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Dr Paolo Vargiu is an Associate Professor at the Leicester Law School. His research interests lie primarily in the fields of law and religion, legal theory, and international law. Dr Vargiu is a qualified practitioner and acts as an independent arbitrator. He holds degrees from the Universities of Cagliari (JD), Nottingham (LLM and PhD) and Leicester (PGCHE). 

My research interrogates the nature of law through a plurality of disciplinary perspectives, recognising that legal concepts acquire their full significance only when examined from broader intellectual perspectives.

Law and Religion:
My research examines the relationship between religion, law, and society, aiming at understanding how the law is shaped by moral and cultural forces. I am especially interested in the legal and social position of religious minorities in host states, interrogating the extent to which law serves as an instrument of integration or exclusion in pluralist democracies.

Law and Literature:
In my work, I explore how literature functions as both a mirror and a critic of the law, underscoring its moral and social dimensions beyond mere doctrine. Narratives in fiction and public discourse are the means through which I investigate how law is internalised, contested, and reimagined by the layperson, highlighting the interplay between formal legal principles and experiences of justice.

International Law:
I have written extensively on investment law and arbitration, addressing in particular the paradox of adjudication in a system that formally rejects precedent yet operates through the gravitational pull of past awards, and examining the role and ethics of arbitrators as de facto ±ô²¹·É³¾²¹°ì±ð°ù²õ.Ìý

I currently serve as Managing Editor of the and of the . I am also a member of the Editorial Board of the  and of the Steering Committee of ORFECT (Observatory on Religious Freedom in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights).

Monograph:

• Investment Arbitration’s Tightrope: Ethics, Power and Responsibility (Anthem Press, 2025) ().
  
  

Articles and Book Chapters:

