Joyce De Coninck is a PhD candidate at Ghent University and a research assistant for FreSsco (Free movement of workers and Social security coordination), which is a network of independent experts in the fields of free movement of workers and social security coordination in the European Union, mandated by the European Commission with the task of researching and preparing reports concerning free movement and social security coordination.
Before joining the Human Rights Centre, Joyce completed a Masters of Law at Ghent University and subsequently an LLM in International and European Law at the Institute for European Studies (VUB). Throughout her studies Joyce focused primarily on human rights law and public international law, as demonstrated by her Master Thesis written for the University of Ghent (Roma Rights: A Comparative Analysis Between Belgium and Romania) as well as her Master Thesis written for the LLM in International and European Law (Analysing the Human Rights Architectural Framework: Accountability for Human Rights Violations by Frontex in View of Irregular Migration to the European Union).
Prior to commencing her academic career as a researcher at Ghent University, she was a junior associate at Pappas and Associates – a European law firm in Brussels. Her tasks consisted primarily of writing applications and preparing cases for the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Her PhD research focuses on the legal responsibility of the European Union as an international organisation and a global actor for human rights violations within the field of asylum and migration.
