What is the impact of digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the functioning of our constitution? Reijer Passchier, Assistant Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, warns in an article in Leidraad that digitalisation is giving the executive branch more and more power, and that…

Rechtsfilosoof Timo Slootweg (ed.) publiceerde deze week: Faith in Democracy. Justice, Politics and Transcendence. Deze internationale publicatie werd mede geïnitieerd door het Leidsche, interfacultaire profileringsgebied Politieke Legitimiteit.

Chances that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will become Secretary General of NATO are becoming increasingly likely now that the US and most western countries have expressed their support. The question now is how to appoint someone to the position of Prime Minister, who to appoint and when the situation…

The civil lawsuit against the Congregation of 'Onze Lieve Vrouw van Liefde van de Goede Herder' starts this week. A total of 19 women, aged from 62 to 91, together with the women’s rights foundation Clara Wichmann wants recognition through the courts that there was a situation of forced labour at youth…

Door onduidelijke stikstofregels komen milieuzaken steeds vaker voor de rechter. De zaak van een Reeuwijkse varkenshouder leidt al tientallen jaren lang tot een getouwtrek tussen een milieuorganisatie, de provincie en de rechter. Rogier Kegge, universitair docent Staats- en bestuursrecht, bespreekt…

On 22 April the 5th edition of the book Introduction to Dutch Law (edited by Jeroen Chorus, Ewoud Hondius and Wim Voermans) was presented to dr. Geert Corstens, former president of the Dutch Supreme Court.

On Wednesday 23 September 2020, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte gave an online lecture together with Professor Afshin Ellian as part of the course Introduction to Law. The lecture had the title ‘The European Union in times of coronavirus’, and the Prime Minister answered questions from students. Hundreds…

Last week, the Dutch Council of Ministers adopted the decision to modernise the process of prosecuting politicians. This action was taken following the Russian bribery scandal involving Dutch politicians. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, discusses this in Dutch daily newspaper ‘NRC’.

De uitnodiging staat ter discussie vanwege Bosmans controversiële uitspraken over het slavernijverleden. Bosman is echter in de hoedanigheid van voorzitter van de Tweede Kamer uitgenodigd en niet als PVV’er. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, spreekt over dit onderwerp in het Parool.

Following an investigation into plagiarism, Erasmus University Rotterdam has declared the master’s thesis of Dutch State Secretary for Long-term and Social Care, Vicky Maeijer, invalid. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, spoke to Dutch newspaper ‘Trouw’ about the matter.

Naar aanleiding van de aanhoudende oorlog tussen Rusland en Oekraïne willen verschillende Europese landen een inreisverbod invoeren tegen Russische staatsburgers. Maar mogen zij dit zomaar doen?

How can more people take ownership of technology? Underlying this question is the assumption that not enough people currently own technology. According to Reijer Passchier, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law in Leiden, and Professor of Digitisation and the Democratic Rule of…

Door de geopolitieke spanningen wereldwijd waaronder de oorlog in Oekraïne, wil Defensie overal in het land fors uitbreiden. Dit zal o.a. gevolgen hebben voor de opvanglokaties waar asielzoekers verblijven, maar ook voor burgers waarvan de woningen voor de plannen moet wijken.

Although Dick Schoof, of no party affiliation, has been nominated by the four coalition parties as the new Dutch Prime Minister, various experts have expressed doubts. Can he lead the new cabinet? Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, spoke to 'RTL Nieuws'.

On Friday 3 February, Minister Bruins Slot of the Interior and Kingdom Relations appointed Fatma Çapkurt, of the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, to the Dutch State Committee on the Rule of Law. Chaired by Henk Kummeling, Rector Magnificus of Utrecht University, this State Committee…

Universiteiten moeten niet verbaasd zijn dat studenten ChatGPT gebruiken, schrijven de Leidse universitair docenten Femke Klaver en Alexander de Wit in Trouw. Want studenten reageren op efficiëntie en doelmatigheid. Hun suggestie: Leid studenten op om kritisch na te denken.

