RenRu Ma

Renru Ma is a PhD candidate in international law at the World Trade Institute, where he has been enrolled since September 2023 under the supervision of Professor Peter Van den Bossche and Professor He Zhipeng. His doctoral project, The Evolution of Rule of Law Values in the Multilateral Trading System, employs a Foucauldian, critical international law perspective to describe and interrogate the rule of law as a discourse structuring the GATT/WTO system.

Renru's scholarly work advances along two tightly linked paths. One strand of his research is deeply rooted in legal philosophy, through which he examines core questions of normativity and foundational issues in legal theory. Parallel to this, he consistently grounds his inquiry in the detailed, doctrine-sensitive analysis of concrete problems in international economic law.

His forthcoming paper first presented at the Conference of the Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network of the Society of International Economic Law, offers a philosophical reflection on norms and normativity in a time of institutional crisis. In a more practice-focused vein, he has also authored a forthcoming book chapter that analyzes the participation of African states in the international legal order, showcasing his ability to connect theoretical frameworks with tangible legal practice.

Renru holds an LLB from the China University of Political Science and Law (2013–2017) and an LLM in WTO Law from the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics (2020–2023), where his master’s thesis received a faculty-level Outstanding Dissertation award.

He has previously conducted visiting research at the University of Hamburg and the University of Cambridge.