PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Full Professor of International Law, University of Bologna, 10/2025 -
Permanent Mission of Italy at the United Nations, New York 1/2019- Legal Adviser at the Mission of Italy at the United Nations.
Delegate for the Italian Government in the Sixth Committee (Legal Affairs) of the UN General Assembly during the 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th and 79th sessions. Vice-Chair of the Sixth Committee in the 78th session.
Coordinator for the Italian Government of General Assembly Resolution “Strengthening the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme” during the 75th session.
Designated delegate for the Italian Government at the 19th session of the Assembly of State Parties (New York, 17-23 December 2020).
Member for the Italian Government of the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Delegate for the Italian Government in the second and third sessions of work of the Intergovernmental Conference on a legally binding instrument on the protection of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).
Consultancy and participation for the Mission of Italy in diplomatic activities related the following legal areas: law of the sea, international criminal justice and accountability for the greavest crimes (ICC, ICTY and ICTR Residual Mechanism, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, IIIM Siria), UN Security Council reform, procedural matters within the General Assembly, promotion of Italy’s candidatures at the UN in the legal field.
Department of Legal Sciences, University of Verona, Italy 2006-2018 (currently on leave) Full Professor of International Law (since March 2018). Associate Professor of International Law (2011- 2018). Assistant Professor (2006-2010). Director of the Centre for Excellence in Research on Law, Technology and Change (IUSTeC) from March 2018 to December 2018.
President of the Master’s course in Governance of Emergencies from 2015 to 2018.
Member of the Board of the Department (2013-2015). Courses taught: Public International Law, Law of International Organizations, Advanced International Law, Governance of International Crises.
Guest lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, University of Milan, University of Parma, University of Catania, University of Trento, University of Palermo, University of Bologna, Second University of Naples.
Co-director of the journal Questions of International Law from December 2017 to July 2020.
Responsible for the course “International Law” (2009/2010, 2010/2011) and for the course “International Economic Law” (2013/2014) in the Faculty of Economics of the University of Verona.
Responsible for the area “International Law” in the School for Legal Professions of the University of Verona and the University of Trento (2013-2016).
Commissioner in the national State Exam for admission at the Bar (Court of Appeal, Venice, 2011-2012).
Member of the academic board of the Doctoral Programme in International and European Legal Sciences. Supervision of 8 doctoral candidates in international law (5 having successfully completed).
Director of the book series “The Search for Law in the International Community”, Editoriale Scientifica.
Participation as researcher in the 2004-2007 COFIN national research project “Non-compliance procedures under Multilateral Environmental Agreements” carried out by the Universities of Milan, Bologna, Verona and Parma.
Responsible for two research projects in cooperation with Unicredit Bank and Fondazione Cariverona on contractual and investment legal relations for Italian investors in the Russian and Turkish markets (2014-2015).
Coordinator of an international research project on the effectiveness, legality and legitimacy of the Basel regulatory framework involving scholars from Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and the UK (2017-2019).
Appointed by the Curatorium of the Hague Academy of International Law as Director of Studies for the year 2020.
LUISS “Guido Carli”, Rome, Italy 9/2018-12/2018
Adjunct Professor for the course in International Law at the B.A. in Politics and International Relations
Studio legale Chiavegatti&Chiavegatti 11/2015-12/2018
Of Counsel. Practice in international investment arbitration. Counsel for the Italian company “Consutel S.p.a.” in international investment arbitration proceedings brought against Algeria.
Italian Ministry of the Environment, Italy 11/2012
Legal expert member of the Italian Delegation at the Sixth Meeting of the Parties of the UNECE Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, Rome, 28-30 November 2012
United Nations Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia 12/2011
Legal expert for the United Nations at the international training for diplomats and State officials of Central Asian countries “International Legal Instruments for the Management of Transboundary Water Resources”, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 5-8 December 2011.
University for Foreigners of Perugia, Italy 9/2010-10/2010
Legal training for Afghan judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers funded by the Italian Ministry of Justice. Coordination and teaching (24 hours) in the ‘International Law and Human Rights’ course.
Faculty of Law, University of Amsterdam, NL 09/2005-09/2006
Marie Curie Fellow
European Commission Marie-Curie funding for an individual two-year research project on the enforcement of international law in occupied territories (FPVI). Special focus on the EU external relations with de facto regimes.
Teaching and management of the Masters’ course ‘The Formation of States and the Law of Self-Determination’ in the academic years 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09.
Faculty of Law, University of Maastricht, NL 05/2004- 09/2005
Post-doctoral researcher
Post-doctoral researcher on a research project funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research on the influence of human rights law and international criminal law on the development of the ICJ jurisprudence. Supervision: Prof Menno Kamminga.
Coaching of undergraduate students for the Telders and Jessup Moot Court Competitions. Participation as coach at the Jessup International Rounds (Washington DC, 29 March – 3 April 2005).
