Clara De Chirico holds a cotutelle PhD in Law from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and the University of Macerata (Italy). Her doctoral research examined corporate harm to communities and directors’ liability through a comparative analysis of Italy and Canada. Her research interests include corporate law, corporate sustainability, stakeholder theory, stewardship ownership, comparative company law, and the relationship between corporations and local communities.
She completed her PhD in spring 2026 and holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Trento, where she graduated with highest honors. Since 2021, she has been involved in teaching and academic support activities in Business Law and European Company Law, while also serving as an international and online tutor at the University of Macerata.
Since September 2026, Clara has been a Junior Researcher at Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania), contributing to comparative research on steward-owned enterprises, and a Part-time Lecturer in Business Law at the University of Bergamo (Italy).
Clara De Chirico
Profile
Clara
De Chirico
Doctoral in Law graduate (2026)
Supervisor: Professor Palladam Vasudev
Research interest: Comparative corporate law; Corporate governance; Corporate sustainability; Business Forms; Local communities; Commons theory
Supervisor: Professor Palladam Vasudev
Research interest: Comparative corporate law; Corporate governance; Corporate sustainability; Business Forms; Local communities; Commons theory
Faculty of Law
University of Ottawa
Biography
Scholarships and Bursaries
- International Doctoral Scholarship, University of Ottawa, 2022/2023
Publications
- C. De Chirico, “Enforcing Corporate Sustainability Commitments: A Reasonable Expectations Approach”, Canadian Business Law Journal, vol. 72, Forthcoming;
- C. De Chirico “La comunità locale tra sostenibilità d’impresa ed esperienze fondiarie collettive” (The Local Community Between Corporate Sustainability and Collective Land Experiences), Archivio Scialoja-Bolla, 1/2026, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Forthcoming;
- C. De Chirico, “Canadian Indigenous Communities and Sustainability”, in A. Bartolacelli (ed.), The Prism of Sustainability. Multidisciplinary Profiles: Law, Economics and Ethics, Department of Law Series, University of Macerata, Editoriale Scientifica, Napoli, 2025, pp. 435-444;
- C. De Chirico, “La comunità-stakeholder. Identikit di una protagonista emergente nella transizione della grande impresa verso la sostenibilità” (The Community-Stakeholder: Portrait of an Emerging Actor in the Corporate Transition to Sustainability), in S. Franca, A. Porcari, S. Sulmicelli (eds.), Conference Proceedings "Le transizioni e il diritto," Università di Trento, 21-22 settembre 2023, 2024, Università degli Studi di Trento, Trento, pp. 675-702.