Imane Aïda: Doctoral student in private law and criminal sciences
Imane Aïda is currently in her third year of a PhD programme at the Institute for Law, Ethics and Heritage (IDEP - Université Paris-Saclay). She is working on "the shortcomings of French private international law with regard to 21st-century families". Imane is going to spend four months in Newark, New Jersey, at Rutgers University's Research Center for Gender, Sexuality, Law and Politics.
Tell us about the subject of your thesis.
Private international law is a discipline that governs the relations between private persons who have an "international" connection, for instance a bi-national couple, composed of two people with different nationalities. In such a case, rights that have been acquired abroad are asserted in France.
However, this discipline is not codified: it was built around a classical family model, in other words a heterosexual couple united by the bonds of marriage, with legitimate children. Today, society has moved away from that model and the application of private international law is fraught with problems, since the discipline is ill-equipped to deal with homoparental, single-parent or multicultural families.
My thesis investigates how the evolution of "modern families" is impacting private international law. To determine this, I will for instance compare the rights that exist in different countries, in order to suggest solutions to the problems currently encountered in this discipline.
Why go to the U.S.? In what way will this further your thesis?
As I progressed in my research on comparative law, I naturally took an interest in the situation abroad. I spent the first two years of my thesis drawing up an inventory of the issues encountered in private international law. Through my research, I discovered that this subject has been extensively studied at the European level; however, I found very little material on American private international law.
This led me to shift my focus to the U.S., to carry out an in-depth study at Rutgers University. I am proud to be able to continue such innovative research, since this subject has never been addressed in a thesis. Ultimately, the American model may give me ideas for solutions to be applied in France. Lastly, this study will yield a fresh perspective on private international law, one that may prove useful for its future codification.
What do you hope to learn or discover?
Without glorifying this opportunity, I believe it will be a highly interesting and fulfilling experience, both intellectually and on a personal level. It is a chance to be fully immersed in a different culture.
On the professional level, it will allow me to discover how research works in an American university. I will be able to forge international connections, since I'll be working with various doctoral students and professors. This will inevitably be a big advantage if I choose to embark on a career abroad, although at the moment I'm relying on this experience to help me decide whether to pursue my academic career in France or abroad.