Law Department, London School of Economics, London 09/2001-01/2004 Teaching assistant
Three to six hours per week undergraduate teaching in Public International Law in the academic years 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004.
Teacher in the LSE Summer School 2003 in the course ‘Contemporary issues of international law’.
Co-coach for the LSE Jessup team in the 2002-2003 competition.
Judge at the British Telders Competition preliminary rounds held at the University of Leicester.
Cameroon v Nigeria, International Court of Justice 10/2001-11/2001
Research assistant to one of the legal counsels for Cameroon in the boundary dispute with Nigeria
Drafting of legal pleadings on the question of territorial sea and continental shelf delimitation.
International Maritime Organization, UN, London 06/1999-07/1999 Intern
Research on the national legal system of States dissenting to the international regime on civil liability for oil pollution.
Lower Saxony Ministry of Interior, Hanover, Germany 07/1998-08/1998 Intern
Assistance in dealing with refugees return to Bosnia-Herzegovina within the implementation of Annex 6 of the Dayton Agreements.
PAPERS PRESENTED AT CONFERENCE
'Incidental proceedings before the International Court of Justice', paper presented at the annual conference of the American Branch dell'International Law Association, New York, 27 October 2024
'Towards a convention on the protection of persons in the event of disaster', paper presented at the annual conference of the American Branch dell'International Law Association, New York, 23 October 2023
'The discourse on the rule of law at the United Nations', paper presented at the World Congress of Societies of International Law, Lima, 23 March 2023
‘The Obligation to Pursue Peaceful Settlement and the General Obligation of Restraint’, paper presented at the conference ‘The Use of Force in Relation to Sovereignty Disputes over Land Territory’, organized by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, 27 March 2018
‘General Principles Infra Legem, Praeter Legem or Contra Legem? The Role of Equity in Determining Reparation’, paper presented at the conference ‘General Principles and the Coherence of International Law’, organized by the Universities of Oslo, Leuven and Bologna, Paris, France, 23 March 2017
‘The Duty not to Aggravate the Dispute in the South China Sea Award’, paper presented at the conference ‘Ocean Issues for the Pacific and East Asia’, organized by the University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, 4 November 2016
‘Managing, Cooling-off and Freezing Territorial and Maritime Boundary Disputes’, paper presented at the conference ‘South China Sea Arbitration and Beyond Territorial and Maritime Boundary Disputes in East Asia’, organised by the University of Incheon and the Asian Foundation for the Development of International Law in East Asia, Seoul, South Korea, 6 October 2016
‘Contextualising and Framing the Discourse over Territorial Disputes from the Perspective of International Law’, paper presented at the annual conference of the European Society of International Law, Riga, Latvia, 8 September 2016
‘Il principio dell’integrità territoriale nel diritto internazionale: principio cardine o scatola vuota?’, paper presented at the conference ‘Autodeterminazione post-coloniale e movimenti secessionisti: il caso della Catalogna”, organised by the University of Naples “Federico II” and DIPLOCAT, Naples, 30 June 2016
‘Gli strumenti di risoluzione delle controversie’, paper presented at the conference ‘Il Trattato transatlantico UE/USA sul commercio e sugli investimenti: cosa cambia per le persone e per l’economia?’, organised by the Doctoral School in Law and Economics, Vicenza, 10 June 2016
‘Della vulgata dell’ISIS Stato: la prospettiva del diritto internazionale’, paper presented at the conference ‘La governance degli stati di crisi tra diritto e relazioni internazionali’, organised by the Department of Legal Sciences of the University of Verona, Verona, 27 May 2016
‘Main Post World War II Issues: 1945-1957’, paper presented at the workshop ‘A History of International Law in Italy’, organised at the European University Institute, Florence, 19 April 2016
‘Reconciliation in Europe: a Case Study from the Western Balkans’, paper presented at the workshop ‘Reconciliation in the Asian-Pacific region and beyond’, organised by the East-West Centre of the University of Honolulu, Honolulu, United States, 14 December 2015
‘Protezione diplomatica e obblighi erga omnes: fuga da Barcelona Traction?’, paper presented at the conference ‘Interesse collettivo e obblighi erga omnes nel diritto internazionale contemporaneo’, organised by the University of Bologna, Ravenna, 7 May 2015
‘Theories of non-recognition in international law’, paper presented at the conference ‘The Case of Crimea in Light of International Law: Nature and Implications’, organised by the Centre for Russian-Polish understanding and the Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, 20 March 2015
‘The 2013 Fisheries Protocol between Morocco and the European Union: same old adage for Western Sahara?’, paper presented at the conference ‘EU approaches to the question of Western Sahara’, organised by the University of Bologna, Forlì, 5 December 2014
