Doctoral student in Public International Law, spec. in Global Health Law - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Faculty of Law is offering one doctoral student position for a Doctor of Laws Degree within public international law. The doctoral student position is financed by the Faculty of Law to conduct research in the area of global health law. Intended supervisor is professor Jessica Almqvist.

Subject description

Global health law encompasses the legal norms, legal processes and legal institutions aimed at creating the conditions for the world’s population to attain the highest standard of physical and mental health. Situated primarily in the domain of public international law, global health law regulates the conduct and interactions of states and international organizations. In responding to new health risks and threats, however, it has gone beyond traditional confines of public international law to include codes of practice and similar normative frameworks for non-state actors, such as healthcare professionals, scientific communities, businesses, etc.

The subject deals with issues related to biomedicine, including new gene technology (CRISPR-Cas9), human reproduction, organ transplantation, prevention and control of infectious and noncommunicable diseases, control of addictive and harmful substances, food and pharmaceuticals in international trade, access to essential medicines, among others. Many areas in the field of global health law concern the protection of human rights, including the right to life, the best attainable health, the right to integrity, and the right to science. Other relevant rights include the right to information and the right to participate in decision processes on health-related matters. Basic human rights principles of human dignity, equality and non-discrimination are central to global health law and the protection of vulnerable groups (e.g. children, migrants and the elderly) is a primary concern. Research on global health law often adopts an interdisciplinary approach, which can include fields such as digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), and bioethics. The global health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic reveals the importance of discussing the possibilities and limits to global health law for tackling and preventing such crises while safeguarding human rights. 

Job assignments

Those appointed to doctoral studentships shall primarily devote themselves to their studies.

Those appointed to doctoral studentships may, however, work to a limited extent with educational tasks, research and administration. Before a doctorate has been awarded, however, duties of this kind may not comprise more than 20 per cent of a full-time post (Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 5, section 2).

The researchers and teachers at the Faculty are expected to contribute to a dynamic research environment as well as to other Faculty activities, and to perform work primarily in the workplace provided by the Faculty.

Eligibility/Entry Requirements

Only those who are or have been admitted to third-cycle courses and study programmes at a higher education may be appointed to doctoral studentships. (Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 section 3).

A person meets the general entry requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification,
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

(Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 7, section 39)

The special requirements are fulfilled by those who have completed a law programme and obtained the degree Master of Laws (juris kandidatexamen/juristexamen). The special requirements may also be fulfilled by those who can demonstrate other educational or particular professional experience where this is judged to provide the necessary qualification for doctoral studies comparable to that provided by the degree of Master of Laws (juris kandidatexamen/juristexamen regarding both the subject for doctoral study and general legal education of importance for that subject.

Applicants with Swedish juristexamen/juris kandidatexamen degrees must have attained a grade average of Ba in the compulsory courses of the undergraduate programme. Applicants holding other degrees must have attained in principle an equivalent grade average in comparable portions of the degree programme. Only where very special circumstances apply may the Faculty Board approve exemption from this rule.

The applicant must have obtained the degree of Master of Laws or the equivalent no later than 22 September 2021.

Basis of Assessment

For regulations concerning employment of Doctoral Students etc., see Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 5, sections 1-7.

For regulations concerning admission to third-cycle courses and study programmes, see Higher Education Ordinance, chapter 7, sections 34-41.

Admittance of a doctoral student is based on an assessment of the candidate’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies (Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, section 5 and chapter 7, sections 35, 41).

The applicant’s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies and research will be assessed with reference to the selection criteria stated in the general study plan for third-cycle studies at the Faculty of Law, which are given in no particular order of importance.

Applicant’s general competence:

• quality and content of the applicant’s previous written work, such as a master’s thesis
• ability to participate actively in the faculty’s research environment
• relevant educational background and grades/grade average
• relevant work experience

Scientific quality of the project description:

• ability to describe, question and discuss the current state of research
• sufficient clarity and logical coherence in the formulation of the aim and the research questions
• stringency of legal reasoning and analysis
• adequate selection of theory and methods
• capacity for creativity and innovation in the formulation of the research questions and approaches
• clear expression and sufficient detail

Appointment Procedure

Applications should be submitted through Lund University job application portal.

Applications should contain a curriculum vitae, grade transcripts, project description, a master thesis or similar degree project, one or two references (supervisor, tutor, manager etc.) and any other documents that you wish to submit.

The project description, enclosed in the electronic application, must not exceed 15 000 characters including spaces, footnotes, list of references and must be written in English, Swedish, Danish, or Norwegian (see Guidelines for the project description).

The Committee on Doctoral Education will call a limited number of candidates to interviews to be held during week 46, either in person or by video conference/telephone. Those invited for an interview will be notified no later than 14 October 2021. The interview will be based on the project description and is intended to give the research committee an opportunity to assess each applicant’s capacity for research and ability to complete the project described.

Type of employment

Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.