Anne van Aaken

Anne Sophia-Marie van Aaken
Born (1969-04-19) 19 April 1969
EducationUniversity of Fribourg
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
OccupationsLawyer, economist
SpouseUlf Mark Schneider
Children1

Anne Sophia-Marie van Aaken (born 19 April 1969 in Bonn, West Germany) is a German lawyer and economist,[1] who is a full professor of law and economics, legal theory,[2] public international law and European Union law at the University of Hamburg.[3]

Life

Van Aaken was born on 19 April 1969 in Bonn, Germany. She completed her Abitur in Bonn.[4] Van Aken is married to Mark Schneider, the current CEO of Nestlé. The couple have a daughter.[5]

Education

From 1987 to 1992, she studied economics and communication sciences at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, earning a Lic. rer.pol. (equivalent to a Master’s in Economics) and a dipl. journ. in communication sciences. From 1992 to 1997, she studied law at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, completing the First State Examination in Bavaria.[6]

In 2001, she received her Dr. iur. (summa cum laude) from the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder. Her dissertation, “Rational Choice in der Rechtswissenschaft. Zum Stellenwert der Ökonomischen Theorie im Recht” (“Rational Choice Theory in Law: On the Significance of Economic Theory in Law”), explored the intersection of legal reasoning and economic theory.[7]

In April 2012, she completed her habilitation (venia legendi) in Public International Law and Legal Theory at the University of Osnabrück. She was admitted to the German bar in 2003.[1]

Career

Her early teaching roles included assistant lecturer positions at the University of Fribourg from 1998 to 2000 in Economic and Social Policy and at Humboldt University of Berlin (2000–2003) in Private and Economic Law and Institutional Economics.[8] She then worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg (2003–2005) and at the Max Planck Institute for Research of Collective Goods in Bonn (2005–2006).[6][9][8]

From 2006 to 2012, she was a Tenure-Track Professor (Max Schmidheiny Foundation) at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, focusing on Law and Economics, Legal Theory, Public International Law, and European Law. From 2012 to 2018, she served as a Full Professor at the University of St. Gallen in the same fields.[10]

In 2018, Van Aaken was appointed to an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship at the University of Hamburg, becoming the first female legal scholar in Germany to receive this distinction.[11] At Hamburg, she held the Chair for Law and Economics, Legal Theory, Public International Law, and European Law, and served as Director of the Institute of Law and Economics. Since 2023, she continues in these fields as Chair and Co-Director of the Institute of Law and Economics at the University of Hamburg.[12]

She served as Vice President of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) from 2014 to 2017 and as a member of its Board from 2012 to 2020. She was Vice President of the European Association of Law and Economics (EALE) from 2008 to 2013 and a Board Member from 2007 to 2013.[13]

She has been a member of several editorial boards, including the American Journal of International Law, European Journal of International Law, International Theory, and the Journal of International Economic Law. She is also General Editor of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement.[4]

Beyond academia, van Aaken has served as an expert consultant to international organizations such as the World Bank, OECD, UNCTAD, GIZ, and the United Nations High Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism. She played a key role in the development of “The Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration,” launched in 2019 at the Peace Palace in The Hague.[6]

She is also a Principal Investigator at the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions at the University of Haifa.[11]

Research

Van Aaken’s research lies at the intersection of law, economics, and behavioral science. Her work examines how economic and psychological insights can inform the design of international and domestic legal frameworks.[14]

Her main research themes include international economic law, investment protection, regime interaction in international law, corporate social responsibility, corruption, and financial regulation.[15]

Van Aaken has also contributed to legal theory through her work on deliberative institutional economics, analyzing how discourse and rationality influence legal institutions.[2] She is known for integrating empirical and experimental methods into legal scholarship, promoting interdisciplinary methodologies that connect law, economics, and social science.[16]>

Awards

Publications

References

  1. ^ a b Werby, Olga. "Innovating Justice for the New Millennium | Interfaces.com". interfaces.com. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b "A Look at 'The World Crisis and International Law'". Virgian University School of Law. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  3. ^ Batelka, Sarah. ""Outstanding researcher with an innovative approach"". Hamburg University Newsroom. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Prof. Dr. Anne van Aaken appointed". University of St. Gallen. University of St. Gallen Newsroom. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  5. ^ Müller, Patrik; Weinmann, Benjamin; Vuichard, Florence (30 June 2024). "Der Nestlé-Chef über ungesundes Essen, illegales Mineralwasser – und Fett-weg-Spritzen" [The Nestlé CEO on unhealthy food, illegal mineral water – and fat-loss injections]. Watson (in German). CH Media. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Prof. Dr. Anne van Aaken". Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  7. ^ ANNE VAN AAKEN (PDF). swissinternationalstudies.ch. December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Internetredaktion. "Prof. Dr. iur. et lic.rer.pol Anne van Aaken : Law : University of Hamburg". www.jura.uni-hamburg.de. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Prof. Dr. Anne van Aaken". Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods. Max Planck Institute. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Prof. Dr. Anne van Aaken appointed". HSG - Uni SG. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. ^ a b "The Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions - Prof. Dr. Anne van Aaken, Principal Investigator". minervaextremelaw.haifa.ac.il. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. ^ "'REWARDING IN INTERNATIONAL LAW' Professor Anne van Aaken (University of Hamburg)". pravo.hse.ru. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  13. ^ "LCIL Friday Lecture: 'The Behavioural Turn of the United Nations and its Implications for International Law' - Prof Anne van Aaken, University of Hamburg | Lauterpacht Centre for International Law". www.lcil.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  14. ^ van Aaken, Anne; Broude, Tomer (8 May 2025), van Aaken, Anne; Hirsch, Moshe (eds.), "From Economic to Behavioural Analysis of International Law: What Have We Learned So Far?", International Legal Theory and the Cognitive Turn (1 ed.), Oxford University PressOxford, pp. 177–196, doi:10.1093/9780198909293.003.0009, ISBN 978-0-19-890926-2, retrieved 13 March 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  15. ^ "Experimental Insights for International Legal Theory - EJIL". www.ejil.org. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  16. ^ Schütz, Dirk. "Neuer Nestlé-CEO Schneider: Brabecks letzter Coup" [New Nestlé CEO Schneider: Brabeck's last coup]. BILANZ. Ringier Axel Springer Schweiz AG. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin". Anne van Aaken, Dr. iur. (in German). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
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