Prof. Dr. Niels Petersen
Current affiliations
- Professor of Public Law, International Law, EU Law, and Empirical Legal Studies
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- International human rights and domestic fundamental rights
- Comparative constitutional law and constitutional theory
- Law & Politics in the decision-making of courts and tribunals
- Economic Analysis of Law
Academic Education | |
| 2010 - 2014 | Postdoctoral thesis (habilitation) at the University of Bonn |
| 2009 - 2010 | M.A. in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences at Columbia University |
| 2005 - 2008 | PhD in law at the Goethe University in Frankfurt |
| 2006 - 2007 | Visiting Doctoral Researcher at the New York University School of Law |
| 2003 - 2005 | Legal clerkship at the Wiesbaden Court of Appeal |
| 1998 - 2003 | Law studies in Münster and Geneva |
Work Experience | |
| since 2015 | University Professor at the University of Münster |
| 2007 - 2015 | Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn |
| 2012 - 2013 | Hauser Research Fellow and Emile Noel Fellow at the New York University School of Law |
| 2006 | Legal Advisor at the GIZ Advisory Service to the Legal Reform in China, Beijing |
| 2004 - 2006 | Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law |
Functions and Memberships | |
| since 2016 | ILA Human Rights Committee |
| since 2015 | Association Henri Capitant |
| since 2015 | German Society for International Law |
| since 2014 | International Society of Public Law |
| since 2014 | Association of German Public Law Professors |
| since 2006 | European Society of International Law |
| since 2006 | American Society of International Law |
Publications
Petersen, Niels (eds.) (2025) Oxford: Oxford University Press. Type of Publication: Book (edited collection) | |
Petersen, Niels (2024) In: Comparative Constitutional Studies, 2 Type of Publication: Research article (journal) | |
Petersen, Niels (2024) In: Kischel, Uwe; Kube, Hanno (eds.), Handbuch des Staatsrechts. Band II: Gewinnung und Grundprinzipien des Staatsrechts. Heidelberg: C. F. Müller Juristischer Verlag. Type of Publication: Review article (book contribution) | |
Petersen, Niels (2023) In: Donath, Philipp B.; Heger, Alexander; Malkmus, Moritz; Bayrak, Orhan (eds.), Der Schutz des Individuums durch das Recht: Festschrift für Rainer Hofmann zum 70. Geburtstag. Berlin: Springer. Type of Publication: Research article (book contribution) | |
Petersen, Niels (2023) In: Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, 83 Type of Publication: Review (journal) |
Projects
Duration: 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2024 | 5th Funding period Funded by: German Academic Exchange Service Type of project: Participation in other joint projects | |
Duration: 01/07/2019 - 30/06/2023 | 1st Funding period Funded by: DFG - Collaborative Research Centre Type of project: Subproject in DFG-joint project hosted at University of Münster | |
Duration: 01/06/2019 - 31/05/2025 Funded by: EC H2020 - ERC Consolidator Grant Type of project: EU-project hosted at University of Münster | |
Duration: 17/09/2018 - 26/09/2018 Funded by: The Franco-German Youth Office, Université franco-allemande | Deutsch-Französische Hochschule Type of project: Scientific Event | |
Duration: 28/10/2016 - 29/10/2016 Type of project: Own resources project |
Talks
| Reflections on Equality Rights Petersen, Niels (29/07/2025) ICON-S 2025 Annual Conference, Brasilia Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| Book Roundtable - Guardians of Equality: How Courts Conceptualize Equal Protection and Non-Discrimination Guarantees Petersen, Niels (28/07/2025) ICON-S 2025 Annual Conference, Brasilia Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| AI and discrimination Petersen, Niels (08/07/2025) Künstliche Intelligenz in der Rohstoffgewinnung und im Recht, Online-Tagung Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| Book Talk: Equality’s Gaurdians Petersen, Niels (04/07/2025) 12th Annual Conference of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law, Ljubljana Type of talk: scientific talk | |
| Correcting Inequality through Law: A Comparative Socio-Legal Analysis of Why Apex Courts Adopt Different Conceptions of Equality Petersen, Niels (22/05/2025) Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Chicago Type of talk: scientific talk |
Prizes
| ERC Consolidator Grant Awarded by: European Research Council (ERC) Award given to: Petersen, Niels Announced at: 03/12/2018 | Date of awarding: 01/06/2019 Type of distinction: Research award or other distinction |
Doctorates
| Die Notstandspraxis als Menschenrechtssystemschutz: Eine Analyse der Entscheidungen menschenrechtlicher Kontrollinstitutionen Candidate: Milas, Max | Supervisors: Petersen, Niels | Reviewers: Petersen, Niels; Markard, Nora Period of time: 11/01/2021 - 06/05/2025 Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster | |
| Zitierpraktiken von Bundesverfassungsgericht und kanadischem Supreme Court im Vergleich Candidate: Wittmann, Laura Christin | Supervisors: Petersen, Niels; Korten, Lars | Reviewers: Petersen, Niels; Korten, Lars Period of time: 01/01/2020 - 23/01/2024 Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster | |
| Unveiling Inequalities by Addressing Poverty as a Matter of Discrimination Law: The Case of Brazil in the jurisprudence of the Brazilian Supreme Court and the… Candidate: Garcia Maia, Tainá | Supervisors: Petersen, Niels; Tuffi Saliba, Aziz | Reviewers: Petersen, Niels; Tuffi Saliba, Aziz Period of time: 01/09/2019 - 21/08/2023 Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster | |
| Towards an Integrated Approach to Compliance: When Do People Obey Laws? Candidate: Shubhangi, Shubhangi | Supervisors: Petersen, Niels | Reviewers: Petersen, Niels; Engel, Christoph; Jansen, Nils Period of time: 01/09/2019 - 24/05/2023 Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster | |
| Fragmentation of International Trade Law reassessed: Analyzing the role of PTA-DSMs based on their adjudication of General Exception Clauses Candidate: Wasilczyk, Patrick | Supervisors: Petersen, Niels | Reviewers: Petersen, Niels; Wolffgang, Hans-Michael; Englisch, Joachim Period of time: 01/04/2017 - 10/01/2023 Doctoral examination procedure finished at: Doctoral examination procedure at University of Münster |