PhD Collective negotiations in sovereign default and corporate insolvency (Elsene, BE) chez Vrije Universiteit Brussel | Vrije Universiteit Brussel

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculteit Recht en Criminologie, Department Metajuridica, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

Our team is looking for a doctoral student (bursary position) for the project ‘Collective negotiations in sovereign default and corporate insolvency (1890-1920)’.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, crises caused by defaulting states were discussed in committees of bondholders. These committees coordinated the negotiations and defended the interests of individual bondholders. 

The candidate will conduct research in archives. Based on an analysis of source material, the strategies developed to reconcile the interests of multiple bondholders will be examined. Specific attention will be paid to the dynamics caused by voting rules and the autonomy of representatives; in addition, the influence of developing ideas about creditor meetings in bankruptcy law will be examined.

The project takes the Belgian Association of Foreign Bondholders (1898) as a case study. This association was part of the Antwerp Stock Exchange. Its members had ties to the Antwerp business community, where merchant insolvencies were a regular occurrence.

Insolvencies of private bondholders and companies could influence decisions of the bond committee; deficient bonds could be discussed in debt assessments of insolvent traders. The project studies the organisational characteristics of the bondholders' committee and the structure of negotiations and meetings, in comparison to corporate insolvency.

This research offers points of reference for contemporary law and can form a basis for developing expertise in insolvency law and/or international financial and economic law.

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• You have a master's degree in law or history (in which case, with an interest in political, institutional or economic history)

• Good command of English.
• Knowledge of French
• Ability to conduct research both independently and as part of a team.

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 01/11/2025. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 15/10/2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter;
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Our application process is as follows (subject to change):

• step 1: an initial selection based on your application file; 
• step 2: a job interview.

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Dave De ruysscher at [email protected] or on 02620.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.