Valentina Volpe

Valentina Volpe is Associate Professor of Public International Law at Lille Catholic University, France, and Senior Research Affiliate at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL), Heidelberg, Germany. She is also Co-Director of the Advanced LL.M. in Human Rights, Security & Development at Lille Catholic University. Her academic career includes prior roles as Senior Research Fellow at MPIL and teaching positions at LUISS Guido Carli University (Italy), University of Mannheim (Germany), University for Peace (Costa Rica), and the University of Trieste.

Education:

• Ph.D. summa cum laude in Law and Legal Theory, Italian Institute of Human Sciences (now Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa), 2012
• LL.M. (Laurea Specialistica) summa cum laude, University of Trieste, 2007
• J.D. (Laurea di Primo Livello) summa cum laude, University of Trieste, 2005
• Erasmus exchange, University of Strasbourg, 2005

Her research centers on public international law, comparative constitutional law, democracy promotion, human rights, and the role of international organizations such as the Council of Europe and the European Union. She has extensively studied the Venice Commission’s constitutional assistance, the rule of law, judicial independence, and LGBTQ+ rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Her work also addresses tensions between state immunity and victims’ rights in cases involving war crimes.

Her 15 most recent publications reflect a strong focus on legal pluralism, constitutional design, human rights enforcement, and democratic backsliding in Europe. Key themes include the reconciliation of domestic constitutional judgments with international law, the evolution of European identity through enlargement, and judicial dialogue in protecting fundamental rights.

Scientific Awards:

• No awards explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Valentina Volpe has advised on constitutional reform and human rights issues through academic and institutional collaborations. She has not received specific grant information in the text, but her affiliations with MPIL and international conferences suggest active research funding. She co-organized the 2017 binational conference Remedies against Immunity? at Villa Vigoni, demonstrating leadership in interdisciplinary legal discourse.

She is affiliated with the Dialoghi Italiani discussion group at MPIL and has contributed to academic discourse on the Italian Constitutional Court’s role in protecting rights and ensuring judicial independence. Her work bridges theory and practice in international and constitutional law.