Dr Virginie Rouas

Associate Fellow

  • Department:
    Associate Fellows
  • Main fields of interest: Business and Human Rights EU Law International Environmental Law

Profile

Dr. Virginie Rouas is a Researcher in Business and Human Rights and EU Environmental Law at the T.M.C. Asser Institute and a Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Dr. Rouas holds a PhD in Law from SOAS and an LLM in Environmental Law from the University of Strasbourg in France. Her principal areas of expertise include access to justice, business and human rights, global environmental law, and EU law and policy.

Dr. Rouas has previously worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Global Witness, the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law, and Frank Bold, among others. Prior to joining the T.M.C. Asser Institute, she worked as a Legal Advisor at Milieu, a Brussels-based legal consultancy, where she managed and carried out research and legal compliance projects for the EU institutions on environmental, fundamental rights, justice, and financial markets issues. She has also taught international human rights law and international environmental law at SOAS.

Dr. Rouas is a member of the Business and Human Rights Practitioners’ Network, the Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association, and the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law. She is also an Editorial Board member of the Law, Environment and Development Journal.

Publications

Books

Achieving Access to Justice in a Business and Human Rights Context: An Assessment of Litigation and Regulatory Responses in European Civil-Law Countries (University of London Press 2022)

Book chapters

'Another Inconvenient Truth: Business and Human Rights Impacts of Europe’s Energy Transition' in Pereira, R., Savaresi, A. & McConnell, L. (eds), Business, Human Rights and Natural Resource Governance: Accountability for a Just Transition (Hart Publishing, forthcoming) (co-authored with Joshua Roberts)

‘France: Untapping the Potential of Civil Liability to Remedy Human Rights Violations’ in Aristova, E. & Grusic, U. (eds), Civil Remedies and Human Rights in Flux: Key Legal Developments in Selected Jurisdictions (Hart Publishing 2022)

‘Towards Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence in the European Union? Opportunities and Challenges for Corporate Accountability’ in Czech, P., Heschl, L., Lukas, K., Nowak, M., Oberleitner, G. (eds), European Yearbook on Human Rights 2021 (Intersentia 2021)

‘Foreign Direct Liability Litigation: Towards the Transnationalisation of Corporate Legal Responsibility’ in Blecher, L., Stafford, N.K. & Bellamy, G.C. (eds.), Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Impacts: New Expectations and Paradigms (American Bar Association, 2014) (co-authored with Peter Muchlinski)

Book reviews

‘Book Review. Marjan Peeters & Mariolina Eliantonio (eds), Research Handbook on EU Environmental Law (Edward Elgar 2020)’ (2021) 17 Law, Environment and Development Journal <http://www.lead-journal.org/content/b1701.pdf>

Reports

Study on the Interplay between the AMLD and the GDPR Framework (European Data Protection Board, 2021) (co-authored with Katalin Adamis-Császár, Ela Omersa, Julija Sproge, Camille Borrett & Pieter Dirckx)

Legal Nature of EU ETS Allowances (European Commission, 2019) (co-authored with Marta Ballesteros, Leonie Reins & Matthieu Wemaere)

Effective Access to Justice in the European Union (European Parliament, 2017) (co-authored with Nathy Rass-Masson)

Evaluation Study to Support the Evaluation of the Zoos Directive (Council Directive 1999/22/EC) (European Commission, 2017) (co-authored with Nathy Rass-Masson, Lucie Meura, Valentina Parziale, Athena Christofi, Remco Schrijver & Philip McGowan)

Residential Prosumers in the European Energy Union: Mapping the Legal and Regulatory Framework in France (European Commission, 2017)

Residential Prosumers in the European Energy Union: Mapping the Legal and Regulatory Framework in Luxembourg (European Commission, 2017)

Study on the Precautionary Principle in EU Environmental Policies (European Commission, 2017) (co-authored with Harriet Bradley, Nicola Crook, Leonie Reins & Nienke van der Burgt)

Doctoral thesis

‘In Search of Corporate Accountability: Transnational Litigation against Multinational Enterprises in France and The Netherlands’ (PhD thesis, SOAS, University of London 2017)

Blog contributions

‘Killing two birds with one stone: Milieudefensie v RDS, a game changer for climate change and corporate accountability’ (IALS Blog, 22 September 2021)

‘Access to justice and the new French Act on the duty of care: main opportunities and challenges for plaintiffs’ (Business and Human Rights Journal Blog, 8 November 2018)

‘Business and human rights: women, the missing actors?’ (L4BB Blog, 11 December 2013)

‘Enjeux socio-écologiques liés à la formulation d´un futur mécanisme REDD’ (Ecocy, 21 September 2009)

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