Gian Luca Burci

Gian Luca Burci is a Senior Visiting Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. He concurrently serves as Director of the joint LLM in Global Health Law and Governance program with Georgetown University Law School and Academic Adviser to the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute. Additionally, he holds a Visiting Professor and Senior Scholar role at Georgetown University's O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. His professional background includes 18 years (1998–2016) at the World Health Organization (WHO), where he served as Legal Counsel and contributed to landmark initiatives such as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and revisions to the International Health Regulations. Earlier roles included work at the UN Legal Office (1989–1998) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (1998–1999).

Prof. Burci’s expertise spans public international law, international organizational law, and global health governance. His courses focus on international legal frameworks, advocacy strategies, and global health law. He has authored/co-authored seminal works including The World Health Organization (2004) and edited major collections on global health law. He sits on the editorial board of the International Organization Law Review and co-founded the Interest Group on International Health Law within the European Society of International Law.

His academic contributions emphasize legal dimensions of global health crises, WHO institutional reform, and multilateral health governance. His research highlights intersections between international law, health emergencies, and human rights, particularly in contexts like pandemic responses (e.g., Ebola, H1N1) and public health partnerships.

Prof. Burci has advised on WHO’s pandemic preparedness, legal aspects of health emergencies, and WHO reform initiatives. His interdisciplinary work bridges legal scholarship with practical policy-making in global health, reflecting over three decades of engagement in international organizations and academic research.