Dr. Johanna Fournier, LL.M.

Publications

CV

Présentations

Courses Taught

Networks and memberships

Public outreach

Johanna Fournier explores German-speaking jurisdictions with curiosity, conviction in comparative law, and a commitment to creative legal communication.

Jurisdictions  

  • Germany
  • Austria
  • Liechtenstein

Comparative Legal Expertise

  • Comparative public and constitutional law – administrative law, state and religion, security and counter-terrorism
  • Comparative criminal and family law – criminal law, marriage law, inheritance and naming rights
  • Comparative law and culture – intersections of law with arts, popular culture and fiction

Typical Comparative Questions

As a generalist, Johanna enjoys the challenge of engaging with a broad range of legal fields and presenting her comparative work in ways tailored to different audiences. Typical comparative questions she works on include:

  • What position do states grant to religious communities?
  • How are marriage contracts regulated with respect to procedure, content and recognition of foreign contracts?
  • How do different electoral systems work, including in contexts such as the Eurovision Song Contest and popular culture?

Selected Studies and Expert Opinions

  • La désobéissance civile en droit allemand, Pourquoi et comment désobéir ? La désobéissance civile à l’épreuve du droit, Lausanne, Switzerland, 28 May 2026
  • Eheverträge im deutschen Recht, Eheverträge im internationalen Kontext, Basel, Switzerland, 19 January 2026
  • Occulus reparo – Can fictional law sharpen our senses?, 26th Annual Conference: Senses of Law, Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, Vancouver, Canada, 18 May 2024
  • Le droit allemand des régimes matrimoniaux, in L. Heckendorn Urscheler & J. Fournier (eds.), Droit patrimonial du mariage et répartition des biens : Quelques ordres juridiques pour la pratique juridique internationale, 2026, pp. 15-51 (forthcoming)
  • Can We Compare Fictional Laws?, Oxford University Comparative Law Forum (OUCLF) 2025, https://ouclf.law.ox.ac.uk/can-we-compare-fictional-laws/#more-1637
  • Der Einsatz der Streitkräfte gegen Piraterie auf See, Nomos 2014
  • Family Justice Systems Compared – multi-country legal study of alternative mechanisms to the judicial determination of legal disputes related to the breakdown of marriage and similar legally recognised relationships
  • Droit & … – series of interdisciplinary conferences for the general public, linking law with popular culture and current trends in a creative and engaging way
  • CLiP – Comparative Law in Practice – series of comparative conferences giving legal practitioners an overview of how different jurisdictions regulate specific topics relevant to transnational cases
  • Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C./USA: exchange stay of two weeks in 2018 as part of the partnership between the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law and the Law Library of Congress
  • Association for the Study of Law, Culture, and the Humanities: Member