CV
This page provides information about my academic and other professional experience, as well as relevant skills and activities.
Basic information
- Nationality: Swiss and French national
- Current position: Associate Professor of Law (tenured), University of Lausanne
- Contact details: Faculté de droit, des sciences criminelles et d’administration publique, Centre de droit public, Université de Lausanne, Quartier UNIL-Chamberonne, Internef, Bureau NEF-443, CH-1015 Lausanne, odile.ammann@unil.ch
- Assistant: Ms Audrey Boussat, audrey.boussat@unil.ch, +41 21 692 28 03
- Secretariat: Ms Christine De Bernardis, Christine.DeBernardis@unil.ch, +41 21 692 28 10
- ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2548-9538
- Civil status: Married, two children (born in 2022 and 2024)
Academic experience
Professional experience
- Spring 2025: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Visiting Professor; course taught: ‘International Law in Domestic Courts’
- Jul. 2023 - Dec. 2024: Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC, United States, Visiting researcher (sponsor: Prof. Franz Werro)
- Feb. 2022 - May 2023: Harvard Law School, Cambridge MA, United States, Visiting researcher (sponsor: Prof. Lawrence Lessig); visiting fellow at the Animal Law and Policy Program (director: Prof. Kristen Stilt)
- Fall 2021: Faculty of Law, University of Zurich, Switzerland, Lecturer, substitute for Prof. Regina Kiener; course taught: ‘Advanced Fundamental Rights’ (‘Grundrechte II’)
- August 2021 - present: Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Associate Professor of Law (tenured)
- May 2021 - Jan. 2022: Sciences Po, Center for European Studies and Comparative Politics, Paris, France, Visiting researcher (sponsor: Prof. Cornelia Woll)
- May 2018 - July 2021: Faculty of Law, University of Zurich, Switzerland, Senior researcher and lecturer in public law (Oberassistentin); Habilitation thesis in law (accepted in October 2024) titled Influencing Lawmakers: A Comparative Constitutional Analysis of Legislative Lobbying (mentors: Prof. Regina Kiener, Prof. Johannes Reich); Participant in the Schindler Junior Scholars Program of the Institute for International Law and Comparative Constitutional Law (2019-2020)
- July - Sept. 2017: Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, Germany, Visiting researcher (sponsor: Prof. Anne Peters)
- Oct. 2016 - June 2017: Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, Visiting researcher (supervisor: Prof. Timothy Endicott) June - Sept. 2016 Harvard Law School, Cambridge MA, United States Visiting researcher (sponsor: Prof. Gabriella Blum)
- July 2013 - July 2017 (incl. 1-year break for LL.M.): University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland, PhD in law (summa cum laude) titled Domestic Courts and the Interpretation of International Law: Methods and Reasoning Based on the Swiss Example (supervisor: Prof. Samantha Besson; submitted on 4 July 2017, defended and accepted without corrections on 18 December 2017; winner of the Walther Hug-Prize 2021)
- Sept. 2018 - Sept. 2021: University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, Certificate in Advanced Studies in Higher Education (‘CAS Hochschuldidaktik’): 2-year continuing education program for university-level instructors covering teaching and learning at university level (completion postponed by 1 year due to COVID-19)
- July 2019: Lobbying Summer Academy, Bilbao, Spain, 4-day summer school on lobbying (lead organizer: Prof. Alberto Alemanno, HEC Paris)
- Aug. 2015 - May 2016: Harvard Law School, Cambridge MA, United States, Master of laws (LL.M.) (graduated with ‘honors’ in 7 out of 8 graded subjects), specialities: public international law, jurisprudence, law and philosophy, theory of interpretation, US constitutional law
- Sept. 2011 - June 2013: University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland, Bilingual (German/French) Master of Law (summa cum laude), specialties: European and international law; business and contract law, Bilingue Plus Program (intensive German language and culture program; sole participant)
- Aug. 2010 - May 2011: Centre for Transnational Legal Studies (CTLS), London, United Kingdom,* Certificate in Transnational Legal Studies; study year abroad as part of the Master of Law
- Sept. 2007 - June 2010: University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland Bilingual (German/French), Bachelor of Law (summa cum laude), specialities: European and international law; religious law, Bilingue Plus Program (one out of three participants)
- 2002 - 2007: Lycée-Collège de la Planta, Sion, Switzerland Bilingual (German/French) high school diploma (‘Maturité’), specialties: Latin/Further Maths/Chemistry
- 1994 - 2002: Compulsory schooling, Sion, Switzerland (in German)
* The founding institutions of the CTLS include Georgetown Law (United States), ESADE Law School (Spain), the National University of Singapore (Singapore), Melbourne Law School (Australia), the University of Toronto (Canada), the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London (United Kingdom), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), and the University of Torino (Italy).
