Ousseni Illy holds a PhD in Public International Law from the University of Geneva (2010) and a Master in Public Law from the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2003). He worked, among other, as a research assistant for Professor Gabrielle Marceau at Geneva University (2009) and for the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (2010). Furthermore, he has been an intern and a consultant for the UN (Legal Affairs, Codification Division) and a PhD visiting researcher at the WTO Secretariat, Geneva. Before returning to Burkina Faso in 2012, he spent two years as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford (2011) and at Princeton University (2012). He is currently working as an assistant professor of law at Université Ouaga II, Burkina Faso. His research interests include international trade law (WTO), investment law and public international law. One of his current projects is on the legal status of failed states.