Emma Scali

Emma Luce Scali is a Lecturer in International Law and Human Rights at the University of Manchester and a member of the Manchester International Law Centre (MILC).

Her research expertise lies in the international law of sovereign debt/financing and human rights (particularly economic and social rights). Her monograph Sovereign Debt and Socio-Economic Rights Beyond Crisis: The Neoliberalisation of International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2022) argues that the Eurozone debt crisis significantly advanced the neoliberalisation of international law, catalysing international and EU law reforms grounded in neoliberalism’s understanding of the market as a method for knowledge production and decision-making. Emma's more recent work is exploring issues of economic justice and coercion.

She is engaged in both theoretical and policy-oriented research, including collaborations with civil society organisations. From 2022 to 2025, she served as a consultant to the UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), contributing research on debt and human rights with a particular focus on Latin America and South-East Asia.

Emma is also co-organiser of the Roccella Summer School of International Law, held biannually in Roccella Jonica, on the southern coast of Calabria, Italy. The Summer School's core mission is to create an inclusive space – open to people from all backgrounds – for critical reflection on the relevance of international law for the peaceful coexistence and the thriving of humanity.

Emma holds a degree in Political Science and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ and an MA in International Relations (summa cum laude) from LUISS Guido Carli, where her dissertation was awarded a special distinction by the examining committee. She completed her PhD in Law at the University of Nottingham.