TALKS

​

• “Why Normativity Matters”, International Workshop on Smart Orders, University of Bologna, 30th June 2023

• “Do We Have an Obligation to Obey an Unjust Law?, Interdisciplinary Roundtable, University of Barcelona, 30th September 2022

• “A Legal Justification of Principled Disobedience”, Max Planck Institute Seminar Series, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, 28th July 2022

• “Conceptions of Action and Legal Norms”, Lx Annual Meeting on Legal Theory, Lisbon University, 24th June 2022

• “Four Models of Obligation”, Guest Lecture at the Durham Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University, 7th February 2022

• “A Modified Kantian Conception of Legal Obligation”, Research Seminar Series of the Durham Institute of Advanced Study Seminar, Durham University, 24th January 2022

• “A Constitutivist Approach to the Paradox of Autonomy”, Kolloquium at the Institute für Philosophie, Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 26th June 2019

• “Legal Reasoning and the Authority of Law”, Staff Seminar, Universidad Catolica de Lima, 10th December 2018

• “The Role of Foreign Precedents in Legal Reasoning”, Staff Seminar, Universidad Catolica de Lima, 6th December 2018

• “A Kantian Theory of Legal Obligation”, Kolloquium at the Institute für Philosophie, Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 20th November 2018

• "Social Practice Legal Positivism: A Critical View”, International Conference on “Legal Positivism”, University of Stockholm, 13-15th November 2018

• “Obligation: in Search of a Shared Concept”, Kolloquium at the Institute für Philosophie, Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 30th January 2018

• “Legal Obligation: A Theoretical Account”, Annual Jurisprudence Seminar Series, University of Stockholm, 6th November 2017

• “The Theoretical Legitimacy and Practical Value of Hopeless Aspirational Political Theory”, International Workshop on D. Estlund’s monograph “Utopophobia”, Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 29th June 2017

• “The Kind of Reasons the Law Engenders When Legal Obligations Arise”, International Workshop on Reason-Giving in Law,  European University Institute, Florence, 24-25th April 2017

• “Presuppositional Interpretation”, Kolloquium at the Institute für Philosophie, Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 5 July 2016

• “Constitutivism and Normativity”, Roundtable in the “author-meets-the-critics” form on my “Constitutivism and Normativity: A Qualified Defence”, Institute für Philosophie, Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 11 February 2016

• “Are Legal Duties Perspectival Duties?” Staff Seminar, University Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, 27 November 2015

• “Obligation”, Kolloquium at the Institute für Philosophie, Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main, 9 June 2015

• “Normative Coherence and Legal Holism”, Symposium on A. Amaya’s The Tapestry of Reason, Department of Law, Queen Mary, University of London, 26 March 2015

• “Towards a Theory of Political Obligation”, Graduate Seminar Series, Law School of the University of Palermo, 27 October 2014

• “Marmor’s Conventionalist Theory of Legal Authority: A Critique”, Staff Seminar Series, Law School of the University of Palermo, 22 October 2014

• “Obligation in Law and Morality: A Common Concept?”, IVR Finland Annual Meeting, University of Helsinki, 2 July 2014

• “A Foundation of Legal Duty”, Law School Seminar Series, University of Gottingen, 23 June 2014

• “An Account of Legal Obligation”, International Conference Rules 2013, Jagiellonian University of Krakow, 27-29 September 2013

• “The Concept of Obligation”, Staff Seminar, University Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, 10 June 2013

• “Constitutive Normativity in Law”, 1st Leicester-Modena Conference on Law and Rights, University of Modena, 18 April 2013

• “The Use of Foreign Precedents: Implications for the Account of Legal Reasoning”, International Workshop on The Principle of Proportionality: A Comparative Perspective, Law School of the University of Padua, 14-15 January 2013

• “Obligation: Critical Remarks”, Edinburgh Legal Theory Spring Workshops, Law School of the University of Edinburgh, 30 May 2012

• “Law and Associative Obligations”, Doctoral Lectures Series, Law School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 23 May 2012

• “John Rawls’s Natural Duty of Justice and the Obligation to Obey the Law”, Doctoral Lectures Series, Law School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 17 May 2012

• “Contemporary Theories of Practical Reason and Legal Reasoning”, Seminar in Legal Theory and Practical Philosophy, Law School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 11 April 2012

• “Obligation and the Concept of Law”, Doctoral Colloquia on Human Rights Series, Law School of the University of Palermo, 28 October 2011

• “The Theory of Rational Argumentation”, Staff Seminar, Law School of the University of Padua, 24 May 2011

• “The Concept of Legal Obligation”, Staff Seminar, Law School of the University of Verona, 2 May 2011

