Biography
Alberto Alemanno is Jean Monnet Professor in European Union Law and one of the leading voices on the democratization of the European Union. His research has been centered on how the law may be used to improve people’s lives, in particular through the adoption of power-shifting reforms countering social, economic, and political inequalities within European societies and beyond. He has written extensively on risk regulation, public health, consumer rights, food policy as democratic innovation, participatory and deliberative democracy.
Due to his commitment to bridge the gap between academic research and policy action, Alberto was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2015, and Ashoka fellow in 2019 and Social Innovation Thought Leader by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2022.
In addition to his academic writings in law, and public policy, Alberto is a regular contributor to Le Monde, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Politico Europe, Le Grand Continent and a frequent commentator on Euronews, France24, Al-Jazeera, and TV5Monde. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Economist, Science and Nature among others.
He’s the author of more than forty scientific articles and several academic books such as 'Nudge and the Law – A European Perspective' and the more accessible Lobbying for Change: Find Your Voice to Create a Better Society', which provides a timely analysis and guide to levelling the democratic playing field by empowering ordinary citizens to speak up and inform policy decisions at local, national and international level.
Alberto is also permanent visiting professor at the University of Tokyo School of Public Policy, the College of Europe, in Bruges and a scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law as well as fellow at The Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation at Rutgers University.
Alberto has pioneered innovative forms of academic and civic engagement and activism in the EU transnational space via his civic start up The Good Lobby. Its mission is to equalize access to power by strengthening the advocacy capacity of civil society and making corporate political influence more accountable and sustainable. Alberto has been involved in dozens of campaigns, ranging from the first European Citizen Initiative putting an end to international roaming to the adoption of plain-packaging of tobacco products, from the drafting of the EU whistleblower directive to a decade-old campaign for EU transnational lists and the recently launched ‘Voters without Borders’ asking for full political rights for EU citizens regardless of where they live across the continent.
Professor Alemanno has worked extensively with policymakers, funders, advocacy groups as well as progressive companies, in developing strategies and novel approaches to questions of democracy, political inequality, and corporate political behaviour. He regularly provides advice to international organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Commission, the European Parliament, the World Health Organization, dozens of non-governmental organizations as well as states.
He sits on the board of several civil society organisations, such as European Alternatives, VoxEurop, Friends of Europe, Access Info Europe, as well as the citizens’ campaigning movement We Move, which operates transnationally.
Alberto qualified as an attorney-at-law in New York and clerked at the Court of Justice of the European Union (2005-2009). He established and directed the EU Public Interest Law Clinic in collaboration with the New York University School of Law, where he has been Global Professor of Law (2014-2018).
He holds LL.M. from Harvard Law School and the College of Europe as well as a PhD in international economic law from Bocconi University. He is the founder as well as the editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (published by Cambridge University Press), of the Revue européenne du Droit (published by Le Grand Continent), and member of the Editorial Committee of the Journal of Consumer Policy.
Alberto served as visiting professor at Georgetown University (2011-2014), the University of Amsterdam (2017), University of Tokyo (2014-2020), the LUISS University in Rome (2013) as well as at the University of St Gallen (2006-2016) and at the College of Europe in Bruges (2007-present).
Scientific articles
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2024, vol. 22, n° 1, pp 36-43,
European Journal of Risk Regulation, December, 21 2023, vol. 14, n° 4, Special, pp 641-655,
International Journal of Constitutional Law, April 2022, vol. 20, n° 2, pp 560-561,
European Law Journal, January 2022, vol. 2020/26, n° 5-6, pp 484-508,
European University Institute, Septembre 2021, vol. STG Policy Briefs, n° 2021/16, (in coll. with J. MACKAY, N. MILANESE, K. NICOLAIDIS)
Revue Européenne de Droit, December 2021, vol. 3, pp 7-15, (in coll. with K. NICOLAIDIS)
Cahiers de Droit Européen, 2021, vol. 57, n° 3, pp 647-665,
European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2021, vol. 12, n° Special Is, pp 273-286, (in coll. with L. BIALASIEWICZ)
German Law Journal, 2020, vol. 21, pp 35-40,
European Journal of Risk Regulation, December 2020, vol. 11, n° 4, pp 721-725,
Books
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (in coll. with James Organ )
Tlon Editions
Cambridge University Press (in coll. with L. KHADAR )
Icon Books Ltd
Routledge, London (in coll. with A. BURGESS, J. ZINN )
Beyond Plain Packaging- Edward Elgar Publishing (in coll. with E. BONADIO )
Hart Publishing (in coll. with A. L. SIBONY )
Cambridge University Press (in coll. with A. GARDE )
Routledge, London (in coll. with S. GABBI )
Springer, Berlin (in coll. with F. den Butter, A. Nijsen, J. Torriti )
