Research

Online List of Publications

Books, chapters in books, journal articles, working papers, Blogs and more.

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Legal Opinions and Consulting

Legal opinions, research-based policy recommendations, trainings and more.

Sieber | Consulting and Legal Research

Books

book publications

Habilitation Thesis

Internationalisation of Law in Switzerland

Globalization, digitalization, and the urgency of common concern of humankind are shifting the traditional boundaries of law. As a result, democracies are under pressure because key decisions are increasingly being made outside of national processes. Using Switzerland as a case study, Charlotte Sieber-Gasser demonstrates how this is shifting power relations between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and weakening direct democratic participation. Her analysis combines empirical legal data with normative and theoretical legal reflection. The focus is on public economic law, Europeanization, and the role of intergenerational equity as a state objective. The author provides a precise diagnosis of the institutional challenges and proposes solutions for an internationalized democracy that can safeguard legitimacy, the rule of law, and social cohesion.

Third party funded research project

Sustainable Development in Swiss Law

This seminal work provides the first comprehensive examination of how sustainable development is enshrined in Swiss law. Over 30 experts analyze the role of sustainable development in nearly 30 different legal fields – from international law, climate law, and tax law to digitalization and federalism. With a focus on contradictions, gaps, and concrete recommendations for action, the book offers an indispensable overview for legal scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. A milestone for all those who wish to understand and shape sustainable development as an integral principle.

Conference Volume

Greenwashing – from general suspicion to offense

The uncertainty surrounding sustainability pledges highlights that sustainability is not based solely on facts, data, and figures, but above all on trust. Even the suspicion of greenwashing can shatter this trust. Increasing regulation is intended to provide a stabilizing framework and empower sustainable consumption and investment decisions. At the same time, it creates expansive legal risks by linking legal consequences to vague terms.

This work, which emerged from the 3rd Sustainability Symposium of Kalaidos Law School, brings together experts from corporate management, auditing, asset management, the legal profession, the judiciary, public prosecutors, and academia to explore ways of dealing with the growing uncertainty in light of new legal obligations and legislation.

Workshop Volume

Democracy and Globalization

This book offers in-depth legal and political analysis concerning the compatibility of the Westphalian state model with globalization and the digital revolution. It explores the concept of democracy in a globalized world, discusses the legitimacy of economic integration in the global market, and presents three case studies (from Brazil, Taiwan and Spain) on the impact of social media on elections. It further entails novel perspectives on the impact of digitalization on national borders, and the role of citizens and experts in the shaping of globalization. A final chapter addresses the extent to which insights gained from the analysis of the abovementioned aspects will need to be considered in efforts to recover from the current global health and economic crisis.

PhD Thesis

Developing Countries and Preferential Services Trade

WTO law sets the global minimum standards for trade regulation, while allowing some regulatory flexibility for developing countries. The exact scope of regulatory flexibility is often unclear and, at times, flexibility may be counterproductive to sustainable economic growth in developing countries. Undisputedly, developing countries would have some flexibility with respect to tailoring preferential services trade agreements to their individual economic needs and circumstances, but empirical data from over 280 preferential services trade agreements worldwide shows that this flexibility is rarely used. This volume clarifies the regulatory scope of flexibility for preferential services trade agreements between developing countries by linking the legal interpretation of WTO law with evidence from research in economics and political sciences. The book suggests that the current regulatory framework leaves room for meaningful flexibility for developing countries, and encourages policymakers and scholars to take these flexibilities into consideration in their design and study of trade policies.

Legal Research

The Internationalisation of Law

On-going Research Projects

Conception of the Human Person in Law

Investigating the extent to which diversification of society impacts on the way law works – considering that the shared societal conception of the human person, on which the law normally builds, is shrinking.

Essential Core of Sustainable Development

Global comparative legal research of the scope and application of sustainable development in different legal fields: what is the essential, universally recognised core of sustainable development? In collaboration with CISDL.

Design of Lawmaking Processes

To what extent does the design of lawmaking processes anticipate specific political outcomes? Deciphering the regulatory and political benchmarks that enable political compromise. In collaboration with political sciences.

Democracy on the Rack

Comparative legal study on the impact of the internationalisation of law on state order in different democratic state forms. Expanding my research on the Swiss state form to other democracies.

Concluded Research Projects (selected)

Sustainable Trade: Evidence from Europe and Latin America

Third-party funded interdisciplinary research project, investigating differences and overlaps in the regulation of sustainable trade in Latin America and in Europe. Edited volume based on an international workshop held in São Paulo in August 2024 to be published with BRILL in 2026.

Sustainable Development in Swiss Law

Third-party funded research project involving over 30 legal scholars in Switzerland: analysis of the normative concept and role of sustainable development in Swiss economic, environmental and social laws. Foundational edited volume published in 2025 with Stämpfli.

Making Trade Agreements Work in the Service of Society

SNSF funded interdisciplinary (law, international relations and economics) multi-year research project. Focusing on the way trade liberalisation is embedded in domestic and public international law and policy. Results include journal articles, special issues, workshops and expert opinions.

Globalisation, Digitalisation and Democracy

Legal and philosophical analysis of the impacts of globalisation and digitalisation on democracy. Originated in an international workshop and resulted in an edited volume published with Springer in 2021 and translated to German by Springer in 2024.

Regulatory Alignment and Democracy

Preparatory work for the habilitation thesis: investigating different approaches to the integration of third countries in the EU internal market, Brexit and the regulatory emancipation of the UK from the EU, and the extent to which trade liberalisation requires regulatory alignment.

South-South Economic Integration

Doctoral research: investigating the scope and use of special and differential treatment flexibilities, and the extent to which South-South economic integration promises sustainable economic growth and added-value production. Basis for the Swiss legal-tech startup Besso.

Full List of Publications

"My preferred research methods are empirical legal research and legal theory, and I engage in interdisciplinary research with political and economic sciences and with machine learning."

Charlotte Sieber-Gasser

PD Dr. iur., MA Development Studies