ROMÂNĂ 
ENGLISH VERSION 
Associate Professor Dr. Cristina Elena POPA TACHE
Short Description
Cristina Elena Popa Tache is an Associate Professor and researcher in the fields of public international law and European Union law, with more than 16 years of academic and scientific experience developed in Romania and through her engagement with prestigious international institutions, research centres and academic forums.
At Danubius International University, she serves as Vice-Rector for Scientific Research, Innovation and Interinstitutional Initiatives and as Associate Professor, teaching Public International Law and EU Institutional Law. Her teaching and research activities also extend to European Union law, international organisations and international relations, communication and new technologies law, and digital public administration law. Previously, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Law and International Governance, with responsibilities encompassing academic development, research, study programmes, internationalisation and institutional cooperation.
She holds a PhD in Law, specialising in Public International Law and the legal framework governing foreign investment, having obtained the highest academic qualification at the “Acad. Andrei Rădulescu” Legal Research Institute of the Romanian Academy. Her international academic and research training includes the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, as well as research activities at the Institut de Recherches Europe-Asie, Aix-Marseille Université, and within the European Society of International Law.
An important milestone in her academic career is her status as Academic Visitor / Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, where she conducted research on international investment law, international State responsibility and the legal implications of emerging technologies, including the reconceptualisation of investment treaties in the context of artificial intelligence.
Her scholarly activity is closely connected with major international academic organisations and networks. She is actively involved in the European Society of International Law (ESIL), where she has held coordination and leadership responsibilities within scientific groups and structures dedicated to international law, human rights, diversity and academic representation. She is also involved in COST Association projects, is a member of the ISDS Academic Forum, is affiliated with international research and expertise networks, and serves as an Academic and Scientific Expert for the European Parliamentary Research Service, contributing specialised expertise to legal, institutional and public policy analysis.
In parallel, she plays an active role within CIRET Paris – Centre International de Recherches et Études Transdisciplinaires, where she serves as Deputy Secretary-General, researcher and coordinator of international scientific initiatives. She is the Founder and Director of the International Observatory for Law and Transdisciplinarity and President of the CIRET Ethics and Guidance Committee. Her work within these structures focuses on advancing transdisciplinary research, international cooperation and the development of new research methodologies.
She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Existential Threats and Risks to All (EXTRA) initiative of the World Academy of Art and Science, where she contributes to the development of prospective approaches to systemic risks and to the integration of legal, institutional, ethical and human rights dimensions into their analysis.
Her editorial and scholarly activity is equally extensive. She is Editor-in-Chief of the International Investment Law Journal, where she is involved in editorial management, peer review and the development of cooperation with international researchers and editors. She is also involved in international editorial and scholarly projects, including with Springer Nature, Cambridge University Press, L’Harmattan Paris and Palgrave Macmillan, contributing to the advancement of contemporary legal scholarship and to the development of research directions at the intersection of law, society and global transformations.
The author of a substantial body of scholarly works, studies and academic contributions, Cristina Elena Popa Tache has consistently devoted her research to some of the most current and advanced issues of contemporary law. Her research focuses particularly on the transformations brought about by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, the evolution of international investment law, global governance, human rights, systemic and prospective risks, and the relationship between law and transdisciplinarity. Through this orientation, her scholarly work seeks not only to analyse existing law, but also to explore new conceptual and methodological frameworks capable of responding to ongoing legal and societal transformations.
A distinctive dimension of her research is her focus on legal foresight, anticipatory law and anticipatory governance, as well as on the development of legal methodologies adapted to contemporary complexity. This orientation is reflected in her participation in recent international conferences and research projects addressing anticipatory law, artificial intelligence, existential and systemic risks, diversity in international law and new methodologies for legal research.
In recognition of her scholarly contribution to the fields of international law and international relations, she was awarded the “Nicolae Titulescu” Prize of the Romanian Academy in 2024, in recognition of the value of her academic contribution.
As Vice-Rector for Scientific Research, Innovation and Interinstitutional Initiatives, she is committed to strengthening a university culture founded on research excellence, innovation, internationalisation and cooperation. Her work focuses on developing international projects and consortia, expanding academic networks, fostering interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, developing strategic partnerships and enhancing the international visibility of Danubius International University.
Drawing on her experience in higher education, research, international academic organisations and networks, and the coordination of scientific initiatives, she aims to contribute to strengthening a university capable of transforming frontier research into academic innovation, international cooperation and institutional impact.