- Aug. 2021 - present: Associate Professor (tenured), Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
- May 2018 - July 2021: Senior assistant (‘Oberassistentin’) of the Public Law Research Group, Faculty of Law, University of Zurich, Switzerland (headed by Prof. Felix Uhlmann (2018-19), Prof. Regina Kiener (2020-21))
- Nov. 2017 - April 2018: Trainee lawyer at the Swiss law firm Walder Wyss, Zurich, Switzerland (IP/IT department, headed by Prof. Hans Rudolf Trüeb and Markus Frick)
- Sept. 2015 - May 2016: Research assistant for Prof. Kristen Stilt, Faculty Director of the Animal Law and Policy Program and Director of the Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School
- July - Aug. 2015: Legal opinion for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs at the request of the International Law Commission (with Prof. Samantha Besson)
- July 2013 - July 2015: Research assistant for Prof. Samantha Besson, Chair of Public International Law and European Law, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
- Feb. - May 2013: Internship in the Chambers of Advocate general Pedro Cruz Villalón, Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg
- Feb. - Dec. 2012: Internship at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Economic and Financial Issues Section, Berne, Switzerland (headed by Nicolas Descoeudres and Bernard Jaggy)
- Sept. 2011 - Feb. 2012: Academic assistant for Prof. Nicolas Queloz, Chair of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
- June - July 2011: Internship at the Swiss law firm Froriep Renggli LLP, London, UK
- May - June 2010: Internship at the Swiss law firm Bär & Karrer, Zug, Switzerland
- French: Native
- German: Native (including Swiss German)
- English: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Level C2
- Latin: 5 years of Latin classes, 5-6 hours/week
- Italian: CEFR Level B2
- Spanish: CEFR Level B1
Teaching experience
- 8 modules (1 hour each) on International Law in Domestic Courts, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Spring 2025 (in English)
- 14 modules (1 hour each) on Lobbying and the Law (‘Lobbying et droit’), Law School/Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration, University of Lausanne, Spring 2025 (in German, French, and English)
- 2 x 14 modules (3 hours each) for 2 groups of Bachelor students on Introduction to Law (‘Introduction au droit’), part II (ca. 400 students in total), Law School, University of Lausanne, Spring 2023; supervision of legal methodology tutorials offered as a complement to the lecture (in French)
- 2 x 14 modules (3 hours each) for 2 groups of Bachelor students on Introduction to Law (‘Introduction au droit’), part I (ca. 450 students in total), Law School, University of Lausanne, Fall 2021; supervision of legal methodology tutorials offered as a complement to the lecture (in French)
- Substitute for Prof. Regina Kiener: 14 modules for Bachelor students on Advanced Fundamental Rights (‘Grundrechte II’) (752 students), including conception and supervision of final (multiple choice) exam, Law Institute, University of Zurich, Fall 2021 (in German)
- 2 x 6 modules (‘Übungen im Öffentlichen Recht I’) for 2 groups of Bachelor students on Constitutional Law (‘Staatsrecht I-III’), State Institutions (‘Staatsorganisationsrecht’), and Fundamental Rights (‘Grundrechte’) (ca. 100 students in total), including marking of 10 papers (ca. 15 pages each), Law Institute, University of Zurich, Spring 2021, online (in German)
- 6 modules on topics in public law for Bachelor and Master students as part of the course ‘Discussion d’arrêts du Tribunal fédéral et de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme’ (ca. 30 students); course taught jointly with Prof. Marc Thommen (modules in criminal law) and Prof. Andreas Heinemann (modules in private law), Law Institute, University of Zurich, Fall 2020, hybrid (in French)
- 1 module (‘Übungen im Öffentlichen Recht I’) for Bachelor students on Constitutional Law (‘Staatsrecht I-III’), State Institutions (‘Staatsorganisationsrecht’), and Fundamental Rights (‘Grundrechte’), including marking of ca. 30 papers, Law Institute, University of Zurich, Spring 2020, online (in German)
- 5 modules on topics in public law for Bachelor and Master students as part of the course ‘Discussion d’arrêts du Tribunal fédéral et de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme’ (ca. 30 students); course taught jointly with Prof. Marc Thommen (modules in criminal law) and Prof. Andreas Heinemann (modules in private law), Law Institute, University of Zurich, Fall 2019 (in French)
