Karin Lukas is a Professor at the Department of Legal Studies at Central European University (CEU) and Senior Adviser to the Vienna Forum on Democracy and Human Rights. She is an expert on the interactions between different human rights systems and institutions, with a focus on the wider European region, as well as on translating human rights standards into business, trade, development cooperation, and climate change activities.

Her research centers on human rights in the (digital) economy, sustainable supply chains, corporate accountability, and human rights in Europe, particularly gender equality. Her latest monograph is the first comprehensive article-by-article commentary on the European Social Charter.

Karin has held visiting professorships and fellowships at CEU, Strasbourg University, University College London, and the University of Manchester, and has been a senior researcher at the University of Vienna and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights.

Since 2000, she has served as a consultant for numerous national and international organizations including the UN Development Programme, MIGA (World Bank Group), the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and various private sector companies.

In 2011, she was appointed as a member of the European Committee of Social Rights of the Council of Europe, serving as its President until 2022. She is also an expert on labor issues nominated by the European Union for bilateral trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Moldova.

Karin is co-editor of the European Yearbook on Human Rights and serves on several scientific advisory boards.