Maxime Boutroy

Please tell us about your research project.

I am a PhD student at the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and I am doing a research on the impact of international economic sanctions on contracts under the supervision of Professor Etienne Pataut. Economic sanctions are likely to interfere with the normal performance of contracts and can also have an extraterritorial reach. In this respect, I attempt to understand how economic sanctions can be perceived through private international law and contract law. Concerning private international law, economic sanctions are mainly considered as overriding mandatory provisions and, as such, are likely to prevent the application of the law governing the contract according to the conflict of laws rule. In contract law, economic sanctions may constitute a major change of circumstances that could lead to a release from the obligations or a renegotiation of the contract. Thus, my research aims to develop a private law approach to a phenomenon that is primarily a matter of public international law.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?

My programme is a partnership between the MFO and the Institute of European and Comparative Law (Faculty of Law). The partnership allows a PhD student to be invited by the IECL for one term, and to take part in its research activities. In this regard, at the beginning of March, I had the opportunity to present and discuss my research during a seminar. Being associated with the IECL also enabled me to meet the researchers and professors of the centre.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?

Oxford is a wonderful city and you can feel the bustle of people coming from all over the world. The libraries and colleges are impressive and you can feel the centuries-long history of teaching and research. Coming to Oxford is therefore an incredible opportunity to work in an intellectually stimulating environment.