- 1 interdisciplinary (public law/criminal law) seminar on ‘Risk and Law’ (‘Risiko und Recht’) for Master students (13 students), including marking of 6 papers; course taught jointly with Dr Nadine Zurkinden, Law Institute, University of Zurich, Fall 2019 (in German)
- 2 x 6 modules (‘Übungen im Öffentlichen Recht I’) for 2 groups of Bachelor students on Constitutional Law (‘Staatsrecht I-III’), State Institutions (‘Staatsorganisationsrecht’), and Fundamental Rights (‘Grundrechte’) (ca. 110 students in total), including marking of 10 papers (ca. 15 pages each), Law Institute, University of Zurich, Spring 2019 (in German)
- Substitute for Prof. Nadja Braun Binder: 2 modules for Bachelor students as part of the course ‘Constitutional Law II – Fundamental Rights’ (‘Staatsrecht II – Grundrechte’) (ca. 300 students), Law Institute, University of Zurich, Fall 2018 (in German)
- 5 modules on topics in public law for Bachelor and Master students as part of the course ‘Discussion d’arrêts du Tribunal fédéral et de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme’ (8 students); course taught jointly with Prof. Marc Thommen (modules in criminal law) and Prof. Andreas Heinemann (modules in private law), Law Institute, University of Zurich, Fall 2018 (in French)
- ‘L’organisation d’un séjour à l’étranger: financement et planification’ (with M. Carron), CUSO doctoral seminar, University of Fribourg, 15 May 2017
- 2 modules (methodological seminars) on ‘Expression orale : quelques principes et conseils’ and ‘La rédaction du mémoire’ in the framework of the ECHR Moot Court (36 students), Chair of Public International Law and European Law (Prof. Samantha Besson), Faculty of Law, University of Fribourg, October and November 2014 (in French)
- Judge in the first round of the ECHR Moot Court (12 teams of 3 students), Chair of Public International Law and European Law (Prof. Samantha Besson), Faculty of Law, University of Fribourg, November 2014 (in French)
- 2 modules on ‘Expression orale : quelques principes et conseils’ and ‘La rédaction du mémoire’, methodological seminars in the framework of the ECHR Moot Court (36 students), Chair of Public International Law and European Law (Prof. Samantha Besson), Faculty of Law, University of Fribourg, October and November 2014 (in French)
- ‘Handling One’s Thesis: Do’s and Don’ts’ (with J. Villotti and D. Wohlwend), ProDoc seminar, Faculty of Law, University of Fribourg, 9 September 2014
- 1 module (methodological seminar) on ‘Recherche et rédaction juridiques’, Chair of Public International Law and European Law (Prof. Samantha Besson), Faculty of Law, University of Fribourg, October 2013 and October 2014 (in French)
- Doctoral supervision: Audrey Boussat, The Participation of Civil Society in Environmental Lawmaking (since 2021)
- Mentor of a doctoral student at the University of Neuchâtel (2020-2021)
- Informal mentoring of doctoral students in law at the University of Lausanne, at the University of Zurich, and at various other Swiss universities (feedback on drafts, research proposals, and doctoral research projects; general advice and coaching); informal support provided to peers at the postdoctoral level (feedback on draft, research proposals, and postdoctoral research projects)
- Supervision of research assistants (‘Pool-Assistierende’) working for the Public Law Research Group of the University of Zurich
- Supervision and organization of tutorials in General Administrative Law (‘Tutorate im Allgemeinen Verwaltungsrecht’) (ca. 10 tutors), University of Zurich, Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019 (in German)
- Supervision of Bachelor student papers (9 papers of ca. 30 pages), Chair of Public International Law and European Law (Prof. Samantha Besson), University of Fribourg, 2013-15
- Member of the Council of the Law School, Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration, University of Lausanne (2024-2026)
- Substitute member of the Interdisciplinary Research Ethics Committee (Commission interdisciplinaire d’éthique de la recherche), Faculty of Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration, University of Lausanne (2023-2027)
- Referee (peer reviewer) for the following journals (selection): Cambridge International Law Journal, Interest Groups and Advocacy, Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht = Heidelberg Journal of International Law
- Referee for the Swiss National Science Foundation (May 2023: review of an Ambizione grant application)
- Member of the editorial board of the Swiss online law journal ‘Jusletter’, Public International Law Section (together with Prof. Daniel Moeckli; since 2021)
