I am deeply grateful to Professor Attila M. Tanzi for accepting me as a Ph.D. fellow and research assistant and, most importantly, for his constant guidance and advice. Sincere thanks also go to Professor Elisa Baroncini, for involving me in numerous initiatives that have contributed in no small way to my academic growth, as well as to my colleagues Ludovica Chiussi Curzi and Gian Maria Farnelli, unceasing sources of suggestions, support and helpfulness.
I am thankful to the University of Bologna for welcoming my doctoral project. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the University of Pisa and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, my almae matres, where I took my first steps in legal research. In particular, I sincerely thank the late Professor Antonio Marcello Calamia, as well as Professors Andrea de Guttry, Simone Marinai and Emanuele Sommario, who introduced me to international law, for their supervision and advice.
I am also grateful to Professors Antonino Alì and Régis Bismuth and to the anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions. I also wish to thank Professors Roger O’Keefe and Astrid Iversen, as well as Somesh Dutta, Niccolò Lanzoni and Bianca Nalbandian, for their comments and the stimulating discussions we shared working on previous versions of this book. My gratitude goes also to Professor Malgosia Fitzmaurice for welcoming this research as part of the Brill’s Queen Mary Studies in International Law. The study undoubtedly benefited from my stay at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law. I thank Professor Hélène Ruiz Fabri, former Director of the Department of International Law and Dispute Resolution, for her kind welcome and guidance during my time at the Institute. I am grateful to Ingeborg van der Laan for her editorial assistance and prompt helpfulness.
It has been my great fortune to have other travel buddies in Bologna – Valentina Anemoni, Andrea Cerofolini and Grazia Eleonora Vita – who often eased the drudgery of doctoral research, along with several friends, including (but not limited to) Alessia, Priscilla and Silvio. The most profound thanks go to Federica and my family. You gave me the security, serenity, and warmth I needed to be able to dedicate myself to study and research. Grazie.