Research Begins with the Courage to Dream
Message from the Vice-Rector for Scientific Research, Innovation and Interinstitutional Partnerships
Danubius International University
Every important research endeavour begins in a specific place, through the encounter between a curious mind and an idea worth exploring. Sometimes, this encounter takes place in a major university centre. At other times, it happens in a small office, in a modest library, in a laboratory just starting out, or at a university that is patiently building its own scientific profile. The value of an idea arises from its depth, and its destiny can extend far beyond the place where it was first conceived.
I firmly believe in the potential of research developed at Romanian universities and in the ability of researchers working outside major academic centres to contribute to the advancement of international knowledge. I know how much work, discipline and passion are required to build a research direction, form a team, publish the first results and earn academic recognition.
Romania has its own stories of the courage to pursue research and of the power of ideas to travel beyond the boundaries of the places where they were born. Ștefan Odobleja, born in a commune in Mehedinți County, formulated visionary ideas about feedback, consonantist psychology and complex systems. Ana Aslan, born in Brăila, established a research direction in gerontology that attracted the attention of the international medical community. George Emil Palade, born in Iași, became a Nobel laureate for his contributions to cell biology. Henri Coandă and Grigore Moisil demonstrated, in different fields, how far original thinking and fundamental research can reach.
The history of science reminds us that great discoveries often had fragile beginnings. Marie Curie conducted research in rudimentary laboratories. Michael Faraday began as an apprentice in a bookbinding shop. Srinivasa Ramanujan developed an essential part of his mathematical universe through independent study, far from major academic centres. Katherine Johnson demonstrated her excellence within a system that imposed social barriers upon her, while Barbara McClintock continued to follow the evidence even when the scientific community was slow to understand its significance. Great wars, historical crises and often harsh living conditions became, for many of the greatest scientists, trials through which their determination was strengthened, their thinking sharpened, and the courage to pursue discoveries that changed the course of humanity was born.
For precisely these reasons, I want Danubius International University to be our place where intellectual ambition finds encouragement, ideas find interlocutors, and researchers enjoy the freedom to envision projects commensurate with their potential. A university's location determines where we conduct our research, but never the limits of how far we can go.
As Vice-Rector for Scientific Research, Innovation and Interinstitutional Partnerships, I embrace the mission of contributing to the development of an academic ecosystem in which research represents an opportunity for professional fulfilment and a genuine contribution to the transformation of society. I intend to support courageous initiatives, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations, connections with international networks, and the development of research communities ready to transform individual questions into collective projects with impact.
To early-career researchers, to colleagues working at our universities, and to those patiently building their own scientific profiles, I have a special message: dare to ask big questions, even when you begin with limited resources. An original hypothesis, a well-grounded theoretical perspective, an innovative methodology or a collaboration initiated at the right moment can open academic pathways that even their authors might not have anticipated at the outset.
Regional research has its own perspective and a distinctive contribution to make. Proximity to communities, institutions, economic and social transformations, and people's concrete problems provides access to research questions of direct relevance. Local experience can inform theories with general applicability, while observations made in a particular context can become starting points for European and international debates. Through sound methodology, scientific dialogue and openness to collaboration, research conducted here can help shape tomorrow's academic agenda.
I extend the same invitation to students: approach research as an intellectual journey you can begin today. A question raised during a seminar, an observation drawn from professional practice, a reading that challenges you, or a problem you wish to understand more deeply can become the starting point of a project. Seek mentors, build teams, participate in conferences and dare to present your ideas. The university must provide the environment in which curiosity develops, rigour takes shape, and intellectual vocation finds direction.
My vision of university research rests on three commitments: the freedom to imagine, the rigour to demonstrate, and the courage to transform. These commitments guide every researcher's work, regardless of their career stage, and can give coherence to an academic community united by respect for knowledge and the desire to contribute to progress.
I want a community to grow around Danubius International University in which researchers encourage one another, experience is freely shared, young people are entrusted with opportunities, and ideas are assessed according to the strength of their arguments and the value of their contributions.
To researchers who dream of changing a perspective, opening up a new field, or bringing an idea from their own intellectual universe to the centre of an international debate, I say: preserve the breadth of your dream and build its scientific foundations, step by step.
I invite you to build this academic endeavour together, with confidence in our ideas, rigour in our scientific work, and generosity towards the potential of every individual.
Let us have the courage to dream from anywhere and the competence to contribute from everywhere. For a valuable idea can begin here and now, and go on to change the way the world understands the future.
Prof. Cristina Elena Popa Tache, PhD
Vice-Rector for Scientific Research, Innovation and Interinstitutional Partnerships
Danubius International University