- Preparation and coordination of the evaluation of the Public Law Research Group, Faculty of Law, University of Zurich (Spring 2021)
- Member of the Scientific Board of the Doctoral Program in Law, Conference of Western Switzerland Universities (CUSO) (2013-2015)
- Member of the Council of the Institute for Federalism, Faculty of Law, University of Fribourg (scientific collaborators’ representative) (2013-2015)
Awards
- Winner of the Walther Hug-Prize, awarded to the authors of the best PhDs in law in Switzerland in the corresponding year (2021)
- Winner of the Silver Prize for Young Researchers 2021, Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences for the article ‘Passports for Sale: How (Un)Meritocratic Are Citizenship by Investment Programmes?’, (2020) 22:3 European Journal of Migration and Law 309-337 (2021)
- Election to the Swiss Young Academy (Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences) (29 members) (2020-2026)
- Participant in the Schindler Junior Scholars Programme of the Institute for International Law and Comparative Constitutional Law of the University of Zurich (4 participants per year) (2019-2020)
- Fulbright scholar (2015-2016)
- Finalist of the British Parliamentary Style Debating Tournament organized by the Debating Society of the Swiss Study Foundation (2015)
- Award for the best high school diploma of the Lycée-Collège de la Planta, Sion (2007)
- Award for the Best Youth Project with the theatre group ‘FMR’ (2007)
- Four awards for outstanding annual grades (‘note 6’), Lycée-Collège de la Planta, Sion (2003-2006)
Memberships and board positions
- Member of the experts’ network of the Swiss Institute for the Judiciary (since 2024)
- Advisory board member of the German Chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S Germany) (since 2022)
- Board member of the Swiss Section of the International Commission of Jurists (since 2021)
- Member of the Ouvroir de droit potentiel (OuDroPo) (since 2021)
- Advisory board member of the association F.IUS, University of Zurich (since 2021)
- Advisory board member of the Franxini Project (project of the scientific think tank Reatch aimed at bridging the communication gap between scientific expertise and politics) (since 2021)
- Board member of the Onlinekommentar (since 2021)
- Member of the board of trustees (Stiftungsrat) of the Swiss Study Foundation (2020-2022)
- Board member (2019-2023) and vice-president (2020-2023) of the Alumni Organization of the Swiss Study Foundation
- Treasurer and board member of the interdisciplinary research network DemocracyNet (2018-2021)
- Co-founder and committee member of the Swiss Forum for Young Scholars in Public Law (2018-2021)
I am currently a member of the following academic associations and networks:
- Alumnae Network of Harvard Women Switzerland
- DemocracyNet
- F.IUS
- FRI Schweizerisches Institut für feministische Rechtswissenschaft und Gender Law (FRI Institute for Feminist Legal Studies and Gender Law)
- Fulbright Alumni Organization
- Harvard Club Switzerland
- International Association of Constitutional Law = Association internationale de droit constitutionnel
- International Society of Public Law
- Juristinnen Schweiz (Women Lawyers Switzerland)
- Schweizerischer Juristenverein (Swiss Society of Jurists)
- Schweizerische Vereinigung für Internationales Recht (Swiss Society of International Law)
- Schweizerische Vereinigung für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie (Swiss Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy)
- Swiss Society for Parliamentary Affairs
- Swiss Young Academy, Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
Other activities
- Volunteer for Oxford Pro Bono Publico, University of Oxford (helped conduct research for an amicus brief on secret ballot voting, filed with the South African Constitutional Court and High Court) (2017)
- Submissions reader for the Harvard International Law Journal (2015)
- Participant in the Harvard Law School Writer’s Workshop and Winter Writing Program (2015-2016)
- Contributor to the Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC), Oxford University Press (since 2015)
- Founder of a discussion group on international legal theory (‘The Philosophical Foundations of International Law’) (2014-2015)
- Alumna of the Swiss Study Foundation (merit-based; provides advanced and interdisciplinary training, mentoring, and scholarships) (2008-2016)
- February 2024 – July 2024: maternity leave
- June 2022 – October 2022: maternity leave
- November 2017 – April 2018: traineeship in a Swiss law firm