Chapters in edited books
Eu Council Presidencies In Times Of Crises, R. Coman, O. Costa, V. Sierens, Springer, New York, 345-363
The Eu Political System After The 2019 European Elections, Olivier Costa, Steven Van Hecke, Palgrave Macmillan, 23-44
Data Science For Social Good, C. Cattuto and M. Lapucci (Eds), Springer, 69-78
Citizen Participation In Democratic Europe: What Next For The Eu?, ECPR Press /Rowman & Littlefield
Seeking Safety, Knowledge, And Security In A Troubling Environment, J. Resnik, Yale University Press, 1 , 47-51
Reinventing Legal Education: How Clinical Education Is Reforming The Teaching And Practice Of Law In Europe, A. Alemanno, L. Khadar, Cambridge University Press, i-ii
Choice Architecture In Democracies: Exploring The Legitimacy Of Nudging, C. Möllers, M. Steinbeis, et al., Hart Publishing
Handbook On Regulatory Impact Assessment, C. Radaelli, C. Dunlop, Edward Elgar Publishing
Regulating Tobacco, Alcohol And Unhealthy Foods: The Legal Issues, T. Voon, A. Mitchell, and Jonathan Liberman (Eds), Routledge, London
Selecting Europe'S Judges - A Critical Review Of The Appointment Procedures To The European Courts, M. Bobek (Ed.), Oxford University Press
Proceedings
Proceedings of the Young Researchers' Workshops on Science & Law & Science , 2010 , Proceedings of the Young Researchers Workshops on Science & Law & Science
Atti del Convegno Internazionale IDAIC: Agricultura e alimentazione: Principi e Regole della qualità. , 2009 , Macerata
Working papers
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2021
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2019
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2018
Scientific articles
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2024, vol. 22, n° 1, pp 36-43,
European Journal of Risk Regulation, December, 21 2023, vol. 14, n° 4, Special, pp 641-655,
International Journal of Constitutional Law, April 2022, vol. 20, n° 2, pp 560-561,
European Law Journal, January 2022, vol. 2020/26, n° 5-6, pp 484-508,
Books
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (in coll. with James Organ )
Tlon Editions
Cambridge University Press (in coll. with L. KHADAR )
Icon Books Ltd
Chapters in edited books
Proceedings of the Young Researchers' Workshops on Science & Law & Science , 2010 , Proceedings of the Young Researchers Workshops on Science & Law & Science
Atti del Convegno Internazionale IDAIC: Agricultura e alimentazione: Principi e Regole della qualità. , 2009 , Macerata
Proceedings
Proceedings of the Young Researchers' Workshops on Science & Law & Science , 2010 , Proceedings of the Young Researchers Workshops on Science & Law & Science
Atti del Convegno Internazionale IDAIC: Agricultura e alimentazione: Principi e Regole della qualità. , 2009 , Macerata
Working papers
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2021
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Cahier de Recherche du Groupe HEC , 2020
Education
Academic appointments
Academic Responsibilities at HEC
- 2020-2023 Department Head, Business Law and Taxation HEC Paris
- 2015-2018 Department Head, Business Law and Taxation HEC Paris
- 2015- Professor, Business Law and Taxation HEC Paris
- 2009-2014 Associate Professor HEC Paris
- 2011- Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law HEC Paris
- 2009- Member of GREGHEC, the joint research laboratory CNRS-HEC Paris HEC Paris
External Academic Responsibilities
- 2023-2024 Senior Research Fellow IWM_Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen
- 2015-2020 Visiting professor Collège d'Europe
- 2013-2018 Global Professor of Law NYU School of Law
- 2015-2015 Visiting Professor Université d'Amsterdam
- 2014- Visiting professor Tokyo University
- 2011-2013 Visiting Professor MGIMO University
- 2012-2012 Visiting Professor LUISS Guido Carli University
Scientific Activities
Membership in Academic or Professional Organisation
- Member of the RIEB group on international economic relations, the Hague
- Former elected member of the Executive Board of the Society for Risk Analysis , Europe. Former Chair of the Risk Policy Law Specialty Group of the Society for Risk Analysis
- Member of the American Society of International Law
- Member of the American Bar Association Law (ABA)
- Member of the European Society of International Law (ESIL)
- Member of the Society of Risk Analysis
- Member of the Group of Experts on Risk Management in Regulatory Systems (GRM) nomme par "United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)"
Editorial activities
Conference organisation
Awards & honors
- 2023 Europe's Futures Fellow
- 2022 2022 Schwab Foundation Social Innovation Thought Leader of the Year Award at the World Economic Forum
- 2019 Ashoka Fellow
- 2018 Alumnus of the Year Bocconi
- 2018 Altiero Spinelli Award
- 2018 BMW Foundation Responsible Leader
- 2016 International Award Sciacca in the Law category
- 2015 Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum
- 2014 HEC Prize for Pedagogical Innovation
- 2014 Winner of the HEC Foundation Award for Teaching Innovation for the MOOC "Understanding Europe"
- 2014 Outstanding Teacher Award 2014, St Gallen University
- 2013 Prize of the European Communities Trademark Association (ECTA) Award Competition, for the best IP article "An Analysis of Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products under EU Intellectual Property Law"
- 2012 Outstanding Teacher Award 2012, St Gallen University
- 2011 'Chauncey Starr Young Risk Analyst Award', American Society of Risk Analysis
- 2010 Nominee and finalist of L'Oreal Prize for Innovation in Teaching
- 2005 Best Paper Award in Risk Science Law by the Society for Risk Analysis
- 2001 Freshfield Prize for the Best Italian Business Law student ; European finalist