News and Events

Marjan Peeters to Join Inaugural EIEL Module Webinar

Posted on by dariopiselli in New EIEL Module

The academic staff of the former Jean Monnet Module in European Union Law and Sustainable Development (EULawSD) are pleased to announce the inaugural webinar of EULawSD’s follow-up project, the Jean Monnet Module in European and International Environmental Law (EIEL).

For this inaugural webinar, which will take place on October 30 at 2pm Central European Time (14.00), the EIEL module will welcome Prof Marjan Peeters, Professor of Environmental Policy and Law at Maastricht University and its Maastricht Centre for European Law (MCEL). Her online presentation will try to unpack the achievements and challenges facing the EU environmental legal order as the Union’s institutions seek to operationalise the European Green Deal. Prof Peeters will particularly delve into the concerns related to the compliance with, and enforcement of, EU environmental law, highlighting the important role of civil society and of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In addition, Prof Peeters will discuss the question of how to teach this complex and dynamic field at a time of critical policy developments, and points at the great possibility of using webinars for teaching purposes.

Prof Peeters holds her position at Maastricht University since April 2008. She started in 1987 with studying environmental law. Since then, she has been focusing on understanding how a high level of environmental protection can be effectively and efficiently reached based on the rule of law and in the context of sustainable development. Core research attention goes to legal aspects of climate change, regulatory instruments for emission reduction, and the way how law deals with uncertain risks. Prof Peeters has co-edited more than 6 books in the field of EU environmental and climate law, and she has supervised – and is still supervising – several PhD projects.

Her latest books are Climate Change Law (2016), co-edited with Daniel A Farber, and the Research Handbook on EU environmental law (2020), co-edited with Mariolina Eliantonio.

The webinar will be streamed below or at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5vuoWjQFfM. It will remain online for future viewing.

Announcing the New Jean Monnet Module in European and International Environmental Law (EIEL)

Posted on by dariopiselli in EULawSD Module

The academic staff of the Jean Monnet Module in European Union Law and Sustainable Development is excited to announce that the European Commission, through its Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), has awarded EULawSD members Riccardo Pavoni, Dario Piselli and Sonia Carmignani their second Erasmus+ grant for Jean Monnet Activities, as part of its 2020 call for proposals.

The grant concerns a new Jean Monnet Module, entitled ‘European and International Environmental Law‘ (EIEL), which is closely related to, and builds upon, the activities of the EULawSD module. In particular, the module aims to provide students, practitioners and civil society with in-depth knowledge about the state of the art of European and international environmental law and policy, its achievements and challenges, and its interaction with emerging environmental issues and landmark intergovernmental processes.

Two overarching themes will run through the module, informing the discussion of both cross-cutting and sectoral topics in all project activities. The first is the importance that will be attributed to the most pressing and/or emerging issues in European and international environmental law, with an emphasis on the Union’s approach to the two major planetary crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss and its role in the implementation of the relevant international legal instruments (i.e. the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its post-2020 framework). The second will be represented by a particular focus on implementation and enforcement at the level of the EU and its Member States, consistent with the outstanding needs outlined in the Commission’s latest Environmental Implementation Review (2019).

The EIEL module will similarly be hosted by the Department of Law of the University of Siena, and will be implemented for three years starting on September 1st, 2020. Module activities will consist of the following: (i) 50 hours of lectures, group discussions and seminars across four courses offered by the Department of Law; (ii) engagement of academics, practitioners and civil society through public keynote lectures, webinars and a final conference; and (iii) a dedicated website, social media pages, a newsletter and at least two publications which will facilitate the dissemination of the project’s research outputs.

Riccardo Pavoni and Dario Piselli will retain their roles as academic coordinator and programme manager of the new module, respectively, while Sonia Carmignani will remain a key teaching staff member. The EIEL team will also include two new key teaching staff members, Professor Elisa Morgera and Gabriele Salvi. Elisa Morgera is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of international environmental law. She is currently Professor of Global Environmental Law at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow and Co-Director of the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance. Gabriele Salvi is a Senior Researcher in Civil Law at the University of Siena, and brings a specific expertise in the private law aspects of European environmental law to the team.

