Doctoral researcher (M/F) in European fundamental rights Law and European jurisprudence (EU)

Job Description

Thesis Subject

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 European Court of Human Rights. In particular, the recruited person will investigate disputes in the criminal field (including either abortion, medical assisted reproduction, euthanasia, LGTBQ rights, prostitution, pornography, hate speech and crime, counter-terrorism, or detention policies) initiated by conservative and liberal groups to impact the European human rights justice through judicial, cognitive, moral and political tactics. Using both legal methods (interpreting case law and legislation adopted by states in response to adverse rulings) and socio-legal methods (interviews, analysis of documents—such as action plans and report plans submitted by states to the Committee of Ministers—as well as grey literature and archives), the researcher will demonstrate how these private interest groups influence penal matters through the implementation of judgments delivered, notably, by the European Court of Human Rights. The PhD student will participate actively in three work packages (WP2, 3, and 6) focusing on the legal analysis of actions taken by conservative and liberal NGOs—specifically regarding their submissions to the Committee of Ministers under Article 9.2 concerning the implementation of judgments issued under Article 46—within the realm of criminal law and proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights.



Activities:
Updating a state of the art on liberal and conservative influences in the criminal field at the European Court of Human Rights; Contributing to identifying and analyzing the advocacy strategies of liberal and conservative NGOs in the criminal field before the European Court of Human Rights, including for the execution of certain judgments litigated by liberal groups.

- Contribution to WP2: Legal, socio-legal and political analysis
• Analysis of the European litigation by the private interest groups and the judgments obtained, including 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:
• Contribution to the empirical analysis (28 months) consisting in interviews with NGOs and private foundations (task 7) and meeting with the British partners; consultation of the ECtHR 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 European Court of Human Rights (task 12); analysis of the documents on strategic litigation pursued by interest groups (task 14); analysis of the 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 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)

Expected Skills: We are looking for a student holding a Master 2 in criminology/European criminal law with a focus on European human rights law related to the European Court of Human Rights with a significant openness to other social sciences and with at least one significant experiences in conducting and analysing semi-structured interviews with NGOs representatives and/or European judges. The candidate must demonstrate the ability to develop a European legal and sociolegal analysis capable of combining criminal, judicial and sociological constraints within the same analytical framework. Proficiency in literature in European law and fundamental rights with significant knowledge of judicial strategies applied by NGOs will be highly appreciated. Autonomy, oral and relational ease, synthesis skills, and an attraction for teamwork are necessary. Interactions with various stakeholders (NGO and private foundation managers, European 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 JUST PEN.
Know-how:
• Criminological and legal skills in human rights and the jurisprudence delivered by the European Court of Human Rights
• Sociological 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 European judicial environment, international elites, and NGOs is an advantage.
Soft Skills:
• Ability to work in a team and autonomously;
• Ability to interact in an international environment;
• Comfort in oral communication on sensitive topics;
• Adaptation, flexibility and reflexivity ;
• Discretion

Your Work Environment

This recruitment is part of the ERC-2023 Advanced Grant research project titled "What moral influences on European penal and prison policies?" ("JUST PEN" – 101141553), funded by the European Research Council. 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 in close collaboration with the ERC team members involved in Work Packages 2–6 and the Principal Investigator (PI), Gaëtan Cliquennois. Regular online working meetings are held in English within the consortium. Researchers (including the newly recruited researcher) are required to work in conjunction with the socio-professional partners involved in the ERC JUST_PEN project.

Constraints and risks

None.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

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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