ACMRL is happy to welcome Jens Theilen as a visiting researcher to ACMRL and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam during November!

Jens Theilen is a post-doctoral researcher at the Chair of Public Law at the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg. They previously studied law in Hamburg and Oxford and completed their PhD at the Walther Schücking Institute for International Law at the University of Kiel. From the perspective of critical human rights theory, they wrote their doctoral thesis on the so-called European Consensus Argument of the European Court of Human Rights.

Jens’ research spans from international law, human rights, citizenship and migration law, and legal theory, with a particular interest in critical legal approaches such as feminist, queer, and postcolonial perspectives. In their post-doctoral project, Jens aims to critically analyzes German citizenship and migration law, investigating how economic, racial, and gendered structures influence these areas of law.

They are presently one of three investigators involved in the Volkswagen Foundation-funded project titled “Framing Reality and Normativity in European Human Rights Law: Climate Change, Migration, and Authoritarianism.” Their research visit to ACMRL within this project centers on exploring the historical relationship between sovereignty and migration control, which provides essential context for ongoing discussions in migration law.

We’re excited to have Jens and look forward to engaging discussions on these critical issues during their stay.