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Linda BENRAIS

Adjunct Professor
department: Public & Private Policy
Campus de Cergy
benrais@essec.edu
Negotiation – Mediation and Conflict Management – International Business – Sustainable development – Comparative Law
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Biography

Linda Benraïs is an adjunct professor in the Public and Private Department at ESSEC, director of the governance and conflict resolution programmes at IRENE and associate researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In addition to her duties at ESSEC, she is an assessor judge at the Cour Nationale de Droit d'Asile appointed by the Conseil d'État and an accredited and sworn mediator at the Cour d'Appel de Paris. 

For more than 20 years, she has been providing expertise, teaching and research, while heading programmes and coordinating multicultural teams, mainly in the European Union, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East North Africa and South East Asia, on behalf of the French government, the courts, the European Union, UN agencies, Essec Business School, the London School of Economics and political science and other grandes écoles and universities. She has been appointed by the European Union (European Commission, External Action Service) as project leader, key expert, mediator-facilitator, lead trainer coach and lead evaluator. 

Before joining ESSEC, she worked as a policy officer for two years in the International Cooperation Office of the European and International Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice (1997-1999), before founding and running the International Legal Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Justice for thirteen years and being appointed Secretary General and then Director by the Ministry of Justice (2000-2012). In this capacity, she was appointed as project leader; key senior expert and senior trainer, by the French government, and the European Union, in the context of enlargement to the candidate countries and third countries of the European Union. (Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and South-East Asia).

Her expertise, teaching, research and publications in French and international journals focus on comparative public law, business law, European law, international human rights law, cooperation, foreign policy, negotiation, mediation, governance of justice issues, gender, human rights and security as well as CSR and human security. 

She holds a doctorate in comparative public law of European States, a Master 2  (DEA) in international economic and development law and a Master 1 in business law (University of Paris V). She is also an accredited qualified mediator from the Institut Catholique de Paris and an internationally accredited mediator by CEDR in London and the Paris Court of Appeal.

