PhD Position: Legal Mobilisation in European Law

19 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

University of Amsterdam (UvA)

Research Field

Cultural studies

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Netherlands

Application Deadline

15 Apr 2024 - 21:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Not Applicable

Hours Per Week

38.0

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Are you looking for a challenging position in a dynamic setting? The Amsterdam School for Regional, Transnational and European Studies (ARTES) currently has a vacant PhD position as part of the starting grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands project ‘Legal mobilisation in European law’, led by principal investigators Dr. Marta Morvillo and Dr. Stefan Salomon , with the collaboration of Prof. Luiza Bialasiewicz . ARTES is one of the five Research Schools within the Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR).

You will also form part of the Department of International and European Public Law and the Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance (ACELG) . ACELG has a strong track-record of excellent research and sustains a dynamic research culture through a series of events and initiatives. ACELG participates among other things in the project SGEL that connects European law with public international law and private law and is home to the ERC Consolidator project ‘Strategic Climate Litigation’s Direct and Indirect Consequences for Democracies’, led by Prof. Christina Eckes .

What is the project about?
Legal mobilisation is on the rise in Europe. Citizens and associations increasingly use law to hold governments and companies accountable for failing to uphold their environmental and fundamental rights commitments. Legal mobilization can be broadly described as a practice of pursuing social, political, or economic change through legal means in judicial or quasi-judicial fora.

While legal mobilisation is a flourishing field of research, important questions still need to be addressed regarding the actors that engage in legal mobilisation, and the socio-economic and political contexts within which such mobilisation occurs. The project will thus query the role that private and public actors assume in legal mobilization, the way in which legal, political, and economic structures shape practices of legal mobilization, as well as questions regarding the broader implications of legal mobilisation on institutions and decision-making processes.

What are you going to do?
The PhD project is part of the broader project on legal mobilisation in European law. The objective of the PhD project is to enquire how socio-economic structures on the one hand and legal structures on the other co-constitute each other in practices of legal mobilization in Europe. Within this general topic, we envisage several possible strands of enquiry that the PhD project could focus on: (1) different actors that engage in legal mobilisation, (2) procedural rules that shape practices of legal mobilisation, (3) institutional power shifts as an effect of legal mobilisation.

We welcome research proposals that address either one of these lines of enquiry or several aspects cutting across different lines of enquiry through interdisciplinary methods that are broadly located in the law in context approach. This may include a variety of different methodologies (e.g. political theory, legal anthropology, sociologically informed approaches) and methods (e.g. participants observation, qualitative interviews, quantitative approaches). Legal mobilization could also be investigated from a comparative or a multi-level perspective.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• participating in meetings and activities of the project research group;
• submission of a PhD thesis within four years;
• publishing one single-authored, peer reviewed article;
• publishing one peer reviewed article, co-authored with one or more supervisors;
• presenting intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
• contributing to the organisation of knowledge dissemination activities;
• (Co-)teaching courses at the BA-level in the 2nd and 3rd year of the appointment (max. 0,2FTE per year);
• participating in the Research School and Faculty of Humanities and/or the Amsterdam Law School PhD.

Requirements
Specific Requirements

• a completed Master's degree in law or a related discipline in the social sciences or humanities with proven knowledge of European law. You may apply if you have not yet completed your Master's degree only if you provide a signed letter from your supervisor stating that you will graduate before 1 December 2024
• research skills demonstrated by an outstanding Master’s thesis or other published or unpublished work
• excellent written and oral communication in English (proficiency in Dutch is an advantage)
• proven experience in academic writing in English.

In addition, you offer the following skills:

• experience or interest in working with a variety of different methodologies and methods
• strong cooperative attitude and willingness to engage in collaborative research
• enthusiasm for communicating academic research to non-academic audiences
• excellent organizational skills and ability to work independently.

Please note that if you already hold a doctorate/PhD or are working towards obtaining a similar degree elsewhere, you cannot be admitted to a doctoral programme at the UvA.

Additional Information
Benefits

We offer a temporary employment contract for the period of 48 months. The first contract will be for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months, contingent on a positive performance evaluation within the first 12 months. The employment contract is for 38 hours a week. The preferred starting date is 01 September 2024.

Your salary is in the first year of the employment contract € 2,770 up and in the last year a maximum of € 3,539 gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8,3% year-end allowance. Favourable tax agreements may apply to applicants moving from abroad. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

What else do we offer?

• PhD candidates receive a tuition fee waiver;
• PhD candidates have free access to courses offered by the Graduate School of Humanities , the Amsterdam Law School, and the Dutch National Research Schools ;
• excellent possibilities for further professional development and education;
• an inspiring academic and international work environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
• an enthusiastic and professional academic team.

Selection process

We welcome research proposals that investigate the role of socio-economic and legal structures in shaping practices of legal mobilisation in Europe.

If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the link below. We will accept applications until 15 April 2024.

Your application should include the following information:

• a cover letter and academic CV;
• a list of all Master-level modules you have taken, with an official transcript of grades;
• a research proposal of 1.500 words (excluding bibliography and references). The research proposal should include a bibliography of key literature and elaborate on how the proposed research fits into the broader research project;
• the names and email addresses of two references, including your thesis supervisor, who may be approached by the selection committee;
• One piece of academic writing (published or unpublished).

Please submit the required information in 1 pdf by uploading in the required field ‘CV’.

Interviews will be held online during the week of 22 April 2024

Additional comments

If you have any questions about the position or the department, please contact during office hours:

• Marta Morvillo [email protected]
• Stefan Salomon [email protected]

Website for additional job details

https://www.academictransfer.com/339183/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Faculty of Humanities

Country

Netherlands

City

Amsterdam

Postal Code

1012CX

Street

Kloveniersburgwal 48

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/339183/phd-position-legal-mobilisation-in-e…

Contact

City

Amsterdam

Website

http://www.uva.nl/

Street

Spui 21

Postal Code

1012 WX

STATUS: EXPIRED