Gloria Gaggioli

Full Professor and Vice-Dean of the Law Faculty, University of Geneva

International Humanitarian Law / Qualification of Armed Conflict / International Human Rights Law / Counter-terrorism / States of Emergency / Extraterritoriality / Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict / Conduct of Hostilities / Use of Force / European Human Rights Law / Right to Life / Drones / Law Enforcement / Means and Methods of Warfare / Self-Defence / State Succession / Torture

Gloria Gaggioli is Full Professor of Public International Law at the University of Geneva and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law in charge of research. She served as Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (2020–2024), is a member of the Board of Geneva Call (since 2019), and previously worked as a legal adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (2011–2014). She has also been a visiting professor or researcher at institutions in the United States, Europe, and China.

Her research examines the interplay between international humanitarian law and international human rights law, with a particular focus on the regulation of the use of force—including the conduct of hostilities, law enforcement, and self-defence—and on counter-terrorism and its impact on these frameworks.

She has secured competitive research funding for large-scale projects. In particular, she led a Swiss National Science Foundation–funded project (2019–2024) entitled ‘Preventing and Combating Terrorism and Violent Extremism: Towards a Legal-Empirical Approach’, directing an interdisciplinary research team.

Her work informs academic, diplomatic, and operational debates, and she regularly contributes to expert processes and policy discussions involving states, international organisations, and humanitarian and military actors.

She holds a PhD in Law from the University of Geneva (summa cum laude), an LL.M. from the Geneva Academy (summa cum laude, Henri Dunant Certificate of Merit), and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.