sea. Alex gained BA magna cum laude and JD degrees from the University of the Philippines, an LLM from the University of Melbourne, and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2014. Prior to his doctorate, he worked in litigation in Manila as a counsel and adviser to Philippine government clients while teaching law.