Scholarships for a doctorate

Pursuant to an agreement made within the framework of the Marie-Curie ‘early stage training’ programme instituted by the European Commission, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris (Centre d'Étude des Normes Juridiques), the Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane, the Law Department of the London School of Economics, and the Max-Planck-Institut of Frankfurt (Max-Planck-Institut für europaïche Rechtsgeschichte) have agreed to establish a programme of doctoral study in the field of European Legal Cultures. Applications to the programme, which should be made in writing, will be considered by a committee of academic experts representing the four participating institutions and all associated institutions.
The doctoral programme is centred on the history, philosophy, anthropology and sociology of European legal systems (broadly understood). The aim is to escape the constraints imposed by national legal cultures in order to address the questions raised by the ways in which law emerges at points where states, international bureaucratic institutions, and global markets intersect. The programme also seeks to situate legal thought within the broad horizon of the human sciences, whilst respecting law’s own specific mode of reasoning, and to train a group of researchers and practitioners who will have the opportunity to develop a sustained comparison between the styles of thought of a number of disciplines, and to do so within the different cultures and languages represented by the participating institutions.
The objective is to give junior researchers the best tools for deciphering contemporary legal transformations, and to equip them to interpret and represent these transformations within the language that legal systems have evolved, adapted, or even subverted over the course of their history. It also seeks to foster a recognition that law, despite its highly technical character, legal knowledges offer a privileged mode of access to an anthropological understanding of the historical evolution of western societies.

I. Scholarships

•    1) Sixteen mobility scholarships, each of duration of 36 months, for the preparation of a doctoral thesis (in three yearly work contracts) including :    
— a scholarship to the average value  of 30 550 euros per year ;
— a mobility allowance of 500 euros (800 if married) ;
— a yearly travel allowance;
— a unique career exploratory allowance of 2000 euros;  
Successful applicants will be required to study in three of the four participating institutions, and to spend one year at each of these three. Given that these are mobility scholarships, candidates who are domiciled in a country in which one of the four participating institutions is based may not choose to study in that country.
•    2) The legal framework for the programme is established by contract MEST - CT- 2005 - 021145, made between the European Community and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, which includes the following provision:
"The European Community and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales have agreed to pursue activities within the framework of a Doctorate entitled «European Legal Cultures, within the framework of the programme for the development of research and technology entitled ‘structuring the ERA’, and according to the terms set out below.
•    3) Contingents nationaux
— 12 scholarships will be allocated to candidates who are nationals of a European Community state, or of a state associated with the European Community (Bulgaria, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway, Romania, Switzerland or Turkey).
— 4 scholarships will be allocated to candidates who are not nationals of one of these countries. A candidate who has been resident in one or more states from the preceding category for at least four of the previous five years will be considered to fall within that category, and to be a national of the state in which he or she was resident for the longest period.

II. Admissions criteria
Degree qualifications
•    Candidates should hold a university degree allowing them to register for a doctoral degree in a country of the European Union or an associated state. This degree should have been awarded no more than four years before the date of application to this doctoral programme (this period does not include activities other than research). Their research topic should concern the history, sociology, or philosophy of law.
•    Over and above this minimal qualification, the selection committee will give priority to candidates holding a postgraduate degree.
•    Holders of a doctorate are not eligible to apply for this programme (« holders » refers to students having defended their PhD).

Research project (no more than 10 pages)
The PhD's topic should concern European legal cultures – in a broad sense – in order to integrate, along with historians of law, lawyers in positive law, broadly open to history and its methodology. We intend to integrate also young researchers educated in history, philosophy or sociology, who would be willing to work on topics related to law and its history.
Linguistic competence
Given that the programme of study will span three locations, the selection committee will take into account the language skills of applicants. At the beginning of the programme, candidates will be required to have a mastery of two of the four languages (English, German, French and Italian), and will be expected to learn a third language in the course of their studies.

III. Procedure of recruitment
•    Applications for admission (RTF or html) should be sent by June 1st 2006 to the directorate at the following email address : ……………
•    The selection process will be based on written applications. The selection committee will rank the applications according to the following criteria, which will also be set out in the application form. The committee may wish to interview certain applicants. In such cases, a fixed-sum contribution will be made towards the expense of travelling to Paris.  
•    Successful candidates will be required to enter into a written agreement with the institutions in which they will be hosted (the EHESS, the Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the Max Planck Institut de Frankfort).

IV. Organisation
•    Scholarship holders will be expected to follow the research seminars or taught courses that are recommended to them in each of the participating institutions at which they study, and to follow the timetable set for them by their supervisor in each institution.
•    Scholarship holders will also be expected participate in an interdiscplinary workshop to be held each winter, and a summer school to be organised each summer by the University of Rome III, which will be organised around a presentation of their research.
•    Payment of scholarships is conditional on the regular submission of reports from each doctoral student on the progress of their research.
•    Theses submitted to any one of the participating institutions may be written in whichever of the languages of those four institutions is chosen by the candidate. The consortium formed by these four institutions will seek to develop frameworks for co-supervision and towards a reciprocal recognition of doctorates awarded to researchers selected for the programme.
•    For further information, applicants are invited to read the frequently asked questions.

V. Institutions Partenaires
A. Etablissements du consortium
•    Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Centre d'Etude des Normes Juridiques,
Directeur : Professeur Yan Thomas
Directeur adjoint : Professeur Paolo Napoli
105 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1-53.63.51.68;
cenj.ehess.fr
Administration générale de l'établissement : 54 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris, tel. +33 (0)1-53.63.51.68;
•    Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane,
Directeur : Professeur Aldo Schiavone
Piazza San Marco, 4, 50129 Firenze, Italia
www.sumitalia.it
•    London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Law  
Responsable scientifique pour le doctorat européen : Professeur Alain Pottage
Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE, LONDON, United Kingdom
www.lse.ac.uk
•     Max-Planck-Institut für Europaïsche Rechtsgeschichte
Directeurs : Professeur Marie-Theres Foegen et Professeur Michael Stolleis
Hausener Weg 120, 60489, Frankfurt-am-Main, Deutschland
www.mpier.uni-frankfurt.de

B. Institutions associées
•    Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e Perfezionamento "Sant'Anna"
Responsable scientifique pour le doctorat européen : Professeur Francesco Busnelli
Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33, 56127, Pisa, Italia
•    Università Di Roma Tre, Dipartimento di Studi Giuridici,
Responsable scientifique pour le doctorat européen : Professeur Emanuele Conte
via Ostiense 161,00154 Roma, Italia.
•    Université Paris X Nanterre, Centre de Théorie et Analyse du Droit (F405)
Directeur : Professeur Michel Troper
200 avenue de la République,92000 Nanterre, France