Photo credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019), processed by European Space Agency, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

EULawSD Joins Final Conference of the BeSEC Jean Monnet Project

Posted on by dariopiselli in Collaborations and Partnerships, Events and Opportunities

The academic staff of the Jean Monnet Module in European Union Law and Sustainable Development (EULawSD) is pleased to announce that the final conference of the Jean Monnet Project on ‘Boosting European Security Law and Policy (BeSEC)‘ will take place on Google Meet from 18 to 20 June 2020, hosted by the Department of Law of the University of Siena.

In what is an important example of cooperation and networking between Jean Monnet activities, the EULawSD module has partnered with the BeSEC project, which is coordinated by Professor Marco Ventura, ever since its inception. The EULawSD staff has also contributed to the organisation of this final conference, and will be present in forces during its sessions.

Professor Riccardo Pavoni and Professor Alessandro Palmieri have been part of the conference’s Scientific/Organising Committee, and will be in charge of the general conclusions at the end of the closing session of the conference. Professor Pavoni will also chair the first session on 18 June, which will feature keynote addresses by leading scholars such as Jan Wouters, Pavel Sturma, Roberto Pardolesi and fellow EULawSD team member Federico Lenzerini (the theme of Lenzerini’s address will be ‘The Common European Asylum System: Recent Challenges and (Still) Unresolved Problems’).

To join the virtual conference, it is still possible to send a request to the Secretariat of the Conference via Isabella Masè (imase@fbk.eu) or Giammaria Milani (milani@unisi.it).

To read more about the conference, visit the news item on the website of the University of Siena or the official page of the BeSEC project. You can also download the agenda of the conference here.

New EULawSD Webinar on the Precautionary Principle Announced

Posted on by dariopiselli in Events and Opportunities

We are pleased to announce a third session of the 2020 EULawSD webinar series, which will take place on 13 July 2020 at 2pm CEST. Alessandra Donati, Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law, will join us for a dialogue on ‘The Precautionary Principle Under EU Law: a Brake or a Lever to Sustainable Development?’. The webinar will be visible on EULawSD’s YouTube channel and at this link.

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About the webinar

Set forth by Article 191 § 2 TFUE and embedded in several EU directives and regulations, the precautionary principle is a principle of anticipated action that requires the competent authorities to anticipate the traditional time for the adoption of a measure to protect the environment and public health. This means that decision-makers shall not wait until the risk is certain, from a scientific point of view, but shall act before when the risk is only uncertain.

From this perspective – by preventing the occurrence of majors risks for the environment and public health – the precautionary principle can be considered as a corollary for the achievement of the objective of sustainable development under Article 3 § 3 TUE. Despite its importance for the attainment of sustainable development, the precautionary principle has not been mentioned by the EU Commission in the 2016 communications identifying the framework for the implementation under EU law of the SDGs, and for the time being, is not included in the EU Green Deal. Likewise, the EU institutions have neglected the precautionary principle when dealing with some of the major risks – like pesticides and endocrine disruptors – which could have an impact on the attainment of sustainable development.

Against this backdrop, can we consider that the precautionary principle is a brake or a lever to sustainable development under EU law? To answer this question, and based on the most recent legal texts and case law, the webinar will identify the main advantages and disadvantages of the application of the precautionary principle to the benefit of the present and future generations..

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About the Speaker

Alessandra Donati is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Procedural law in Luxembourg. She obtained her PHD at the University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne with a thesis on the precautionary principle under EU law. Alessandra holds a degree in law from the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi (Milan) and in economics from the Università Politecnica delle Marche (Ancona). She also holds an LL.M. in French and European Law from the University Paris 1- Panthéon Sorbonne. Alessandra is a member of both the Italian (Milan) and French (Paris) Bar Association.

