VUB Contextual Research in Law

(Léna Sylvestre reading out the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research's oath as doctor, ' serment d'intégrité scientifique ') On Saturday 23 May, dr. Léna Sylvestre became the 7th doctor of our research group since 2020 , after succesfully defending at the Maison de la Recherche Annie Ernaux , Auditorium (Cergy-Pontoise), 23 May 2026. We congratulate her on this achievement. Dissertation title:  L'influence de la pluralité linguistique dans l'élaboration et l'application de normes juridiques internationales : Étude de cas historique du régime multilingue de l'Organisation des Nations Unies )  (539 p., incl. annexes)   Supervisors: prof. dr. Frederik Dhondt - prof. dr. Caroula Argyriadis-Kervégan (Cergy Paris Université) Jury: Prof. dr. Dirk Heirbaut (UGent/KVAB) Prof. dr. Sylvie Monjean-Decaudin (Sorbonne Université) Prof. dr. Paul De Hert (VUB) Dr. Gesa Dannenberg (CY) Prof. dr. Renaud Baumert (CY) (president)

    Dra.  Léna Sylvestre  obtained the permission to submit her PhD Dissertation (Joint PhD agreement CY Cergy Paris Université/Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and defend it publicly on  Saturday 23 May 2026 at 09:30. The candidate will defend her dissertation entitled " L’influence de la pluralité linguistique dans l’élaboration et l’application de normes internationales. Étude de cas historique du régime multilingue de l’Organisation des Nations Unies " before a jury consisting of: - Prof. Dr. Renaud Baumert (CY) (president) - Prof. Dr. Dirk Heirbaut (UGent/KVAB-Academia Europaea)  - Prof. Dr. Sylvie Monjean-Decaudin (Sorbonne Université) - Dr. Gésa Dannenberg (CY) - Prof. Dr. Paul De Hert (VUB) Supervisors are Prof. Dr.  Caroula Argyriadis-Kervégan  (main supervisor, CY) and Prof. Dr.  Frederik Dhondt  (VUB). Address: Auditorium de la Maison de la Recherche SHS - Annie Ernaux - Université CY Cergy Paris- Universit...

Dra. Léna Sylvestre obtained the permission to submit her PhD Dissertation (Joint PhD agreement CY Cergy Paris Université/Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and defend it publicly on Saturday 23 May 2026 .  The candidate will defend her dissertation entitled " L’influence de la pluralité linguistique dans l’élaboration et l’application de normes internationales. Étude de cas historique du régime multilingue de l’Organisation des Nations Unies " before a jury consisting of: - Prof. Dr. Paul De Hert (VUB) - Prof. Dr. Dirk Heirbaut (UGent/KVAB-Academia Europaea)  - Prof. Dr. Sylvie Monjean-Decaudin (Sorbonne Université)  - Dr. Gésa Dannenberg (CY) Jury President: Prof. dr. Renaud Baumert (CY). Supervisors are Prof. Dr.  Caroula Argyriadis-Kervégan  (main supervisor, CY) and Prof. dr.  Frederik Dhondt  (VUB). More information with the candidate: lena dot melanie dot renee dot sylvestre at vub dot be.

  (Source: UGent ) Drs. Florenz Volkaert, PhD-researcher at UGent and voluntary associate at CORE,  will publicly defend his PhD-dissertation  “Commercial treaties (1860-1914): a networked history of international law and trade” on  Friday 3  November  2023  at  17:30 .  About the dissertation:    The doctoral thesis examines commercial treaties in international law from 1860 to 1914, using methodological tools from network science. First, it finds that economic historians have overestimated the importance of the Cobden-Chevalier network of commercial treaties (1860-1871) due to a misunderstanding of the substantive legal clauses and a Eurocentric reading of the treaties. Second, it provides a critical overview of the development of international legal doctrine (1886-1914). The doctoral thesis illustrates how international lawyers legitimised colonialism and imperialism in the construction of legal doctrine, American exceptionalism,...

  (Source: ULB - Centre de Droit International ) Drs. Filip Batselé, voluntary associate at CORE, who did a Joint PhD UGent-ULB  will publicly defend his PhD-dissertation  “The Start of a Regime: The First Generation of Western European Bilateral Investment Treaties (1959-1989)”  on Monday 30  October 2023  at  18:00 .  About the dissertation:    On a worldwide basis, there exist more than 3000 bilateral investment treaties (BITs). These are international agreements between (usually) two states in which both sides agree to specific legal rules and dispute settlement procedures to govern investments undertaken by nationals of one treaty party in the territory of the other treaty party. This thesis investigates the origins of those treaties. Why do BITs look the way they do? Why did Western European countries start negotiating these agreements? What did diplomats aim to do when including some inherently vague provisions (e.g. the requirem...

Drs. Wouter De Rycke (PhD-researcher on FWO Junior Fundamental Research Project G015420N The Legal Construction of Peace, 1815-1870. Networks and Arguments ) will publicly defend his PhD-dissertation Justifying Utopia. A Legal History of the International Peace Movement (1815-1873) (576 p., submitted with the permission of the Board of the Faculty of Law and Criminology on 29 June 2023 and approved for public defense by the jury on 4 September 2023) on Thursday 14 September 2023  at 15:00 .  Wouter holds a Bachelor of Arts in Language and Literature (UGent, 2012), and a Bachelor and a Master of Laws (UGent, 2015 and 2017). Early in the Spring of 2020, he was a visiting researcher ( Gast ) at the Max Planck Institute for Legal Theory and Legal History (Frankfurt am Main). Wouter has disseminated and published work in progress as well as research results at national and international fora , and managed to generate  press attention . He is a member of CORE si...

  Our member drs. Niels Fieremans (researcher, FWO Fundamental Research Project) will defend his Joint PhD  in history and law with prof. dr. Jan Dumolyn (UGent), Prof. dr. Dirk Heirbaut (UGent/KVAB) and Prof. dr. Dave De ruysscher (VUB) as supervisors on Wednesday 28 June  at 16:00  in the Aula Academica in Ghent. More information on the image above (click enlarge).

  (image source: candidate) Drs. Cornelis Marinus (Marco) in 't Veld will defend his PhD Dissertation in law entitled  Commerce and Customs in the Courts: A Comparison Between Mercantile Customs, Jurisdictions and Institutions in Amsterdam and Lyon During the Early 18th Century  (supervisor: Prof. dr. Dave De ruysscher ). Drs. in 't Veld studied Law (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and was active as PhD-researcher on the FWO Fundamental Research Project   Cataloguing Customs of Trade: Looking Behind the Labels (Amsterdam and Lyon, 1700-1730) at our research centre. He currently works as lecturer at Tilburg Law School. Jury: Prof. dr. Stefania Gialdroni (Università di Padova) Prof. dr. David Deroussin (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3) Prof. dr. Niels Van Dijk (VUB/CORE) Prof. dr. Dave De ruysscher (VUB/CORE - Tilburg Law School/supervisor) Prof. dr. Frederik Dhondt (VUB/CORE - president) Abstract: This dissertation has first compared the economies of both Amsterdam and...