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Samantha Besson, born on March 30, 1973, in Beirut, is a law professor specialising in Public International Law and European Law. [1] She holds the chair "The International Law of Institutions" at the Collège de France (Paris) and is a part-time professor at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). [2]
Originally from the Vaud canton in Switzerland, she studied at the universities of Fribourg (Bachelor and Master's degree in 1996 and doctorate in 1999), Oxford (Magister Juris in 1998) and Bern (habilitation in Legal Theory and in Swiss, Comparative, European and International Constitutional Law in 2004). [3] She then taught at Oxford University (2001-2003) and the University of Geneva (2001-2005), before becoming a professor at the University of Fribourg (since 2004). She has also been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Zurich (2007-2010), Duke (2009), Lausanne (2010), Lisbon (2010-2019), Harvard (2014), Pennsylvania (2019) and Columbia Law School (2024). [3] From 2011 to 2012, she was a Research Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. She has taught in various capacities at The Hague Academy of International Law (2009-2013; 2013; 2020). She was a member of the Scientific Council of the Nantes Institute for Advanced Study Foundation up until 2021, [4] and is currently a member of the Board of the Swiss Academy of Human and Social Sciences, and was the very first delegate for Human Rights at the Swiss Academies of Sciences. She is also the co-chair of the ILA Study Group on the International Law of Regional Institutions, and an associate member of the Institute of International Law since 2021. [2] [5] Samantha Besson has also been a member of the Board of the Swiss Society of International Law since 2022. [6]
In 2019, she was elected at the Collège de France (only woman out of twelve nominations) as holder of the Chair "Droit international des institutions" (The International Law of Institutions). [7] [8] Her inaugural lecture took place on 3 December 2020, and was titled "Reconstruire l'ordre institutionnel international" (Reconstructing the International Institutional Order). [9] [10] [11]
Besson's research interests lie at the intersection of general International Law and legal philosophy, and in particular: international and European human rights law; international and European law on sources and responsibility; comparative domestic, regional and European Union external relations law; international and European citizenship law and democratic theory. [1] [12] [13]
In 2021, she was named Chevalière de l' Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur. [1] In 2024, Besson was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Catholic University of Louvain. [14]
A full bibliography is regularly updated on the Collège de France website [2], and a certain number of articles are accessible online [15].
![]() | A major contributor to this article appears to have a
close connection with its subject. (January 2024) |
Samantha Besson, born on March 30, 1973, in Beirut, is a law professor specialising in Public International Law and European Law. [1] She holds the chair "The International Law of Institutions" at the Collège de France (Paris) and is a part-time professor at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). [2]
Originally from the Vaud canton in Switzerland, she studied at the universities of Fribourg (Bachelor and Master's degree in 1996 and doctorate in 1999), Oxford (Magister Juris in 1998) and Bern (habilitation in Legal Theory and in Swiss, Comparative, European and International Constitutional Law in 2004). [3] She then taught at Oxford University (2001-2003) and the University of Geneva (2001-2005), before becoming a professor at the University of Fribourg (since 2004). She has also been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Zurich (2007-2010), Duke (2009), Lausanne (2010), Lisbon (2010-2019), Harvard (2014), Pennsylvania (2019) and Columbia Law School (2024). [3] From 2011 to 2012, she was a Research Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. She has taught in various capacities at The Hague Academy of International Law (2009-2013; 2013; 2020). She was a member of the Scientific Council of the Nantes Institute for Advanced Study Foundation up until 2021, [4] and is currently a member of the Board of the Swiss Academy of Human and Social Sciences, and was the very first delegate for Human Rights at the Swiss Academies of Sciences. She is also the co-chair of the ILA Study Group on the International Law of Regional Institutions, and an associate member of the Institute of International Law since 2021. [2] [5] Samantha Besson has also been a member of the Board of the Swiss Society of International Law since 2022. [6]
In 2019, she was elected at the Collège de France (only woman out of twelve nominations) as holder of the Chair "Droit international des institutions" (The International Law of Institutions). [7] [8] Her inaugural lecture took place on 3 December 2020, and was titled "Reconstruire l'ordre institutionnel international" (Reconstructing the International Institutional Order). [9] [10] [11]
Besson's research interests lie at the intersection of general International Law and legal philosophy, and in particular: international and European human rights law; international and European law on sources and responsibility; comparative domestic, regional and European Union external relations law; international and European citizenship law and democratic theory. [1] [12] [13]
In 2021, she was named Chevalière de l' Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur. [1] In 2024, Besson was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Catholic University of Louvain. [14]
A full bibliography is regularly updated on the Collège de France website [2], and a certain number of articles are accessible online [15].