Before joining the Max Planck Institute as a research fellow, Alessandra practiced law for several years as an attorney in Milan at Chiomenti Studio Legale and in Paris at Castaldi Partners law office. Alessandra is currently teaching at SciencesPo (campus of Nancy) and at the University of Luxembourg. She specializes in European Union law, and namely in EU environmental and food law.

EULawSD team to join online event on protection of COVID-19 ‘victims’ in international and EU law

Posted on by dariopiselli in Collaborations and Partnerships, Events and Opportunities

On May 26th, the academic coordinator of the Jean Monnet Module in EU Law and Sustainable and Development Riccardo Pavoni, together with fellow EULawSD team member Patrizia Vigni, will join an online event organised by the Università degli Studi di Siena as part of its ‘Virtual Studium‘ series.

The interview will discuss how international and EU Law can help protect ‘victims’ of COVID-19, including relatives of deceased persons, people who are or have been sick due to COVID-19, persons displaced by COVID-19, persons who have become unemployed due to COVID-19, and companies which have been obliged to close down and/or have suffered economic losses due to the pandemic. 

The event will be broadcast on the University’s Facebook page (@unisiena) starting from 18.30/6.30pm CEST. To learn more, see http://www.unisi.it/unisilife/eventi/virtual-studium.

Riccardo Pavoni joins web show on the European response to COVID-19

Posted on by dariopiselli in EU News and Info, Events and Opportunities

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On May 7th, EULawSD academic coordinator Riccardo Pavoni joined a webinar on ‘The European Response to the COVID-19 Emergency’, which was aired on Italian regional broadcaster Alò Web TV.

During the show, Professor Pavoni discussed the basket of measures taken by European institutions to confront the pandemic, ranging from those aimed at ensuring the availability of medical equipment across all EU countries to the European Central Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme and the Commission’s efforts towards the development of a EU Recovery Fund.

Professor Pavoni was joined on the show by fellow Prof Giammaria Milani (Università degli Studi di Siena), who offered a comparative legal perspective on the different strategies adopted by selected European countries.

You can watch the full web show below.

 

 

Riccardo Pavoni to Hold ELSA Italy’s Webinar on the European Parliament

Posted on by dariopiselli in Collaborations and Partnerships, Events and Opportunities

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The EULawSD staff is pleased to announce that on Tuesday, April 7th (11am CEST time) our coordinator Riccardo Pavoni will hold a webinar on the powers and functioning of the European Parliament in the context of ‘ELSA Italy for European Constitution‘. The initiative constitutes the first International Open Legislation simulation hosted by the Italian branch of ELSA, the European Law Students’ Association.

During the webinar, Riccardo will also discuss the role and actions taken by the European Parliament to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations in September 2015 and more broadly promote sustainable development in the European Union and beyond.

To register or learn more about the webinar, which is open to all ELSA Members, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/882465718871702/.

More information on ‘ELSA Italy for European Constitution’ is also available on ELSA Italy’s website here: https://www.elsa-italy.org/blog/news/openlegislation/.

 

Elena Cima to Join Second Session of the 2020 EULawSD Webinar Series

Posted on by dariopiselli in EULawSD Module, Events and Opportunities

Elena Cima - Webinar

We are proud to announce that the second session of the 2020 EULawSD webinar series will take place on Tuesday, 28th April. For the occasion, we will welcome Elena Cima, who is a Lecturer at the Pôle de Gouvernance de l’Environnement et Développement Territorial of the University of Geneva, as well as at its Faculty of Law. Elena will join us for a dialogue on ‘The EU and the Modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty: What Could it Mean for Climate Action?’.

