Staff profile

Matthias Nouvet joined Durham Law School in October 2021 as a PhD candidate, with a core focus on Public International Law and International Climate Change Law.  He holds a Bachelor degree in Law from the Université de Poitiers (2017), a LLM from the University of Dundee (2020, Distinction/First Class Degree). 

During his time at the University of Dundee, Matthias won the Sir Alan Langlands Water Law Prize, specializing in water law (2020). He also got involved in the Entreprise Challenge, where he and his teammate were awarded the “most enterprising team” award, for the development of a job search engine preserving the candidates’ anonymity, enhancing equity and fighting discrimination (2019).

Parallep to his undergraduate studies, Matthias was involved in French politics, with an experience as a local politician. He was elected at his town’s municipal council at 18, one of the youngest elected representative in France. He also ran for the 2015 district election and participated locally in the 2017 presidential campaign. 

Matthias is a recipient of the Durham Doctoral Scholarship (2021-2024).

Current Research

Under the supervision of Professor Petra Minnerop and Professor Ming Du, Matthias’s research focuses on Statehood and Climate Change, the impact of sea-level rise over island and coastal State. Drawing upon the politico-legal aspects of International Climate Change Law, it questions the disappearance of low-lying island States due to the adverse effects of climate change and how sea-level rise will reshape statehood. 

Any questions concerning my thesis are welcome. I am open to collaborating on relevant research papers or projects. 

Awards and Fundings

• 2021 - 2024: Durham Doctoral Scholarship
• 2020: Sir Alan Langlands Water Law Prize
• 2019: ‘Most Entreprising Team’ award, Enterprise Challenge | University of Dundee

Publications

• Nouvet M, 'Maintaining Maritime Entitlements in Troubled Waters: Assessing the Influence of the 2021 Pacific Island Forum Declaration', Hague Yearbook of International Law (Forthcoming) 

Conferences and Presentations

• 2023/08: ‘Digital States - Maintaining Statehood in the Metaverse’, 20th IUCN-AEL Colloquium, Joensuu (Finland)
• 2023/06: ’Acting now for the future - a loss and damage fund to address climate change impacts’, Workshop on Cross-Disciplinary Sustainability Challenges, Durham University (UK)
• 2023/02: ’Acting now for the future - a loss and damage fund to address climate change impacts’, Interdisciplinary Seminar on Climate, Energy and Sustainability, University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
• 2022/11: ’Acting now for the future - a loss and damage fund to address climate change impacts’ PGR Lecture Series, Durham University (UK)

• Public International Law
• International Environmental Law
• International Climate Change Law
• Law of the Sea
• International Relations
• Human Rights
• Law of Armed Conflicts