Profile

The founder of Hennebel Attorneys at Law, Ludovic Hennebel, is an international expert, professor and lawyer specializing in international law, international human rights law and transnational litigation strategy. Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law of Aix-en-Provence (France), Director of the Institute of International Humanitarian Studies, expert member of the Advisory Committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council and of the Working Group on Communications of the Complaint Procedure of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Professor Hennebel decided to found Hennebel Avocats, a law firm specializing in global justice and international litigation strategy and in the field of human rights, and to use his international expertise to defend the interests and rights of his clients.

Training

Ludovic Hennebel has completed his university studies in: Belgium, obtaining his Master degree and PhD in Law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, The United Kingdom, obtaining his LL.M from the University of Leicester France, obtaining his Diploma from the René Cassin Institute of International Human Rights Law (Strasbourg), and Lawyer The U.S.A., at the New York University and at the Harvard Law School, as a Visiting Fellow.

Mr. Hennebel works, teaches and publishes in French, English and Spanish.

Academic

Ludovic Hennebel is a Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law of Aix-en-Provence. He directs the Institute of International Humanitarian Studies, the NOHA Master in Humanitarian Action and Law, the Internationalist Lawyer and Field Humanitarian Diploma , and the International The Clinic of International Law of Human Rights Aix Global Justice. After several years as a researcher and lecturer at the University Libre de Bruxelles, where he was professor from 2009 to 2014, he was recruited by the Faculty of Law of Aix-en-Provence where, further to an international competition, he was awarded the Chair of Excellence in International Human Rights Law and Global Law (A*MIDEX/Aix-Marseille University).
Mr. Hennebelis a member of the Perelman Center for Legal Philosophy of the Faculty of Law of the University Libre de Bruxelles and of the Centre d’études et de recherches internationales et communautaires d’Aix-Marseille Université. He has conducted part of his research as a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and New York University Law School, where he was a Hauser global fellow. He also taught for several years at Science Po Paris. His teaching focuses on , inter alia:

  • theories of public international law;
  • legal argumentation;
  • international human rights law;
  • humanitarian action and law;
  • critical theories of public international law;
  • global law;
  • and transnational strategic litigation.

The United Nations

Ludovic Hennebel has been a member of the Advisory Committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council since 2018. This body, composed of 18 experts, functions as a think tank under the direction of the Council. It replaces the former Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
Mr Hennbel is also one of the five expert members serving on the Working Group on Communications of the Complaint Procedure of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This confidential procedure is designed to deal with complaints alleging blatant violations supported by credible elements, of all types of human rights and all fundamental freedoms, regardless of the region of the world and the circumstances in which they occur.

Lawyer

As a lawyer, Ludovic Hennebel is active in the international law firm he created in 2019, affiliated to the Marseille Bar (France). His areas of specialisation and expertise are:

  • international human rights law
  • public international law
  • global strategy, ans
  • litigation in the international field

His practice includes:

  • the preparation and direction of global litigation strategies in international law and international human rights law
  • the preparation and filing of international complaints, before:
    • the European Court of Human Rights
    • the Inter-American Commission or Court of Human Rights
    • the African Commission or Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
    • the United Nations Treaty Committees (including the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture)
  • the filing of complaints against Red Notices issued by INTERPOL.

His practice also extends to the implementation of corporate strategies that comply with international human rights, social and environmental standards, prevent criminal risk and ensure the accountability of business leaders and companies on a transnational scale. Mr. Hennebel most often acts on behalf of law firms requiring a high level of expertise in the international field or in the context of complex international cases or soliciting him to lead a complex litigation strategy. He also defends the rights and interests of public, political and international financial figures, in particular from the perspective of human rights and international law, as well as victims of human rights and humanitarian law violations.

Excellence

Member of the College of Alumni of the Royal Academy of Belgium, Class of Letters, since 2010, Ludovic Hennebel was awarded the AMIDEX Chair of Excellence at Aix-Marseille University at the end of an international competition. He has won several prizes and competitions including the Prix rayonnement international of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the Hoover Fellowship of the Belgian American Educational Foundation, and has been invited to several academic institutions such as New York University and Harvard Law School.

Expertise

Prof. Hennebel has developed a leading expertise in the field of international human rights law and strategic transnational and international litigation. He adopts a resolutely pragmatic and global method based on the systematic and comparative analysis of all systems of protection, universal and regional, and on a cross-examination of texts and case law, enabling him, thanks to a perfect mastery of the engineering of international human rights law, to build global strategies that can help to solve complex cases.

He adopts a resolutely pragmatic approach to international law, rejecting any dogmatic footprint and favouring the analysis of arguments and the persuasive force of norms.

His empirical expertise includes international human rights bodies, dispute settlement bodies, business and human rights, counter-terrorism, corruption, international political trials, and Interpol Red Notice disputes.

Main publications

Ludovic Hennebel, The Human Rights Committee, in The United Nations and Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal, Mégret and Philip Alston (Eds.), Oxford University Press, New York, 2020

Ludovic Hennebel et Hélène Tigroudja, The American Convention of Human Rights: A Commentary, Oxford University Press: New York, à paraître en 2020.

 Ludovic Hennebel et Hélène Tigroudja, Treatise of International Human Rights Law, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, à paraître en 2020.

Ludovic Hennebel et Hélène Tigroudja, Traité de droit international des droits de l’homme, Pédone: Paris, 2018, 2e édition, 1721 pages.

Balancing Liberty and Security: The Human Rights Pendulum, Wolf Legal Publishers, Nijmegen, 2012, 300 pages.

Ludovic Hennebel & Thomas Hochmann (Eds.), Genocide Denials and the Law, Oxford University Press, New York, 2011

Ludovic Hennebel & Arnaud Van Waeyenberge (Dir.), Exceptionnalisme américain et droits de l’homme, Dalloz, Paris, 2009

Ludovic Hennebel & Damien Vandermeersch (Dir.), Juger le terrorisme dans l’Etat de droit, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2009

Ludovic Hennebel & al. (Dir.), Responsabilités des entreprises et corégulation, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2007

L. Hennebel, La Convention américaine des droits de l’homme: étendue des droits et libertés et mécanismes de protection, Collection Publications de l’Institut International des Droits de l’Homme René Cassin, Préface par Antonio A. Cançado Trindade, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2007, 732 pages.

L. Hennebel, La jurisprudence du Comité des droits de l’homme des Nations Unies, Collection Droit et Justice, Préface par Manfred Nowak, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2007, 582 pages.

Ludovic Hennebel & Emmanuelle Bribosia (Dir.), Classer les droits de l’homme, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2004


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