Diplomas

  • 2015: CEDR Accredited Mediator (UK and International) (Center for Effective Dispute Resolution United Kingdom)
  • 2010: University Diploma of Mediator (Institut Catholique de Paris France)
  • 2004: Doctorat en Droit Public Comparé des Etats Européens (Université Paris Descartes (Paris V) France)
  • 1997: Master 2 of International Economic and Development Law (Université Paris Descartes (Paris V) France)
  • 1996: Master 1 en Droit des Affaires (Université Paris Descartes (Paris V) France)
Career
Other Academic Appointments
    • 2023 – 2027 : Researcher Associat New Reseach Project-CY Initiative of Excellence (Unpathknown-CY Univerity-ESSEC-CERESSEC AND IRENE) (ESSEC Business School France)
    • 2021 – 2022 : Member of the EU Learning Community”Europe in the World” (EUTOPIA: CY Cergy Paris University)) (ESSEC Business School France)
    • 2018 – 2019 : Lecturer in Business Ethics and Leadership (International School of Management (ISM) France)
    • 2013 – Now : Director of ‘Governance and Conflict Resolution’ Programs (ESSEC Business School France)
    • 2010 – Now : Lecturer and head of teaching modules- Diploma of Accredited Mediator (Institut Catholique de Paris France)
    • 2009 – Now : Lecturer at INSP (ex-ENA) (École nationale d’administration – ENA France)
    • 2003 – 2012 : Academic director / Pedagogical Head (Union Européenne Lebanon)
    • 2000 – 2004 : Academic director / Pedagogical Head Project Regional Training Programs for Judges in the Balkans Region funded by the French MoFA (Ministère des Affaires étrangères North Macedonia)
    • 2000 – 2010 : Lecturer (École Nationale de la Magistrature France)
    • 2000 – 2013 : Academic co-director / Co-Pedagogical Head ” Justice Reform- EU enlargement to Eastern Europe” (Union Européenne Belgium)
    • 1999 – 2008 : EU Academic director / EU Pedagogical Head in Strengthening legal and judicial reforms” (Union Européenne Russia)
Professional appointments
    • 2021 – 2022 : Senior Evaluator in EU Foreign and Security Policy (Ukraine and Kazakhstan) (ESSEC Business School France)
    • 2019 – Now : Judge – assessor at the National Court of Asylum Law appointed by the Conseil d’Etat (Agence des Réfugiés pour les Nations Unies France)
    • 2014 – Now : EU Senior Expert on Peace Mediation and Conflict Prevention (Union Européenne Belgium)
    • 2013 – 2021 : EU Key Senior Expert- Governance of Centres of Excellence in CBRN Risk mitigation (Union Européenne Belgium)
    • 2010 – Now : Mediator at the Paris Court of Appeal (Mediation droits Humains France)
    • 2005 – 2011 : EU Project Leader on Strengthening the quality of Justice (Union Européenne Kazakhstan)
    • 2004 : Project Leader (Ministère des Affaires étrangères Qatar)
    • 2003 – 2009 : EU Project Director on Modernisation of Justice (Union Européenne Morocco)
    • 1999 – 2012 : Secretary General then Director of the Agency for International Legal Cooperation (MInistère de la Justice France)
    • 1997 – 1998 : Policy Officer, Cooperation Unit; Division of European and International Affairs (MInistère de la Justice France)
Full-time academic appointments
    • 2020 – Now : Member of GBSN – Business for Human Rights (ESSEC Business School France)
    • 2020 – Now : Resarch Associate, LSE Foreign Policy Think Tank (London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) United Kingdom)
    • 2015 – Now : Adjunct Professor, Public and Private Policy Department, Director of Governance and Conflict Resolution, ESSEC IRENE (ESSEC Business School France)
Other appointments
    • 2018 – 2026 : Research team member – United Nations Research Project’ Human Security Business Partnerships” (ESSEC Business School France)
    • 2014 – 2017 : Manager of a research team (EU Project Horizon 2020 Whole of Society Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding / Responsible of the work package focused on Policy recommendations to the EU) (ESSEC Business School France)
    • 2011 – 2012 : Manager of a research team (Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) France)

Book chapters

Presentations at an Academic or Professional conference

Presentations at a Faculty research seminar

Other

Research activities
  • Role as an expert or appraisor in a research organization
    • 2022 – 2022: Member of the Jury Doctoral Thesis Prize ” Companies, Compliance and Business Ethics, Association Française des Docteurs en Droit
    • 2019 – 2019: Reviewer of the papers for the International Association for Conflict Management Conference
  • Organization of a conference or a seminar
    • 2019 – 2019: Showcasing UN Resarch Project ” Human Security Business Partnerships”, selected by the Paris Peace Forum Conference (Ministère des Affaires étrangères France)
  • Participation in scientific commissions or reviewer for a conference
    • 2019 – 2019: IACM Member of the Best paper Award Committee and Reviewer
  • Function in an academic association
    • 2015 – 2015: Member of the Business Doctoral Thesis Prize , Association française des Docteurs en Droit
Professional activities
  • Member of a professional association, of an expert group or of a board of directors
    • 2020 – Now: Board Member (GEMME-France (Groupement Européen des Magistrats pour la Médiation-Section France) France)
    • 2018 – Now: Administrator (Observatoire Pharos France)
    • 2015 – 2018: Board Member (European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EFPLO) Belgium)
    • 2012 – 2020: Secretary-General and Administrator (GEMME EUROPE – Groupement Européen des Magistrats pour la Médiation France)
    • 2012 – Now: Member of the European Association of Mediators, Paris Bar Mediation Centre
  • Consulting
    • 2019 – 2024: Pro Bono Advisor – Member of the Advisory Board of the Merci Fondation’s Horizon project (Refugee Inclusion) (Merci France)
Services
    • 2015 – Now: Member of admission panel (ESSEC Business School France)