Call Expression of Interest MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships at UNIGE – N. Rule of Law

Position: Call for Expression of Interest for MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships at UNIGE – N. 56 Rule of Law [...]
Call for Expression of Interest – MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026
University of Genoa, UNIGE, located in Genoa, ITALY welcomes postdoctoral researchers of any nationality, with an excellent track record, to apply to the European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026. Our University has been beneficiary of several MSCA-PF in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe.
The Marie Sklodowska Curie (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship is one of the funding schemes of the European Commission’s Horizon Europe Research & Innovation programme, dedicated to excellent research promoting international mobility, as well as interdisciplinary and intersect oral exchanges.
MSCA fellowship grant provides a competitive salary plus mobility and family allowances if applicable, as well as a contribution to cover research, training and networking costs. The research projects will have 2- or 3‑year duration.
Special Support for Proposal Writing and Development
The University of Genoa will organize in May the fifth edition of the Masterclass MSCAected candidate researchers will have the opportunity to attend a 2‑days online intensive training and coaching course on how to write a successful proposal. This masterclass is a pathway of support to candidates and their supervisors in preparing project proposal, including prescreening activity of the draft proposals and the organisation of dedicated B2B meetings, by the European Research Office of Uni Ge, National Contact Point and other experts.
MSCA Domain
Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC)
Research Project Description
Across Europe, judicial independence faces emerging threats such as distorted media dynamics, disinformation, populist narratives and cyberattacks. Safeguards of judicial independence still vary widely among EU member and candidate states, and recent rule of law crises have shown the limits of existing ex post responses. The fields of research include comprehensive socio‑legal theory of judicial independence for the specific EU context and developing new tools and solutions to strengthen preventive safeguards of judicial independence, integrity and impartiality.

The project responds to these challenges. In order to deepen the topic, the aims are: (i) map constitutional and institutional safeguards across Member States and candidate countries; (ii) classify direct and indirect threats, including those arising from media manipulation, populism and technological risks; (iii) explore innovative legal and institutional solutions to prevent democratic backsliding, producing policy recommendations; (iv) analyse socio‑cultural drivers of judicial independence, including cooperation networks, ethics and judicial training, exploring the role of national guardians of judicial independence in fostering an enabling environment for long‑term compliance with the rule of law.
Research Group
The Department of Law of the University of Genoa boasts extensive experience in research. Many areas of expertise are involved in the Department and interdisciplinary collaboration is a value added to any field of research.
In addition the department offers a PhD course. The three‑year programme is characterised by hands‑on training through direct involvement in research activities, complemented by specific training courses. Each post‑graduated student is supervised by a supervisor or co‑supervisors. Many seminars and focus groups take place in order to promote collaborations with persons of high scientific standing.
Application
An expression of interest shall be sent to Prof. Eleonora Ceccherini (eleonora.ceccherini, Orcid :

-5730) within 15th April 2026.
Your file should contain the following elements:

For MSCA-PF 26 call (opening foreseen on 10th April 2026), at the deadline for the submission of proposals (9th September 2026) postdoctoral candidates shall have a maximum of 8 years of postdoctoral research experience.
Postdoctoral candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activities in Italy (for European Fellowship) or in the Third Country of the outgoing phase (for Global Fellowship) for more than 12 months in the three years immediately prior to the above mentioned deadline.

Info on MSCA PF available at the following link:
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