Centre de droit économique de l'Université d'Aix-Marseille

What Centre de droit économique de l'Université d'Aix-Marseille does

The Centre de Droit Économique (CDE, UR n°4224) is a public academic research unit at Aix-Marseille Université in France, founded in 1983 by doyen Jacques Mestre to coordinate economic and business law research at the university. Directed since 2021 by Professor David Bosco, the centre aggregates approximately 40 permanent teacher-researchers (15 professors including 2 emeriti, 22 maîtres de conférences and associates) and nearly 80 doctoral candidates, of whom about a quarter hold CIFRE-funded industrial conventions. It covers the full breadth of economic and business law disciplines, including contract law, competition law, intellectual property, banking and finance, corporate law, maritime and transport law, sports law, fiscal law, and digital law.

The centre's primary outputs are scholarly rather than commercial: five specialised editorial collections directed at the Presses Universitaires d'Aix-Marseille (Droit des affaires, Droit maritime et des transports, Droit du sport with the journal Cahiers de droit du sport, Horizons juridiques africains, Innovations et brevets), approximately 15 doctoral theses defended per year, regular colloquia and conferences, video recordings distributed via AMU Video, and open-access deposits in the HAL-AMU repository. Doctoral and Master 2 training (13+ Master 2 specialisations) is delivered through the École Doctorale ED67. The centre manages two affiliated platforms: the Competition Forum for competition law scholarship and the Centre de droit du jeu vidéo (CDJV) for video game law research.

The revenue model is institutional rather than commercial. Funding flows through Aix-Marseille Université public research allocations, supplemented by four partnership chairs hosted within the Fondation AMU and contributions from associated institutions including the Fédération de Recherche FED4280, the Ordre du Barreau d'Aix-en-Provence, the École Nationale de la Magistrature, and the law firm Jaberson Avocats. The centre does not charge fees for research, publications, or events, and there is no commercial pricing structure.

Name

Centre de droit économique de l'Université d'Aix-Marseille

Legal name

Centre de Droit Économique de l'Université d'Aix-Marseille (CDE)

Website

https://cde.univ-amu.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Centre de Droit Économique (UR n°4224) is a public academic research unit at Aix-Marseille Université coordinating economic and business law research through ~40 permanent researchers and ~80 doctoral students. It produces scholarly publications, runs doctoral and Master 2 programmes, and hosts colloquia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Legal Research and Education

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Law & Legal Studies Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Legal & Governance Professional Development (EDAGANAK), Research Monographs & University Press Publishing (MPAJABAJ), Law & Legal Studies Research Universities (EDAHABAF)

Keywords

• Economic law research
• Business law studies
• Legal scholarship
• Doctoral legal training
• Intellectual property law

Headquarters

HQ city

Aix-en-Provence

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public research funding (government / university): As a public university research unit (UR n°4224) under Aix-Marseille Université, the CDE is funded through public research allocations and institutional budgets. It does not generate commercial revenue.
2. Partnership contributions and chaires partenariales: The CDE hosts four chaires partenariales (partnership chairs) within the Université Foundation, which involve contributions from partner organisations for collaborative research projects. It also receives support from organisations such as the Fédération de Recherche (FED4280), the Ordre du Barreau d'Aix-en-Provence, the École Nationale de la Magistrature, and corporate partners like Jaberson Avocats for specific events and initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Centre de Droit Économique (CDE, UR n°4224) is a university research unit at Aix-Marseille Université that conducts academic research, doctoral and Master 2 training, scholarly publishing, and the organisation of high-level scientific events (colloquia, seminars, conferences) covering all branches of economic and business law. Its deliverables are legal scholarship, five specialized editorial collections published through PUAM, expert commentary for public institutions and professional bodies, and partnership-chair research programmes with external institutional and corporate partners.

Product overview

The Centre de Droit Économique (CDE – UR 4224) is an academic research unit at Aix-Marseille University, not a technology product company. It does not offer a unified software platform or product portfolio. Instead, it provides academic research services including doctoral programs, Master 2 specializations, scholarly publications through the Presses Universitaires d'Aix-Marseille (PUAM) in five specialized collections (Droit des affaires, Droit maritime et des transports, Droit du sport, Horizons juridiques africains, Innovations et brevets), conference and colloquium organization, video recordings of scientific events, and access to specialized library resources. The center's 'products' are educational programs and research dissemination services rather than commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Doctoral programme in private law and criminal sciences