• “A Discourse-Theoretical Approach to Eugenics”, Staff Seminar, Law School of the University of Verona, 27 April 2011

• “Hans Kelsen on Norms and Normativity”, International Colloquium: Normativity and the Law—A Kelsenian Perspective, Law School of the University of Leicester, 18 November 2009

• “Law and Obligation”, Seminar series of the Centre for the Study of Law in Society, Law School of the University of Sheffield, 26 October 2009

• “The Normative Force of the Law”, International Conference: Normativity in Law and Morality, University of Antwerp, 4 June 2009

• “The Grounds of the Normativity of the Law”, Edinburgh Legal Theory Spring Workshops, University of Edinburgh, 9 May 2009

• “The Foundations of Practical Normativity”, Philosophical Red Star Line Conference: Normativity and Culture: Philosophical Investigations in the Basis of Value, University of Antwerp, 21 March 2009

• “The Sceptical Non-positivist Account of Normativity: An Appraisal”, Special Workshop: The Concept of Law and Legal System, 23rd IVR World Congress, Krakow, 6 August August 2007

• “Legal Objectivism and the Normativity of Law”, Doktorandenkolloquium at the Juristisches Seminar, Universität zu Kiel, 28 June 2007

• Discussion of “Universalist Conceptions of Human Rights” by G. Pavlakos, Workshop: Fondamenti filosofici e applicazioni dei diritti umani”, University of Ravenna, 17 May 2007

• The Necessary Normative Claim of Law”, Annual Seminar Series of the Centre for International and Public Law (CIPL) at the Law School of the Brunel University, 29 November 2006

• “A Non-Positivist Account of Law’s Claim to Normativity”, Workshop: The Normativity of Law: New Perspectives, Forum for Law and Philosophy and School of Law of the University of Birmingham, 10 November 2006

• “The Source of the Normativity of Practical Reason”, International Workshop: Current Issues in Legal Theory, Juristisches Seminar, Universität zu Kiel, 23 July 2006

• Law and Legal Reasoning”, Author’s Day on MacCormick’s Rhetoric and the Rule of Law, Law School of the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, and Forum for Law and Philosophy, Belfast, 28 April 2006

• “Moral Realism and Legal Theory”, Staff Seminar, Universidad Catolica de Lima, 7 March 2006

• "Wittgenstein’s Later Philosophy and Legal Theory”, Special Workshop: Rule-Following, Universität zu Kiel, 13 January 2006

• “Legal Authority: A Non-positivist Framework”, Doktorandenkolloquium at the Juristisches Seminar, Universität zu Kiel, 1 December 2005

• “The Inadequacy of Inclusive Positivism”, Special Workshop: The Future of Legal Positivism, 22nd IVR World Congress, Granada 25 May 200

• “A Critique of the Inclusive Positivist Half-Way House”, Annual Seminar Series of the Legal Theory Discussion Group at the Law School of the University of Leicester, Leicester 22 March 2005

• “Legal Systems’ Claim to Normativity and the Concept of Law”, Special Workshop: Law and Coherence, 21st IVR World Congress, Lund, 16 August 2003

• Claim to Normativity, Law, and Argumentation”, Vierde Symposium Juridische Argumentatie, University of Rotterdam, 25 June 2003

• “An Analysis of the Argument from Coherence”, Annual Seminar Series of the Department of Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory, and Rhetoric, University of Amsterdam, 12 June 2003

• “MacCormick’s Non-Objectualism” Special Workshop: Legal Argumentation, 20th IVR World Congress, Amsterdam, 22 June 2001

• Legal Reasoning and Legal Certainty”, Staff Seminar of the Law School of the University of Bologna, 5 May 2000

• “Contemporary Constitutionalism”, Annual Seminar Series of the School of Law, University of Modena, 4 April 1999

​

​

 

​TEACHING RECORD

 

Postgraduate Research (PhD)

Goethe University of Frankfurt

Graduate Seminar on “Obligation in Law and Morals”: 2015-16 (module leader)

​

University of Leicester

PhD Training Module: 2012-17 (lecturer)

Graduate Conference: 2010-11 (module leader)

Completed Supervision of Research Students:

• Wuraola Oluwabusayo, PhD awarded in July 2022 – title thesis: The Implications of Granting Legal Personhood to Natural Entities

• Naomi Njuguna, PhD awarded in July 2022 – title thesis: Protecting the Right to Occupational Health of Health Care Workers

• Daniel Weston, PhD awarded in July 2020 – title thesis: A Conceptual Analysis of “Freedom of Expression"