In particular, the webinar will focus on the process of modernisation that the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is currently undergoing, with the active participation of all its Parties. Given the important role that the energy sector plays in relation to both contributing to climate change and providing mitigation solutions, the reform of the ECT presents a unique opportunity to ensure that the new text of the Treaty facilitates and increases investments in the energy sector in a sustainable way. As such, Elena will explore the position of the European Union, as well as some of its Member States, which emphasises the need to design a “modernized ECT which should reflect climate change and clean energy transition goals and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Paris Agreement.” Although none of the items open for discussion and reform explicitly refers to or mentions climate change, Elena will argue that many of the core provisions of the Treaty could, if drafted differently, provide for more climate-friendly developments in the EU and beyond.

The webinar will be visible on the YouTube channel of the EULawSD Module or in the box below. As usual, it will be possible to join the event live and ask questions to our speaker.

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About the speaker

Elena Cima is a Lecturer in International Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Geneva. She holds a PhD Degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, a Bachelor of Laws LL. B from the University of Milan and an LL.M degree from Yale Law School, where she was editor of the Yale Journal of International Law.

Previously, she studied at Harvard Law School (Department of East Asian Legal Studies) and then moved to Beijing, where she was Marie Curie Fellow at Tsinghua University and Beijing Normal University and worked as a researcher for over two years on projects funded by the European Commission on energy trade and investment. Her research interests include international trade and environmental law, U.S. and Chinese energy law and policy, and the interfaces between energy and international law.

First Session of the 2020 EULawSD Webinar Series Announced

Posted on by dariopiselli in Events and Opportunities

 

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After the final event of its 2019 edition, which saw ESADE Research Fellow Giovanni Gruni discuss sustainability obligations in EU Free Trade Agreements, the academic staff of the Jean Monnet Module in EU Law and Sustainable Development is proud to announce the first session of the 2020 EULawSD Webinar Series.

The new webinar will take place on February 6th, 2020 at 2pm CET, and will be hosted on EULawSD’s YouTube channel. Dr Ioanna Hadjiyianni, Lecturer in Law at the University of Cyprus, will present her volume The EU as a Global Regulator for Environmental Protection (Hart Publishing 2019), which aims to identify and explain the emerging legal phenomenon of internal environmental measures with extraterritorial implications as an important manifestation of EU global regulatory power.

To join the webinar and save the date, click here or view it below:

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About the speaker

Ioanna is currently a lecturer in Law at the University of Cyprus. She is currently teaching EU and climate change law and researching the global reach of EU law in the area of environmental protection. Ioanna was formerly a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the European University Institute. She was an active member of the EUI Environmental Law Working Group and the EUI inter-disciplinary thematic research group on ‘Europe in the World’. She also undertook the Max Weber Programme Teaching Certificate.

She received her PhD from the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London in June 2017 under the supervision of Dr Eloise Scotford and Dr Federico Ortino. Her thesis investigated the extraterritorial reach of EU environmental law. She has taught EU Law and Environmental Law at King’s College London as a visiting lecturer. Prior to joining King’s, she was a Schumann trainee at the Committee on Petitions at the European Parliament in Brussels. Ioanna holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law and Policy from University College London and an LLB in English and European Law from Queen Mary University of London.

Presentation of book chapter on EU Biodiversity Law and its Health Impacts

Posted on by dariopiselli in Publications and Outputs

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Dario Piselli, programme manager of the Jean Monnet Module on EU Law and Sustainable Development) was invited to discuss the health impacts of EU biodiversity law during a seminar organised by the Centre for International Environmental Studies of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, which took place on November 21st in Geneva. The seminar was part of the Fall 2019 edition of the CIES Lunch Seminar Series, a series of interdisciplinary research seminars on environmental, natural resource and development issues aimed at the dissemination of research results to academic experts and policymakers.

Mr Piselli, who is a PhD candidate and affiliate member of the Centre for International Environmental Studies,  presented the book chapter on ‘EU biodiversity law and its health impacts‘ that he recently co-authored together with EULawSD academic coordinator Riccardo Pavoni. In particular, he focused on the interaction between EU nature conservation legislation and human health and well-being considerations, as articulated in the Birds and Habitats Directives (Dir. 2009/147/EC and Dir.92/43/EEC) and their interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Union.