‘International Law as a System: the 2013 Fisheries Protocol between the EU and Morocco’, paper presented at the symposium ‘Engendering International Law’, held at the Law Department of the London School of Economics, London, 24 October 2014
‘Russia’s veto in the vote of 15 March 2014 and the obligation to abstain under Art. 27, para. 3 of the Charter under scrutiny’, paper presented at the conference "Actualité du droit international et du droit européen", organized by the Italo-French Research Centre for International and European Law, Nice, 12 September 2014
‘The non-recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea’, paper presented at the conference ‘The Incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Federation in the Light of International Law’, organised by the Max Planck Institute for International and Public Comparative Law, Heidelberg, 3 September 2014
‘Kosovo 2008-2012: from Suzerainty to Sovereignty’, paper presented at the conference "Actualité du droit international et du droit européen", organized by the Italo-French Research Centre for International and European Law, Nice, 4 settembre 2013
Participation in the round table ‘Passaggio in India: la vicenda dei marò al vaglio del diritto internazionale’, organised by the Chair in International Law of the University of Bologna, Bologna, 25 March 2013
‘Deterritorializing International Law: some Introductory Remarks’, paper presented at the conference ‘A Lackland Law? Territory, Effectiveness and Jurisdiction in International and European Law’, organised by the Young International Lawyers Research Forum, Catania, 24-25 January 2013
‘La protezione diplomatica e consolare dei cittadini dell’Unione Europea e i rapporti con gli Stati terzi’, paper presented at the round table ‘I diritti di cittadinanza nell’Unione Europea,’ organised by the Centre of European Documentation, University of Verona, Verona, 11 November 2011
‘State responsibility in disputed areas on land and at sea’, paper presented at the conference ‘Asian Engagements with International Law, organised by the Korean Society of International Law, Daegu, South Korea, 21 October 2011
‘La legittima difesa nei confronti degli attori non statali’, paper presented at the conference ‘L’aggressione e la legittima difesa nel diritto internazionale contemporaneo’, organised by the University of Bologna and the Istituto di Studi Politici S. Pio V, Bologna, 27 September 2011
‘Le statut en droit international du Comité national de transition libyen et ses rapports avec les Etats tiers’, paper presented at the round-table ‘Actualité du droit international et du droit européen’, organised by the Université Sophia-Antipolis de Nice, Nice, 14 September 2011
‘Declarations of independence and territorial integrity in light of the Court’s advisory opinion’, paper presented at the round-table ‘L’avis de la Cour Internationale de Justice sur la declaration d’independence du Kosovo’, organised by the Université Sophia-Antipolis de Nice, Nice, 24 September 2010
‘Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence and General International Law’, paper presented at the round-table ‘La declaration d’indépendence du Kosovo en attendant l’avis de la Cour International de Justice’, organised by the Université Sophia-Antipolis de Nice, Nice, 5 February 2010
‘US-Canada Arctic Policies and Priorities: an Outsider’s View’, paper presented at the conference ‘Marking 100 years of US-Canada Boundary Relations’, organised by the Université de Monreal and the University of Brunel, Montreal, 7-9 December 2009
‘Il ruolo dell’Unione Europea nella gestione della fase post-dichiarazione di indipendenza in Kosovo’, paper presented at the conference ‘La dichiarazione di indipendenza del Kosovo del 17 febbraio 2008’, organised by the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Parma, Parma, 17 November 2009
‘Profili giuridici della cooperazione transfrontaliera in Europa’, paper presented at the conference ‘La cooperazione transfrontaliera tra aree protette nella regione delle Alpi’, organised by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in the framework of the ECONNECT project, Domodossola, 16 April 2009
‘State responsibility in territorial disputes on land and at sea’, joint paper presented with Irini Papanicolopulu at the conference ‘The State of Sovereignty’, organised by the International Boundaries Research Unit, Durham, 1-3 April 2009
‘New Forms of International Intervention in the Kosovo post-declaration of independence’, paper presented at the round-table ‘Current issues in international territorial administrations’, organised by the Faculty of Law of the University of Padova, Padua, 16 October 2008
‘Die Unabhaengigkeit des Kosovo’, paper presented at the Oesterreichisches Voelkerrechtstag, organised by the Faculties of Law of the Universities of Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz, Padova, held in Conegliano, 14 June 2008
‘The Security Council and Territorial Sovereignty: the Case of Kosovo’, paper presented at the workshop ‘The Notion of Sovereignty in Contemporary World’, organised by the Faculties of Law of the University of Bologna, of the University of Verona and of Queen Mary’s College of London, London, 9 May 2008
Participation as invited speaker at the round table on Kosovo ‘La sovranità del Kossovo tra diritto e politica internazionale’ organised by the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Bologna, Bologna, 18 April 2008