• Maria Paula Barrantes-Reynolds, PhD awarded in July 2016 – title thesis: The Tensions between Human Rights and Legal Pluralism in Multi-Ethnic Societies

• Yavuz Alkan – PhD awarded in July 2015; title thesis: Secularism, Democracy and Religious Freedom

 

 

Postgraduate Taught (LLM)

Goethe University of Frankfurt

LLM in International Legal Theory: 2016-19 (seminar leader)

Completed Supervision of LLM Thesis:

• Eduardo Chia – LLM awarded in September 2019 – title thesis: “The Autonomy of Law"

• Parham Merharam, MA (October 2017-September 2019) – Title Thesis: “Law and Morality in Hans Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law"

• Manuela Minervino, LLM awarded in September 2018 – title thesis: “Judicial Activism in the Brazilian Constitutional Case Law”

• Isabela Cintra, LLM awarded in September 2018 – title thesis: “Freedom of Speech: Two Models”

External examiner of Caio Prado (LLM in Legal Theory) – September 2018

 

University of Barcelona

Citizenship: Ethics, Law, Politics: 2022-23 (module leader & lecturer)

Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students: 2012-13 (lecturer)

 

University of Messina

Advanced Course in Legal Argumentation and Rhetoric 2023-24 (seminar leader)

 

University of Leicester

Study Skills for Postgraduates in Law: 2013-14 (module leader & lecturer)

Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students: 2012-13 (lecturer)

Reasoning in Law: 2012-13 (module leader & lecturer)

​

University of Kent

External examiner of Mr. Dan Weston (LLM by research) – July 2015

​

University of Edinburgh

Contemporary Issues in Legal Theory (LLM): 2003-04 (tutor)

​

“Aldo Moro” University of Bari – Winter School

Module on “Legal Reasoning”: 2017-18 (module leader)

 

 

Undergraduate (LLB)

University of Leicester

Constitutional Law (1st year): 2020-22 (tutor)

Administrative Law (1st year): 2020-22 (tutor)

Law and Political Theory (3rd year): 2004-2005, 2007-14, 2017-18, and 2020-22 (module leader & lecturer)

Jurisprudence (3rd year): 2010-14 and 2016-17 (module leader & lecturer)

LLB Dissertation Workshop (3rd year): 2010-11 (module leader & lecturer)

Analysing Law (1st year): 2004-05 and 2010-11 (module leader & lecturer)

Criminal Law (3rd year): 2004-05 (tutor)

​

University of Barcelona

Legal Philosophy (4th year): 2022-23 (module leader & lecturer)

​

University of Messina

• Law and Technology (2nd year): 2023-24 (module leader & lecturer)

• Legal Computer Science (2nd year): 2023-24 (module leader & lecturer)

• Legal Theory (2nd year): 2023-24 (module leader & lecturer)

​

 

​Goethe University of Frankfurt & University “Aldo Moro” of Bari

Supervision of LLB Dissertation in the context of the “Global Thesis” joint programme

• Sara Colella (2017-2019): Concept and Taxonomies of Legal Norms

• Alessandra Palumbo (2017-2019): Pictorial Norms and Legal Argument

​

University of Edinburgh

European Community Law (LLB – 1st year):  2003-2004 (tutor)

Legal Reasoning and Legal System (LLB –1st year): 2002-04 (tutor)

​

University of Verona

Logic and Legal Reasoning (LLB – 4th year): 2019-20 and 2021-22 (module leader & lecturer)

​

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

Introduction to Political Theory (LLB – 4th year): 2011-12 (module leader & lecturer)

​

University of Catanzaro

Law and Legal Reasoning (LLB – 4th year): 2003-04 (module leader &  lecturer)        

​

​

​

​

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

Employment History

10/2023-present: Associate Professor, University of Messina

10/2022-09/2023: Maria Zambrano Fellow, University of Barcelona

4/2020-9/2022: Associate Professor, University of Leicester

5/2017-3/2020: DFG Research Fellow, Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

2/2017-4/2017: Associate Professor, University of Leicester

2/2015-1/2017: Marie Curie Research Fellow, Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

9/2010-1/2015: Associate Professor, University of Leicester

9/2008-8/2010: Senior Research Fellow, University of Antwerp

9/2006-8/2008: Research Lecturer, University of Leicester

9/2005-8/2006: Alexander Von Humboldt Research Fellow, Christian-Albrecht Universität zu Kiel

9/2004-8/2005: Lecturer, University of Leicester

2/2004-8/2004: Fixed-Term Assistant Professor, University “Magna Græcia” of Catanzaro

