Dominic Coppens is Professor of International Economic Law at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, where he co-directs the Institute for Globalization and International Regulation (IGIR). He leads IGIR’s sustainability research on the regulatory transition needed to address the triple planetary crisis in an effective and inclusive way. Dominic is also an independent legal advisor and consultant on international and EU sustainability and trade matters. In that capacity, he serves as Senior Fellow on Trade, Climate & Sustainable Development at TESS.

Before joining TESS, Dominic was a Senior Adviser at an international law firm, where he helped stakeholders navigate the rapidly evolving international and EU trade and sustainability landscape. 

Dominic has extensive experience in international trade and environmental law and litigation. Dominic has advised governments and other stakeholders on WTO law and free trade agreements, including their interaction with international environmental law. He has represented WTO members throughout all stages of WTO dispute settlement, including consultations, panel proceedings, appeals, compliance, and arbitration. Dominic was also a member of the legal teams representing, on a pro bono basis, Antigua and Barbuda before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the African Union and the Comoros before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in advisory proceedings on climate change. 

Dominic has advised a wide range of stakeholders on EU Green Deal measures, including circular economy (e.g. packaging, batteries) and product regulation (e.g. deforestation-free products), carbon pricing (e.g. CBAM), and ESG matters (e.g. disclosures, due diligence, and green communications). 

Dominic has conducted extensive research on topics related to international trade and sustainability. He was, for example, part of the expert group convened by TESS to develop guidance on principles of international law relevant to the design and implementation of trade-related climate measures and policies. He has contributed to recent research on options for international fossil fuel subsidy reform and the transition to a circular economy. He is the author of WTO Disciplines on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures: Balancing Policy Space and Legal Constraints (CUP, 2014), a leading treatise on WTO subsidy law, including from both sustainability and development perspectives.   

Dominic holds a PhD in Law from KU Leuven in Belgium, where he also studied law and economics. He conducted postdoctoral research at KU Leuven and Columbia Law School and completed an internship at the WTO Legal Affairs Division.

Selected publications

• Baršauskaitė, I., Coppens, D., Lau, C., Vincent, A., & Wooders, P. (2025). Options for International Agreements on Fossil Fuel Subsidies.
• Ghannadzadeh, A., Lema, R., & Coppens, D. (2024). Accelerating the transition to a fossil-free society: Aligning natural science, law, and strategy in fostering the shift to biobased products. Poster session presented at Brightlands Polymer Days 2024, Geleen, Netherlands.
• Coppens, D., & Lau, C. (2024). Article 2 SCMA (Specificity), Article 6 SCMA (Serious Prejudice), Article 11 SCMA (Initiation and Subsequent Investigation), and Article 13 SCMA (Consultations): In K. Huyghebaert , & J. W. Kim (Eds.), Trade Remedies Brill | Nijhoff.
• Raju, D., Connolly, K., Coppens, D., Dekastros, M., Friedbacher, T., Landon, T., Lim, J., Lockhart, N., Roney, D., & Sandford, I. (2022). Multi-Forum Strategies to Tackle Climate Change and Other Complex Problems: A Note from Practitioners. Web publication/site, EJIL:Talk!
• Coppens, D., & Lockhart, N. (2022). The Paris Rulebook and its implications for carbon credit markets. The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, (132)
• Lockhart, N., Coppens, D., Connolly, K., & Perantakou, S. (2022). Securing a Just and Inclusive Global Green Economy Through Trade Policy. TESS (Forum on Trade, Enviroment & the SDGs)
• Coppens, D. (2020). Evidence in WTO Dispute Settlement: From the Burden of Proof to Invisible Experts. In M. Tejada, & M. T. M. Tejeda (Eds.), Practical Aspects of WTO Litigation Wolters Kluwer
• Coppens, D. (2016). Twenty years of (re)-shaping WTO subsidy Law by the Appellate Body and panels. In L. Rubini (Ed.), What Shapes the Law? Reflections on the History, Law, Politics and Economics of International and European Subsidy Disciplines European University Institute
• Coppens, D. (2014). WTO Disciplines on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures: Balancing Policy Space and Legal Constraints. Cambridge University Press
• Coppens, D. (2013). How special is the Special and Differential Treatment under the SCM Agreement? A legal and normative analysis of WTO subsidy disciplines on developing countries. World Trade Review, 12(1).
• De Meester, B., & Coppens, D. (2013). Mode 3 of the GATS: A Model for Disciplining Measures Affecting Investment Flows? In Z. Drabek, & P. Mavroidis (Eds.), Regulation of Foreign Investment – Challenges to International Harmonization World Scientific Publishing Company.
• Wouters, J., Coppens, D., & Geraerts, D. (2012). The Influence of General Principles of Law. In S. Gaines, B. Olsen, & K. Sorensen (Eds.), Liberalising trade in the EU and the WTO: A legal comparison Cambridge University Press
• Coppens, D. (2010). WTO Disciplines on Export Credit Support for Agricultural Products in the Wake of the US – Cotton Case and the Doha Round Negotiations. Journal of World Trade, 44(2)
• Coppens, D. (2009). How Much Credit for Export Credit Support Under the SCM Agreement? Journal of International Economic Law, 12(1)
• Wouters, J., & Coppens, D. (2008). GATS and Domestic Regulations: Balancing the Right to Regulate and Trade Liberalization. In M. Andenas, & K. Alexander (Eds.), The World Trade Organization and Trade in Services Brill | Nijhof
• Coppens, D., & Wouters, J. (2006). Global Economic Policy-making: Exploring Legal Linkages Between the World Trade Organization and the Bretton Woods Institutions. International Organizations Law Review