Participation as invited speaker at the round table ‘Protezione diplomatica e diritti fondamentali’ organised by the Faculty of Law of the University of Bologna, Bologna, 10 December 2007
‘Non-Compliance Mechanisms under MEAs: Outcomes of the Procedure and Their Effects’, paper presented at Conference ‘Non-Compliance Mechanisms under Existing Multilateral Environmental Agreements’ organised by the Faculties of Law of the University of Milan, University of Parma, University of Bologna, Milan, 8-9 November 2007, available at <http://www.esil-sedi.org>
‘The Doctrine(s) of Non-Recognition: Theoretical Underpinnings and Practical Implications in Dealing with De-Facto Regimes’, paper presented at the ESIL Research Forum 2007, Budapest, 28-30 September 2007
‘The Security Council’s Administration of Territories between Peace-Enforcement and State-Building’, paper presented in Geneva, at the conference ‘Old Questions and New Challenges for the UN Security System: the Role of the Security Council in the Light of the Charter’s Reform’, Geneva, 29-30 September 2005
‘State Responsibility in Territorial Disputes before the ICJ’, Paper presented in the Agora ‘International Legal Doctrine’ at the European Society of International Law Inaugural Conference, Florence 13-15 May, 2004, available at <http://www.esil-sedi.org>
‘A Review of the Security Council’s Post-Conflict Settlement in Kosovo’, Paper presented at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law at the Conference ‘The Security Council in Law and Practice’, London, 5 April 2004
EDUCATION London School of Economics, London, UK 05/2000-06/2004 Phd International Law Thesis Title: ‘Unlawful Territorial Situations: Reconciling Effectiveness, Legality and Legitimacy in International Law’. Critical appraisal of the interplay between effectiveness, legality and legitimacy in the role international law plays in regulating territorial situations contrary to its norms and principles. Supervision: Prof Christine Chinkin. Examiners: Prof Nigel White; Dr Matthew Craven. Approved without revisions. University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK 09/1998-09/1999
LL.M. in International Law with Distinction
Subjects: Public International Law, Maritime Law, International Environmental Law, International Law of Human Rights, EC Competition Law, EC Environmental Law.
Dissertation title: ‘Diplomatic and Domestic Objections to the International Regime of Civil Liability for Oil Pollution at Sea: the Cases of the US and Italy’.
Grant from the University of Padua for postgraduate study abroad.
University of Padua, Padua, Italy 10/1993-06/1998 Laurea in Scienze Politiche
Dissertation in public international law: ‘The Dayton Agreements and their Implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina’. Research conducted from September 1997 to June 1998.
Final Mark: 110/110 cum laude.
ADDITIONAL COURSES AND RESEARCH Centro Bancaja para la Paz y el Desarollo, Castellon, Spain 09/2002-09/2002 2002 Euro-Mediterranean Course on International Law
Seminars attended: The Creation of States in International Law, UN Administration of Territories, EU-Morocco Relations over Fisheries, International Law of Development, Diplomatic and State Immunities.
Max-Planck Institut für Völkerrecht, Heidelberg, Germany 07/2001-08/2001 Personal Research within Phd Programme
Research on the theoretical foundations and elaboration of the principle of effectiveness in international law. DAAD Research Grant.
Centro di Studi Internazionali Gentiliani, San Ginesio, Italy 10/1999-11/1999 Course on International Law and International Economics
Seminars attended: Theoretical Foundations of International Law, Conflict of Laws, Law of International Contracts, Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Decisions, International Arbitration, Financial Markets.
PRIZES
Prize SIDI 2006
Prize conferred by the Italian Society of International Law (SIDI) for the best publication produced by a junior international lawyer in 2005. The prize was conferred for the article ‘Diplomatic Protection and Human Rights before the International Court of Justice: Re-fashioning Tradition?’ published on the 2004 Netherlands Yearbook of International Law.
Prize Georg Schwarzenberger 2005
Prize conferred by Institute of Advanced Legal Studies for the best Ph.D. thesis defended in 2004 at the University of London in the area of public international law.
Prize Alberico Gentili 2003-2004
Prize conferred by the Centre Alberico Gentili (San Ginesio – Italy) for the best Ph.D. thesis in the field of public international law and history of international law.
LSE Part-time Teachers Prize 2002-2003
Prize conferred by the LSE Law Department to the best part-time teachers in the years 2002-2003.
MEMBERSHIP IN ASSOCIATIONS
Member of the Committee of the International Law Association “Recognition/Non-Recognition” (2013-2017)
Member of the European Society of International Law (2008-2018)
Member of the Italian Society of International Law (2006-2018)
Member of the Athenaeum Club, London
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Italian: mother tongue
English: fluent written, spoken and reading knowledge
French: fair written and spoken knowledge, fluent reading knowledge
German: basic written and spoken, fluent reading knowledge
Spanish: fluent reading knowledge