2/2002-1/2004: Marie Curie Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh

 

​

 

Education

Degrees

2005: University of Leicester, Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice in Higher Education

2001: University of Milan, PhD in Legal Theory and Analytic Philosophy

1996: University of Modena, Degree in Law – 110/110, Summa cum Laude

 

Linguistic Proficiency

Italian:  Mother tongue

English:  Excellent reading, writing and spoken ability (level: C2)   

Spanish: Fair reading, writing and spoken ability (level: C1)

German: Basic reading, writing and spoken ability (level: B2)

Portuguese: Elemental reading, writing and spoken ability (level: B1)

Latin: Fair reading ability (level: C1)

 

​

​

Research Interests

My research interests are in the fields of legal philosophy, jurisprudence, political theory, theory of legal reasoning, and practical philosophy at large.

Thus far my research projects have, more specifically, been concerned with two main issues: judicial reasoning and the normative dimension of the law—namely, the law’s ambition to provide its addressees with practical guidance and justification, thereby proffering distinctive reasons for action. The fundamental claim unifying my research agenda consists in showing that these two aspects—reasoning in law and legal normativity—are closely related and conceptually inseparable. This statement, in turn, forces one to revise the concepts of law and legal authority: far from being a one-way projection of the will of those in power (vertical conception), as many lay persons as well as legal philosophers (especially those of positivist orientation) think, I contend that the law is best understood as a collaborative enterprise and thus a project shared (and shaped) by a multitude of individuals, including legal officials and citizens (systemic conception).

My views of judicial reasoning and legal normativity have been disseminated in research monographs, specialist academic journals, and edited collections published by international academic publishers. The results of the different strands of my research work have also been presented at a number of national and international conferences and workshops. Morevover, my research agenda has deeply impacted on the research environment and significantly shaped the research priorities of the institutions I worked in, where I organized activities to debate issues that directly concern my research project, such as:

- International Conferences

• DFG International Conference on “Contemporary Theories of Legal Obligation” (Goethe University of Frankfurt – 4th-5th July 2018

• Leicester-Modena Annual Joint Conference Series on “Law and Rights” (2013-19 – convenor)

• UCSIA International Conference on “Normativity in Law and Morality” (University of Antwerp – 3-4 June 2009 – convenor)

- International workshops

• “Legal Obligation” (University of Durham, 16th February 2022 – co-convenor with prof.  Deryck Beyleveld)

• “Facticity and Normativity” (Webinar, 16th September 2021 – co-convenor with prof.  and Mario Ricca and Anne Wagner

• “The Paradox of Autonomy” (Goethe University of Frankfurt – 31st October-1st November 2019 – convenor)

• "Coherence in Law” (University of Leicester – 10th May 2017 – convenor)

• “The UK 1998 Human Rights Act” (University of Leicester – 14th April 2011 – convenor)

• "The Second-Personal Authority of Morality and Law” (University of Antwerp –  21st June 2010 – convenor)

• “Normativity and the Law – a Kelsenian Perspective” (University of Leicester –  7th November 2009 – convenor)

• “Contemporary Issues in Legal Philosophy” (University of Kiel – 6th May 2006 – convenor)

- Interdisciplinary discussion groups 

• Online international discussion group (2021-2022 and 2022-2023: “The Cognitive Dimension of Legal Practice” – co-director with Giovanni Bombelli and Daniele Velo Dalbrenta)

• University of Leicester (2020-2021: "Law and Theory Research Cluster” – director)

• University of Frankfurt (2015-16: “Legal and Moral Obligation” – convenor)

• University of Antwerp (2009-2010: “Law and Practical Reason” – convenor)

• University of Leicester (2004-2008: “Legal Theory Discussion Group”; 2011-2014 “Legal, Political and Social Theory Reading Group”; 2016-17 "Law and Theory Cluster"– convenor)

In the same spirit, I acted as director of the working group on “Law and Argumentation” at the 22nd IVR World Congress in 2005, as a director of the “Forum for Law and Philosophy” at the University of Antwerp from 2008 to 2010, as an active member of the Centre for European Law and Integration at the Law School of the University of Leicester from 2004 to 2008), and as director of the working group on “Facts and Norms” at the 23rd International Conference for the Semiotics of Law (originally scheduled in May 2021 and now postponed to 2023, due to the Covid-19 pandemic

​

​

​

Academic Leadership and other academic honors

General research leadership

• Honorary Fellow of the Durham Institute for Advanced Study – Durham University (2022-present)

• Member of the Senior Common Room – Stephenson College, Durham University (2022-present)

