Charlotte Renglet

Vakgebied

International human rights law - Indigenous peoples' rights - Climate change litigation

Biografie

Charlotte Renglet is an external fellow at the Brussels Centre for Law, Government and Society (BruCeL) of the Faculty of Law & Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). On 3 July 2026, she successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled “Indigenous Peoples’ Struggle for Climate Justice: The Potential of Human Rights Litigation.”
Her doctoral research was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stefaan Smis (VUB) and Dorothée Cambou (University of Helsinki) and was supported by the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) through research project G079120N.

Charlotte holds a master’s degree in law from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and an LL.M in Public international law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).  After her studies and before starting her PhD research, Charlotte first did an internship at the International Humanitarian Law Service of the Belgian Ministry of Justice. She then practiced as a lawyer in the field of immigration law at the Brussels Bar from September 2015 to December 2018. She now works for the non-profit association FAIRWORK Belgium, while continuing to pursue her research interests.

Research

Charlotte’s research critically examines the potential of human rights-based litigation to advance Indigenous Peoples’ struggle for climate justice. She does so by analyzing human rights-based systemic climate cases and just transition cases to critically assess the achievements, prospects, and limitations of such litigation within the broader framework of climate justice. While her PhD research and dissertation focused on cases brought by or involving Indigenous Peoples, she has also developed a broader expertise in human rights-based climate litigation and the interaction between human rights and the environment.

Functies buiten de VUB

Charlotte currently works as a socio-legal collaborator at FAIRWORK Belgium, a non-profit association defending the labour rights of undocumented migrants and people with precarious residence status in Belgium.

Selectie van publicaties

• Renglet, C., & Smis, S. (2022). Climate Change and Human Rights: A Comparative Analysis of the German and Belgian Climate Cases. OpinioJuris, http://opiniojuris.org/2022/02/21/climate-change-and-human-rights-a-comparative-analysis-of-the-german-and-belgian-climate-cases/; 

• Renglet, C. (2022). The Recognition of the Special Relationship of Indigenous Peoples with their Environment under International Law: A Potential Advantage in Climate Litigation? International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 29(4), 720–746, 10.1163/15718115-bja10068; 
• Renglet, C., & Smis, S. (2021). The Belgian Climate Case: A Step Forward in Invoking Human Rights Standards in Climate Litigation? ASIL Insights (American Society of International Law), 25(21), https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/25/issue/21; 
• Renglet, C. (2020). The Decision of the Irish Supreme Court in Friends of the Irish Environment v Ireland: A Significant Step Towards Government Accountability for Climate Change? Carbon & Climate Law Review, 14(3), 163-176, 10.21552/cclr/2020/3/5;
• Renglet, C. (2016). La politique foncière israélienne dans le désert du Néguev : une violation du droit à la terre du peuple autochtone bédouin? Belgian Review of International Law, XLIX(2016-1), 323-354.

Prijzen

In 2017, she was awarded the Prize of the Belgian Society of International Law for her first article, “La politique foncière israélienne dans le désert du Néguev : une violation du droit à la terre du peuple autochtone bédouin?”, which was inspired by her LL.M thesis and published in the Belgian Review of International Law in 2016.