Below you can find a selection of current and past PhD projects linked to the Department of Public Law and the BruCeL research group:
Current PhD projects:
Specters of competence creep: the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the constitutional balance in the EU
This PhD project examines how and to what extent the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights affects the constitutional balance between the EU and its Member States.
Free speech or loyalty under pressure?
Reconciling freedom of expression with deontological obligations for Belgian ministerial advisers, judges, and members of parliament.
The analysis of the effectiveness of sustainable development obligations in Bilateral Investment Treaties in light of the jurisprudence of the ICSID
This study analyses the effectiveness of states using BITs as a means of achieving sustainable development. It will situate the legal status of sustainable development in general international law, its opposability to investors and its role in the assessment of unlawful behaviour reproached to the state, or form the angle of possible counterclaims. In this way, the study will identify guidelines for investment that is compatible with the objective of sustainable development in the context of extractive economies.
The Interests of Justice at the International Criminal Court (ICC): Prosecutorial Discretion, Judicial Review and the End of Impunity
This doctoral research investigates the operational dynamics of prosecutorial discretion within the ICC, focusing on Article 53 of the Rome Statute and the "interests of justice" criterion and framework. The project also critically examines how institutional checks and balances operate between the Office of the Prosecutor and the Pre-Trial Chambers. By evaluating case law, institutional practice, and legal theory, the study explores the creation of the Interests of Justice framework and how judicial oversight can safeguard institutional integrity while balancing international criminal justice objectives.
Making the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam a Building Block for Cooperation: Seeking a Lasting Solution in the Eastern Nile Basin
In Eastern Nile Basin countries, there is a discord over the utilization of Nile River as a result of this, it is imperative to reconcile and balance their stands and develop a cooperation framework between Ethiopia and lower riparian states using Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam as a tool.
Decolonizing the Discourse on Muslim Women's Rights - Assumed Subalternity, Intersectionality, Equality, Emancipation, and Equal citizenship. A Comparative Analysis of France and India
This research critically examines and seeks to decolonize the discourse on Muslim women's rights, emphasizing the complexities of intersectionality, equality, emancipation, and equal citizenship, with a comparative analysis between France and India.
Socio-fiscal measures: developing an EU typology
What income protection is provided through economically active and non-economically active persons, in addition to income replacement benefits (i.e., unemployment and social assistance), and how do the different measures in place fit into EU free movement rules?
Empowering Indigenous Voices in Carbon Market Governance: Lessons from East Africa
This research aims to critically explore how carbon markets in East Africa can align with indigenous rights through human rights-based due diligence, focusing on legal frameworks and the implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
The occurence of ineligibility during the elective mandate
The research project analyses the institution of inelegibility to continue holding elected office for individuals convicted of specific crimes, including inelegibility to run for political office in future elections. The investigation examines how modern democracies employ legal means to combat crime and corruption in public administration, striving to foster more representative democracies.
Past, successfully defended PhD projects:
THE POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED SYSTEMATIC CLIMATE LITIGATION TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CRISIS AND OBTAIN CLIMATE JUSTICE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The PhD research aimed to critically assess the potential of strategic litigation based on human rights to obtain a better climate policy and protect the rights of indigenous peoples in the climate crisis.
Regulating private business activities in illegally occupied territories by imposing due diligence obligations on home states: the duties of non-recognition and non-assistance
How imposing a positive due diligence obligation on home states in light of their duties of non-recognition and non-assistance may contribute to a better regulation of private business activities in illegally occupied territories, constituting serious breaches of peremptory international law.
Environmental Revolution under the Aegis of International Law: Recognition of International Environmental Crimes as the main concern in International Jurisdiction - A discussion on International Environmental Crimes
This PhD gives an insight into the world of internationally relevant environmental crimes and suggests a system on the international level to adjudicate these potential international crimes.
The Eritrea - Ethiopia Territorial Conflict: A Factor of Volatility in Interstate Relations
The research examines the Eritrea - Ethiopia territorial conflict as a factor of volatility in the Horn of Africa (HoA) in the context of the great importance that nations attach to boundaries and the casual role that boundaries play in interstate conflicts. It reviews the multiple aspects of the Eritrea - Ethiopia conflict within the framework of treaty-based international law and international relations.