3 Faculty of Law PhD researchers honoured at the 2026 Thesis Awards

The end-of-academic-year ceremony of the Université Catholique de Lille, held on 16 June in the Teilhard de Chardin lecture theatre, featured one of the University’s most significant moments of recognition: the presentation of the 2026 Thesis Awards. These prestigious awards celebrate outstanding doctoral research addressing some of today’s most pressing challenges and recognise the academic excellence of the University’s early-career researchers.

The Faculty of Law is particularly proud to see three of its PhD researchers, all members of the Centre for Research on the Relationship between Risk and Law (C3RD), among this year’s award winners.

First prize was awarded to Paul Duchesne, a PhD researcher in Private Law and Criminal Law, for his thesis exploring health vulnerability and its legal and ethical implications. His research examines how the law responds to human vulnerability and the contemporary challenges facing healthcare systems.

Joint second prize was awarded to Théo Banchereau, a PhD researcher in Public International Law, whose thesis focuses on the legal regulation of space debris and the challenges of sustainability in outer space. His work contributes to ongoing discussions on the governance of space activities and the protection of this increasingly strategic environment.

Sharing second prize is Elisa Domingues Dos Santos, a PhD researcher in Political Science, who was unable to attend the ceremony due to a research visit abroad as part of her doctoral programme. She was recognised for her research on Turkish transnational authoritarianism through a case study of Turkish entrepreneurs in Ethiopia. Her work sheds light on contemporary mechanisms of political influence that extend beyond national borders.

Beyond these award recipients, the Faculty of Law would also like to acknowledge the commitment and high quality of the research presented by all its PhD researchers who took part in the 2026 Thesis Awards. Special congratulations go to Nathalie Lucas, a PhD researcher in Private Law and Economics, and Augustine Ville, a PhD researcher in Public Law, who represented both the Faculty and the C3RD with distinction.

These achievements reflect the vitality and excellence of the research carried out within the C3RD, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year. As the Faculty of Law’s research centre, the C3RD brings together academic staff, associate researchers and PhD researchers around a shared mission: to deepen our understanding of the relationship between risk and law, helping to inform legal thinking and address the societal transformations of our time.

Through these successes, the Faculty of Law of the Université Catholique de Lille reaffirms its commitment to educating and supporting the next generation of researchers, whose work helps us better understand the challenges facing contemporary society and contributes to the ongoing development of the law in the public interest.

Congratulations to all the award winners and to every PhD researcher who took part in the 2026 Thesis Awards.