Meri Batikyan

Meri Batikyan is a legal researcher, lecturer, and corporate legal practitioner specializing in human rights, environmental governance, regulatory compliance, and public policy. Combining academic scholarship with extensive private-sector legal experience, she has developed a multidisciplinary profile that bridges legal research, higher education, corporate governance, and evidence-based policymaking.

Meri currently serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the American University of Armenia (AUA), where she teaches courses on Human Rights while previously delivering instruction in Public Advocacy, Law in Everyday Life, and the International Politics of Human Rights. Alongside her teaching, she is a researcher at the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, contributing to projects on environmental governance, climate policy, energy transition, and sustainable development. Her research focuses on legislative analysis, regulatory frameworks, and policy recommendations to support Armenia’s transition toward more effective environmental and energy governance.

In parallel with her academic career, Meri is a Senior Legal Risk Management Lawyer at Viva Armenia, where she advises on regulatory compliance, legal risk mitigation, corporate governance, contract negotiation, and legislative monitoring. Since joining the company in 2018, she has progressed through several legal roles, developing significant expertise in regulatory affairs, dispute resolution, and corporate legal strategy.

Meri has also contributed to numerous national and international research initiatives, including projects with Yale University, the International Comparative Law Center, and the Afeyan Foundation, focusing on judicial reform, corruption measurement, environmental policy, and the relationship between law, politics, and society. She has co-authored publications on anti-corruption courts, accountability for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and copyright law, reflecting her broad research interests.

An active advocate for civic engagement and legal education, Meri has served as a Young European Ambassador, coached teams for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, and coordinated the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Armenia. Fluent in Armenian and English, with proficiency in Russian and French, she is committed to advancing legal scholarship, strengthening democratic governance, and promoting human rights through research, education, and professional practice.