• Member of the selection committee of the Serra Hunter Programme – Government of Catalonia (2021/2022)

• Visiting professor at the Law School of the University of Verona – Italy (2021/2022)

• Member of the Editorial Board of the academic journal Jus (2020-present)

• National Certification as “Full Professor” from the Italian Ministry of Education (for the period 10.11.2020-10.11.2030)

• Member of the interdisciplinary research group “NormActivity – A Research Group on Human and Non-Human Normativity” (2020-present)

• Visiting professor at the Law School of the University of Verona – Italy (2019/2020)

• Member of the Advisor Board of the University of Bologna Law Review (2019-present)

• National Certification as “Associate Professor” from the Italian Ministry of Education (for the period 22.08.2018-22.08.2028)

• Member of the Advisor Board of the University of Verona Law Book Series, ESI (2018-present)

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017-present)

• External Reviewer for the Programme “CONEX-Plus” – a training and mobility program that aims to accelerate the career development of a cohort of Experienced Researchers at the University Carlos III de Madrid – (2019-2020)

• Expert Reviewer for the European Science Foundation (2017-2020)

• External Reviewer for the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Dutch Research Council, for the VIDI Research Programme (2016)

• Journal referee for Isonomia (2021), Ratio Juris (2020 to 2021, 2018, 2014 to 2015, 2012, and 2006 to 2008), Ars Interpretandi (2020 and 2016), Global Constitutionalism (2019), The Cambridge Law Journal (2019), Diritto e Questioni Pubbliche (2018-2019 and 2014), University of Bologna Law Review (2019), Revus (2018), Argumentation (2017, 2016 and 2007), Journal of Argumentation in Context (2016), Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (2014), The European Legacy (2014), The Review of Philosophy and Psychology (2013), The Journal of Value Inquiry (2012), Jurisprudence (2009 to 2013), Cambridge Review for International Affairs (2008), and Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly (2005)

• Member of the European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on Kantian Political Thought (2016-present)

• Invited member of the Program Committee of the Workshop on "Artificial Intelligence, Coherence and Judicial Reasoning" at The International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law 2013 – University of Rome

• National Certification as “Associate Professor” from the Italian Ministry of Education (for the period 13.12.2013-13.12.2019);

• Book reviewer for Routledge (2004 to 2006 and 2019), Cambridge University Press (2018), Springer (2004 to 2006 & 2015), Palgrave (2012), Hart (2009), and Wiley Sons (2008)

• Visiting professor at the Law School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia – Italy (2011/12)

• Visiting professor at the Law School of the University of Verona – Italy (2010/11)

• Member of the editorial board of Jurisprudence (2009-present)

• Member of the Alexander von Humboldt Gesellschaft (2007-present)

• Associate Practitioner at the Higher Education Academy (2005-present)

• “Cultore della materia in filosofia del diritto (selected expert in legal philosophy)” at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (2004-2009)

• Visiting research fellow at the Department of Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory, and Rhetoric of the University of Amsterdam (2002-03)

• Member of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation (2002-present)

• “Cultore della materia in filosofia del diritto (selected expert in legal philosophy)” at the University of Bologna (1999-2001)

 

​Leadership in managerial roles

• Founding Member of the Editorial Board of the “Leicester Law School SSRN Series” (2013-present)

• Founder and Convenor of the Leicester-Modena Research Link (2012-present)

• PhD Admission Tutor at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2012-14);

• Founder and Convenor of the Legal Theory Group at the University of Leicester (2004-08 & 2011-14)

 

 

Administrative Experience

• Deputy Director of the PhD programme at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2021-2022)

• Director of the “Law and Theory Cluster” at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2020-2022)

• Member of the “Equality and Diversity Group” at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2020-2022)

• Member of the Staff Recruitment and Selection Team at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2020-2022)

• Mentor of Dr. Tom Frost (Lecturer in law – Law School of University of Leicester) during his probation period at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2020-2022)

• Member of the peer review group of external funding applications at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2016-2022)

• Member of the REF Outputs Internal Review Group at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2015-2022)

• Library coordinator at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2010-2019)

• Peer-observer at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2010-2022)

• Appraiser at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2010-2022)

• Member of the Selection Panel of the AHRC 3Cities Training Programme at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2013-14)

• Mentor of Dr. Lisa Rodgers (Lecturer in law – Law School of University of Leicester) during her probation period at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2013-2016)

• Member of the LLM admission team at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2004-05 and 2010-12)

• DL and part-time PhD tutor at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2011-13)

• Member of the Law School Research Committee at the Law School of the University of Leicester (2007-09 & 2012-13)

​