Postdoctoral Researcher (M/F) in European law/ sociology of law and European human rights justice (EU)

Job Description

Missions

The research project focuses on analyzing the increasing influence of non-governmental organizations and private foundations in the penal field through their litigation at the Court of Justice of the European Union. In particular, the recruited person will investigate disputes in the criminal field (including abortion, medical assisted reproduction, euthanasia, LGTBQ rights, prostitution, pornography, hate speech and crime, counter-terrorism, detention policies) initiated by conservative and liberal groups to impact the European human rights justice through judicial, cognitive, moral and political tactics. He/she will study these issues and how these private interest groups attempt to influence criminal policies through the European human rights judicial systems by elaborating and applying judicial, political, and financial strategies. Through a legal method (interpretation of the case law, its inputs and outputs) and a socio- political-legal (interviews, analysis of documents and the grey literature) lens, he/she will demonstrate how these private interest groups impact penality through the jurisprudence delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The recruited researcher will contribute to 5 Work packages (WP2-6) on legal, socio-legal, and political analyses of actions taken by conservative and liberal NGOs in the penal field.

Activity

- Contribution to WP2: Legal, socio-legal and political analysis
• Analysis of the European litigation by the private interest groups and the judgments obtained, including direct complaints (task 1), third-party interventions (task 2), submissions made by the interest groups on the execution of the European judgments (task 3) and the political effects of the litigation and judgments (task 4)
• Global analysis of the legal, socio-legal and political influence played by private interest groups (task 5)

- Contribution to WP3 (10 months):
• Contribution to the empirical analysis (10 months) consisting in the analysis of the judicial and financial archives of interest groups (NGOs and private foundations), interviews with NGOs and private foundations (task 7) and meeting with the British partners; consultation of the CJUE archives with access to the complaints and third-party interventions and interviews with private and judicial actors (task 11); interviews with judges and lawyers working at the Court of Justice of the European Union (task 12); analysis of the financial statements, financial and annual reports of interest groups (task 13); analysis of the documents on strategic litigation pursued by interest groups (task 14); analysis of the complaints, third-party submissions and submissions related to the execution of judgments made by interest groups which are not directly available through judicial databases (task 15); interviews with private and judicial actors (task 16)
• Contribution to the general analysis of the empirical inquiry (task 17)

- Contribution to WP4: Comparison of the judicial, political and empirical analyses
• Analysis of the judicial outcomes obtained by private interest groups in the light of the interviews, documents and archives (task 18)
• Analysis of the legal and administrative outcomes obtained by private interest groups in the light of the interviews, documents and archives (task 19)
• Analysis of the political outcomes obtained by private interest groups in the light of the interviews, documents and archives (task 20)
• Participation in the global comparison between the judicial, legal, political and empirical analyses (task 21)

- Contribution to WP5: Theoretical and practical outputs
• Contribution to the theoretical outputs: creation of a theoretical model that reflects private judicial, legal and political influences on penal and detention policies (task 21).
• Contribution to Practical outputs: creation of a database on the legal, judicial and practical influence of conservative and liberal groups (task 22)

- Contribution to WP6: participation in the scientific and social dissemination:
• Contribution to the scientific dissemination of the results (task 23) on open-access in order to disseminate the results of the research in a fair and efficient way:
▪ Publications (for a scientific audience) in international high-ranked scientific and open journals (special issues and articles) and scientific books.
▪ Presentations at scientific conferences and involvement in the organisation of a scientific conference (for a scientific audience)

• Contribution to Social dissemination (for a global and professional audience) (task 24).

Your Profil

Skills

We are looking for a researcher holding a doctorate in either sociology of law or political science of law and related to the European human rights justice and the Court of Justice of the European Union with a significant openness to other social sciences and with significant experience in conducting and analyzing empirical studies. The candidate must demonstrate the ability to develop a European legal and socio-political-legal analysis capable of articulating judicial, sociological and political constraints within the same analytical framework. Proficiency in literature in European human rights law and fundamental rights with significant knowledge of judicial strategies applied by NGOs will be highly appreciated. Previous participation in an ERC project is an asset. Autonomy, oral and relational ease, synthesis skills, and an attraction for teamwork are necessary. Interactions with various stakeholders (NGO and private foundation managers, judges and lawyers) to be interviewed and the analysis of interviews in English require a perfect command of English (native language or fluent C2), which is the working language of the ERC.

Know-how:
• Legal skills in European human rights law and the jurisprudence delivered by the sole Court of Justice of the European Union
• Sociological and political skills: conducting sensitive interviews, working on archives;
• Ability to co-write high-level international scientific articles;
• Language skills: fluent English (scientifically read, spoken, and written) and fluent French is an advantage.
• Knowledge of the judicial environment, international elites, and NGOs is an advantage.
Soft Skills:
• Ability to work both in a team and autonomously;
• Ability to interact in an international environment;
• Comfort in oral communication on sensitive topics;
• Discretion

Your Work Environment

This recruitment is part of the ERC-2023-advanced grant research agreement entitled " Which Moral Influences on European penal and prison policies?", "JUST PEN" 101141553 financed by the European Research Council and obtained under the ERC advanced grant scheme. See https://www.inshs.cnrs.fr/en/node/5353, and https://iode.univ-rennes.fr/actualites/gaetan-cliquennois-laureat-dune-erc-advanced-grant-pour-son-projet-justpen

The researcher will work closely with the ERC members involved in WP2-6 and the principal investigator (PI), Gaëtan Cliquennois. Work meetings are regularly held online in English within the consortium. Researchers (including the recruited researcher) must work together with the socio-professional partners involved in the ERC JUST_PEN.

Constraints and risks

No specific risks.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

-from €3041 to 4395€ gross monthly, depending on experience.

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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