• Publicity and Legitimacy of Public International Law: Trial by Media and Proceedings before International Courts and Tribunals, in Lieve Gies (ed.), Trial by Media – Participatory Justice, Springer, 2025, pp. 321-345.
• The European Court of Human Rights and the Myth of Freedom of Religion, Il Diritto Ecclesiastico, vol. CXXXV, 3/4, 2024, pp. 755-774.
• Down the Rabbit Hole of Investment Arbitration and Ethics, International Investment Law Journal, vol. 4, no. 2, 2024, p. 137-153.
• The Concept of "Reasonable Accommodation" as a Barrier to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in International Law, Ordine Internazionale e Diritti Umani, vol. 4, p. 811-825, 2023.
• Is the UNSC Resolution No. 2664 (2022) on humanitarian exemption a paradigm shift for sanction regimes?, Peace & Security - Paix et Sécurité Internationales, vol. 11, p. 1-22, 2023 (with F. Seatzu).
• The Right to Vote of Persons With Disabilities and the Difficult Relationship Between the CRPD and the European Court of Human Rights, San Diego International Law Journal, vol. 24(2), p. 263-288, 2023 (with F. Seatzu).
• Could Belarus and Russia Be Suspended from the World Bank and EBRD?, Texas International Law Journal, vol. 58, p. 163-172, 2023 (with F. Seatzu).
• La protezione dei luoghi di culto nel diritto internazionale (The protection of places of worship in international law), Ephemerides Iuris Canonici, vol. 63, p. 185-203 (2023).
• Not Commercial after all: Perception and Reality of Third-Party Funding in International Investment Arbitration, Journal of World Investment and Trade, vol. 24, p. 487-500 (2023) (with D. Davitti).
• Les agences de notation de crédit et leurs activités de rating: un regard à travers le prisme du droit international public, Journal du Droit International (Clunet), vol. 149, p. 95-109, 2023 (with F. Seatzu).
• Langue and Parole of investment Law, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique, vol. 36, 2023, pp. 293-312.
• AfCFTA’s adoption of WTO Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures: a Decision to regret?, Transnational Dispute Management, vol. 20(1), 2023, p. 1-13 (with F. Seatzu).
• Law and Literature Approaches to International Adjudication, in H. Ruiz Fabri (ed.), Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (Oxford University Press, 2022).
• The Credit Rating Agency: an Emerging New Actor in International Law and Order?, Diritto del Commercio Internazionale, vol. 36(3), 2022, p. 617-633.
• Best Interest of the Child and International Investment Law, Questions of International Law, vol. 89, 2022, p. 29-48.
• Mugemangango v. Belgium: a questionable contribution to the de-politicization of post-electoral disputes in Europe, in Stefano Aru, Marco Betzu, Stefania Cecchini, Roberto Cherchi, Lorenzo Chieffi, Giovanni Coinu, Antonio D’Aloia, Andrea Deffenu, Gianmario Demuro, Gennaro Ferraiuolo, Fulvio Pastore, Ilenia Ruggiu, Sandro Staiano (eds.), Scritti in onore di Pietro Ciarlo (Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 2022), p. 821-839 (with F. Seatzu).
• Arbitrator’s Impartiality and Independence under the European Convention on Human Rights: Lessons from Beg v. Italy?, European Journal of Human Rights, vol. 4/5, 2022, p. 345-361 (with F. Seatzu).
• Three Views of a Secret: Missed Opportunities in the ECHR's Recent Case-Law on International Commercial Arbitration, The Italian Review of International and Comparative Law, vol. 2(1), 2022, p. 1-22 (with F. Seatzu).
• Downsizing Teaching: The Case for Seminars as the Backbone of Law Degrees, Asian Journal of Legal Education, vol. 9(1), 2022, p. 114–123.
• Minoranze religiose e diritto internazionale: una questione culturale, Il Diritto Ecclesiastico, vol. CXXXII, 1/2, 2021, p. 159-186
• La contradditoria natura del diritto alla libertà religiosa nel Patto internazionale sui diritti civili e politici e i suoi effetti sulla protezione delle minoranze religiose nel diritto internazionale, Ordine Internazionale e Diritti Umani, vol. 8(4), 2021, p. 973-989.
• Strange Bedfellows: Remarks on the Compatibility of Commercial Arbitration Principles with Maritime Arbitration, Transnational Dispute Management, vol. 18(1), 2021, p. 1-18 (with A. Cheevers and A. Cole).
• Foreign Investment Screening in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, in A. Moeberg, S. Hindelang (eds.), A Common European Law on Investment Screening (Springer, 2021), p. 117-137.
• Stakeholders of Investment Arbitration: establishing a dialogue among arbitrators, states, investors, academics and other actors in international investment law, in K. Fach Gomez (ed.), Private Actors in International Investment Law, Special Issue of the European Yearbook of International Economic Law (Springer, 2021), p. 5-25.
• Diritto e immaginazione: brevi cenni sul ruolo della dottrina nella costruzione della società post-pandemica, Il Diritto Ecclesiastico, vol. CXXXI, 1/2, 2020, p. 133-143.
• Pacific Alliance, in R. Wolfrum (ed.), Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, (Oxford University Press, 2020) (with F. Seatzu).
• PRIME Finance, in R. Wolfrum (ed.), Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, (Oxford University Press, 2019) (with F. Seatzu).
• Interpretation and Application of the New York Convention in the United Kingdom, in G. Bermann (ed.), Interpretation and Application of the New York Convention (Springer, 2017), p. 977-995 (with M. Ahmed).
• The Implementation of the Consumer ADR Directive in Italy, in P. Cortes (ed.), The New Regulatory Framework for Consumer Dispute Resolution (Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 209-226 (with P. Cortes and C. Pilia).
• Rethinking the Dualism of Regionalism vs. Universalism in the Light of the Sub-Saharan Experience with the Regulation of Foreign Investments, 2015 Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, 2016, p. 357-381 (with F. Seatzu).
• Africanizing Bilateral Investment Treaties ('BITs'): Some Case Studies and Future Prospects of a Pro-Active African Approach to International Investment, Connecticut Journal of International Law, vol. 30(2), 2015, p. 143-168 (with F. Seatzu).
• Bilateralism, Multilateralism and the Quest for a Multilateral Investment Agreement for Sub-Saharan African Countries, La Comunità Internazionale, vol. 69(3), 2014, p. 315-340 (with F. Seatzu).
• The Human Rights Dimension of UN Security Council Resolutions, in JR Carby-Hall (ed.), Essays on Human Rights: A Celebration of the Life of Dr. Janusz Kochanowski (Jus et Lex, 2014), p. 520-541 (with R. Deplano).
• Environmental Expropriation in International Investment Law, in T. Treves, F. Seatzu, S. Trevisanut (ed.), Foreign Investment, International Law and Common Concerns (Routledge, 2014), p. 213-238.
• When Investment Law Takes Over: Towards a New Legal Regime to Regulate Asia Pacific's Submarine Cable Boom, Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs, vol. 29, 2013, p. 1-24 (with F. Borgia).
• The Inuit Declaration on Sovereignty in the Arctic: Between the Right to Self-Determination and a New Concept of Sovereignty?, The Yearbook of Polar Law, vol. IV, 2012, p. 189-204 (with F. Borgia).
• From Advisory Opinions to Binding Decisions: The new Appeal Mechanism of the UN system of Administration of Justice, International Organizations Law Review, vol. 7(2), 2010, p. 261-275.
• Beyond Hallmarks and Formal Requirements: a “Jurisprudence Constante” on the Notion of Investment in the ICSID Convention, Journal of World Investment and Trade, vol. 10(5), 2009, p. 753-768 (2009).
• Cenni sulla protezione delle minoranze nazionali nel sistema delle Nazioni Unite, in R. Deplano (ed.), I diritti delle persone dentro e fuori i confini costituzionali, (Carocci, 2008), p. 56-61.

Dr Vargiu welcomes PhD proposals in the fields of law & religion, legal theory, law and the humanities and international law.

LLB:

• Law and Religion (Module Convenor)
• Jurisprudence
• International Law
• International Commercial Arbitration (Module Convenor)

LLM:

• General Principles of Public International Law (Module Convenor)
• International Investment Law (Module Convenor)

Dr Vargiu welcomes enquiries on matters of law and religion, international law, and human rights.

Dr Vargiu is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Italian Bar Association.