Sonia E. Rolland is a Professor of Law and Business in the International Business & Strategy Group at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business and a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Emerging Markets. Rolland's research focuses on international economic law and development, energy and sustainability, and international institutions. Her recent work explores the relationship between international trade governance and businesses in emerging countries.

Rolland regularly acts as an expert for international and non-governmental organizations including the United Nations, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, the India Institute of Foreign Trade, and the UK Government Legal Directorate, Department of Business and Trade. She is on the EU Commission Trade and Sustainable Development Expert list of individuals for appointment on panels to resolve disputes under the Trade and Sustainable Development chapters of the EU’s trade agreements.

She is the author of three books: Research Handbook on Trade Law and Development (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025); Emerging Powers in the International Economic Order – Cooperation, Competition and Transformation (with David M. Trubek) (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and Development at the WTO (Oxford University Press, 2012). Her writings have appeared in the Journal of International Economic Law, The Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs and the European Journal of International Law, among others. Her article, “The Precautionary Principle: Development of an International Standard” (Michigan Journal of International Law, 2002), has received several awards and its findings have been endorsed by the International Law Commission in a Resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

She has held appointments as Visiting Professor at Columbia University, Georgetown University, Boston College and has lectured at Yale, the US Army War College, the University of Cambridge, the London School of Economics, Seikei University (Tokyo) and other prominent institutions in Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

Rolland is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of International Economic Law and has been active in various leadership capacities at the American Society of International Law for over a decade. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Boston International Arbitration Council.

Education

  • PhD, Cambridge University (UK)
  • JD, University of Michigan Law School
  • MA International and European Economic Law (with Honors), Université Paris-10 (France)
  • BA Political Science and International Relations, Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (France)

Awards & Recognition

  • Excellence in Reviewing Award, Journal of International Economic Law (2021)
  • University Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Innovation (2020)
  • Emerging Powers in the International Economic Order – Cooperation, Competition and Transformation (with David M. Trubek) 237 p., Cambridge University Press, 2019: listed as an “Outstanding Title for 2020” by the Association of College Research Librarians

Selected Publications

  • Rolland, S. E. (Ed.). 2025. Research Handbook on Trade Law and Development. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Rolland, S. E. 2025. Development as a Litmus Test for Trade Law and Policy. In Rolland, S. E. (Ed.). Research Handbook on Trade Law and Development. Edward Elgar Publishing.
  • Rolland, S. E. (2024). Supporting Trade Negotiations with Sustainable Development Impact Assessments. Journal of International Economic Law 27(4), 683–89. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgae048.
  • Rolland, S. E. (2024). Sustainable Development and International Economic Law: Intersections or Convergence? In Claussen, K., & Vidigal, G. (Eds.). The Sustainability Revolution in International Trade Agreements. Oxford University Press.
  • Rolland, S. E. (2024). Quelle place pour le développement dans les accords sur les commerce et les investissements? In Dubin, L., El Boudouhi, S., & Bachand, R. (Eds.). Vers l'émergence d'un nouveau paradigme en droit économique international. Pédone.
  • Rolland, S. E., & Trubek, D. M. (2021). Development-Driven Post WTO World. In Kolsky Lewis, M., Junji Nakagawa J., Neuwirth, R. J., Picker, C. B., &Peter-Tobias Stoll, P.-T. (Eds.). A Post-WTO International Legal Order: Utopian, Dystopian and Other Scenarios. Springer Press.
  • Rolland, S. E. (2020). The Impact of Trade and Investment Treaties on Fiscal Resources and Taxation in Developing Countries. Chicago Journal of International Law 21(1), 48-82.
  • Rolland, S. E., & Trubek, D. M. (2019). Emerging Powers in the International Economic Order – Cooperation, Competition and Transformation. Cambridge University Press.
  • Rolland, S. E. (2019). Retooling or Redesigning Trade Law? University of Illinois Law Review Online 2019(Spring), 22-31.
  • Rolland, S. E. (2012). Development at the WTO. Oxford University Press.

Selected Presentations

  • Sustainable Development as a Litmus Test for Trade Law and Policy, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, May 2025.
  • Lawfare & Economics, US Army War College, School of Strategic Landpower, Carlisle PA, April 2025.
  • International Court of Justice and the World Trade Organization: Theory and Practice, US Army War College, School of Strategic Landpower, Carlisle PA, March 2024.
  • Trade Law, Development and Indigenous Peoples, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, International School Indigenous Rights, Responsibilities and Ethics. Lima, Peru, Jan. 2024.
  • Trade, Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation, Remaking the World Trading System Workshop and presentation, ITAM, Mexico City, Mexico, July 2023.