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Presses Universitaires d'Aix-Marseille (PUAM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDE collaborates closely with PUAM to publish five specialized editorial collections in economic and business law, including Droit des affaires, Droit maritime et des transports, Droit du sport, Horizons juridiques africains, and Innovations et brevets. These collections disseminate the centre's research to the academic and professional community.
• Faculté de Droit et de Science Politique (FDSP) d'Aix-Marseille UniversitécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDE is an integral part of the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FDSP) of Aix-Marseille Université. Its researchers teach in FDSP programmes, and the faculty provides institutional support, premises, and administrative infrastructure.
• École Doctorale ED67 (Sciences juridiques et politiques)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDE is affiliated with the École Doctorale ED67, which organises and oversees doctoral training across all law and political science disciplines at Aix-Marseille Université. The school provides the institutional framework for the CDE's doctoral programme.
• Fédération de Recherche 'Droits, Pouvoirs et Sociétés' (FED4280)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDE is a member of the Fédération de Recherche FED4280, which brings together multiple law and political science research units under a common umbrella, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and shared resources.
• Competition Forum (competition-forum.com)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDE team animates the Competition Forum website, a platform dedicated to competition law scholarship and news, contributing to the dissemination of research in this specific domain.
• Centre de droit du jeu vidéo (CDJV)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDE team also manages the Centre de droit du jeu vidéo (CDJV), a specialized research centre dedicated to the legal aspects of video games and interactive entertainment, hosted at the same institution.
• Centre de Droit Maritime et des Transports (CDMT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDMT is an associated centre operating within the same faculty ecosystem as the CDE, with a specialized library of approximately 3,000 references in maritime and transport law.
• IFURTA (Institut Français d'Urbanisme et de Transports Aériens)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFURTA, active since 1976, is an associated centre of the CDE providing specialized documentation on air transport law and management, including books, journals, theses, and dissertations.
• Centre de Droit du Sport (CDS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CDS is an associated centre sharing resources with the CDE. It provides extensive sports law documentation and participates in the International Platform of Sports Law Journals, offering access to specialized reviews from multiple countries.
• Ordre des Avocats du Barreau d'Aix-en-ProvenceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Bar of Aix-en-Provence co-supports some CDE events, notably the February 2026 colloquium on the reform of contract law, bringing practitioner perspectives and professional networks to the centre's activities.
• École Nationale de la Magistrature (ENM)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe French National School of the Judiciary co-supports certain CDE events, such as the February 2026 colloquium, providing a link to the magistrate community.
• Cabinet Jaberson AvocatsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe law firm Jaberson Avocats co-supports CDE events, contributing practitioner expertise and facilitating professional connections for the centre's research agenda.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas (Faculty of Law): One of France's largest and most established law faculties, hosting multiple legal research centres; overlaps with CDE on business law research, doctoral training, and publications but at substantially greater scale.
• Université Paris-Saclay — Faculty of Law: Large French public university law faculty with research units covering economic and business law; broader scope and greater resources than CDE, but comparable academic-practitioner engagement and public funding model.

Direct peers

• Centre de Recherche Juridique de l'Université de Grenoble: French university-affiliated legal research centre focused on private and public law, comparable in structure as an academic research unit producing doctoral training, scholarly publications, and colloquia in economic/business-adjacent legal fields.
• Centre de Recherche de Droit International et de Relations Internationales (CRDI, Paris): French university-affiliated legal research centre active in international and comparative business law, with overlapping research areas (international contracts, trade, regulatory law) and similar academic dissemination channels.
• Institut de Recherche en Droit des Affaires et du Patrimoine (IRDA, Paris): Specialised French academic institute dedicated to business law research, with comparable doctoral programmes, scholarly publications, and partnerships with practitioners and regulators.
• Laboratoire de droit privé et de sciences criminelles (Aix-Marseille Université): Sibling research unit within the same Aix-Marseille law faculty ecosystem, sharing doctoral training infrastructure (ED67) and research support frameworks, with overlapping scholarly activities.
• Centre de Théorie et Analyse du Droit (CTAD, Paris-Nanterre): French university legal research centre working on theoretical and applied legal analysis with overlapping themes in economic regulation and interdisciplinary law; comparable as a public research unit producing publications and events.
• Centre de Droit Privé et de Criminologie (Paris Nanterre): A long-standing French university legal research centre in private law with comparable academic outputs (theses, colloquia, journals) and a similar public-university funding model.

Emerging players

• Centre de Droit Économique et de Développement (CERDI, Université Clermont Auvergne): French university research centre working at the intersection of law and economic development, with thematic overlap on regulation, finance, and international economic law; comparable academic-practitioner engagement model.

Others

• Presses Universitaires d'Aix-Marseille (PUAM): Core publishing partner of the CDE responsible for producing and distributing its five editorial collections; included as a key enabling/e cosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cde_aix
• Facebookfacebook.com/cdeaix
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/centre-de-droit-%C3%A9conomique-de-l'universit%C3%A9-d'aix-marseille

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre de droit économique de l'Université d'Aix-Marseille