Biography

Michiel Hoornick is a current PhD researcher in International Law at the Graduate Institute on International and Development Studies in Geneva (IHEID), Switzerland. During his stay at the STG, his primary focus – and topic of his doctoral project – is on the use and mobilisation of legal principles in the international law on climate change. This plays into a wider academic interest in the dynamics of international law-making and the role of non-State actors.


Before starting the PhD, Michiel worked as a researcher at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (Belgium) and as a programme officer at the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (the Netherlands). He also builds on previous experiences at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva and the Netherlands Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. Michiel holds master’s degrees in International and European Law from Tilburg University, the Netherlands and IHEID, Switzerland. In his spare time, Michiel serves as a tour guide at the UN Offices in Geneva, with visitors including tourists, school children, students and UN staff.

Fields of expertise