Prof. Dr Nicolas Bueno

Nicolas Bueno is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law. He holds a habilitation from the University of Zurich. He teaches public international law and European law.

He obtained his PhD in public international law from the University of Lausanne (2014) and his habilitation from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zurich (2026). He has undertaken several research visits, notably to Columbia Law School in New York (2012–2013, Fulbright), the University of Leuven (2016), the London School of Economics (2017) and the University of Zurich (2018–2021). He has received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) for his research projects ‘Global Economy and the Right to Just Conditions of Work’ (SNF Postdoc Mobility) and ‘Human Economy: Rethinking Economic Human Rights in the Global Economy’ (SNF Ambizione). He has also taught international economic law at the Universities of Lausanne and Zurich and international law at the Università della Svizzera italiana.

He is Director of the Centre for Economic Globalisation and Sustainability Law and a member of the editorial board of the Business and Human Rights Journal. His research focuses on the responsibility of multinational enterprises in relation to sustainability, labour law and the ecological transition. He is co-editor of the book Labour Law Utopias (OUP 2024)

As a practitioner, he conducted human rights litigation at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin (2014–2015) and worked in the International Investment and Multinational Enterprises Division of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO, 2018).

Selected Publications

Nicolas Bueno, Beryl ter Haar, Nuna Zekic (eds), Labour Law Utopias: Post-Growth and Post-Productive Work Approaches (Oxford University Press 2024)

Nicolas Bueno, La responsabilité des entreprises dans les conflits armés : diligence renforcée et responsabilité légale accrue, 144 II Revue de droit suisse (2025)

Nicolas Bueno, Nadia Bernaz, Gabrielle Holly and Olga Martin-Ortega, ‘The EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD): The Final Political Compromise’ 9 (2) Business and Human Rights Journal (2024) 294-300.

Nicolas Bueno, Anil Yilmaz Vastardis, Isidore Ngueuleu Djeuga, ‘Investor Human Rights and Environmental Obligations: The Need to Redesign Corporate Social Responsibility Clauses’ Journal of World Investment & Trade (2023) 1–38

Nicolas Bueno, From Productive Work to Capability-Enhancing Work: Implications for Labour Law and Policy, 23(3) Journal of Human Development and Capabilities (2022) 354-372.

Nicolas Bueno, ‘Freedom at, through and from Work: Rethinking Labour Rights’, 160 (2) International Labour Review (2021) 311-329.

Nicolas Bueno and Christine Kaufmann, ‘The Swiss Due Diligence Legislation: Between Law and Politics’ 6(3) Business and Human Rights Journal (2021) 542-549.

Nicolas Bueno and Claire Bright, ‘Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence through Corporate Civil Liability’ 69(4) International & Comparative Law Quarterly (2020) 789-818.

Nicolas Bueno, From the Right to Work to Freedom from Work: Introduction to the Human Economy 33(4) International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations (2017) 463-487.