Do people actually understand the constitution? This is what Jelle But, PhD candidate at Constitutional and administrative law, wondered. To find out, he conducted a survey among 1333 respondents. His research shows that lawyers and other legal professionals actually do not have a better understanding…

Recently, the University of Amsterdam was the scene of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that got out of hand. The demonstrators included rioters who wished to remain anonymous by wearing face coverings. Several experts, including Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, spoke…

Polls conducted by I&O research point to a political landslide. What's in store for the Netherlands? The polls show that the new party of MP Pieter Omtzigt is well-positioned for the upcoming election, with an expected 31 seats, but only 3 for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) party. It is obvious…

Branda Katan is per 1 maart 2023 benoemd tot bijzonder hoogleraar Corporate Litigation aan de Universiteit Leiden. Deze leerstoel gaat uit van de Vereniging Corporate Litigation.

The Europa Instituut is pleased to announce that this week a new handbook “EU State Aids” (31 Chapters, 1500 pages) was published.

It rarely happens: halting a decision by walking out of a meeting. ‘But there’s nothing wrong with it from a constitutional law perspective,’ says Geerten Boogaard, Professor by Special Appointment of Local Government, in ‘Leidsch Dagblad’.

The tally now stands at a 19th no-confidence motion in the Rutte IV cabinet, though it is just one year old. All Rutte cabinets combined have faced more no-confidence motions in the past 12 years than the entire parliamentary history before it. The score is 1.5 per month, 87 in total as of 2010 which…

Legal frameworks are often a pitfall when it comes to citizens’ initiatives. Esmee Driessen, a guest lecturer at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law and an expert in citizen participation, conducted research on the support and facilitation of citizens' initiatives. In a Dutch journal…

Ever since the coronavirus crisis began, people have been arguing about the legal justification for measures. The problem: far-reaching measures such as an obligation to wear face masks, get tested, or school closures violate the Constitution. The Cabinet had the difficult task of weighing fundamental…

How can party bans be justified? Which parties were banned in post-war Europe – and why? Do militant democracy instruments work? Is an international militant democracy concept in the making?

Guus Heerma van Voss, professor of Labour Law recently published: Restatement of Labour Law in Europe in coöperation with Bernd Waas professor of Labour Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Frankfurt.

During the coronavirus years 2020 and 2021, Dutch citizens became poorer, more anxious, less free and more rebellious. The State gained more power and entered the lives of citizens in all manner of ways to protect their health. Only recently did the State give citizens their freedom back – in part.

Na de 7 oktober demonstraties schoffeerde Wilders burgemeester Halsema, door op X te roepen dat zij het land moet verlaten. Volgens experts overtreedt Wilders hiermee de gemaakte afspraken met de coalitiepartijen. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, hierover aan het woord in het Parool.

Mirjam Sombroek van Doorm, Professor of Law and Health, became a member of the Netherlands Sports Council in September 2024. This council is an independent advisory body that focuses on bolstering high level sport, grassroots sport and exercise for Dutch society.

'Bestaanszekerheid' (socio-economic security) is the buzzword in the Netherlands and the magic word in the current election campaign. The King also dropped the word in his Speech from the Throne on Budget Day.

From 20 to 23 June 2024, the prestigious Hugo Sinzheimer Moot Court Competition took place in Vienna. Students from Leiden Law School also participated.

Following the recent debate on the formation of a new Dutch government, there seems to be no clear definition of an extra parliamentary cabinet. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, discusses this in Dutch magazine ‘Vrij Nederland’ (VN).

Szmulewicz, a PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden University, gave two online presentations on ‘The unitary and decentralized state’ and ‘The need to strengthen the autonomy of the territories in the new Constitution in order to reduce regional inequalities’…

Recently, Prime Minister Dirk Schoof caused quite the stir in the political arena of The Hague following the release of policy documents on the asylum debate. This came ahead of a decision that had not yet been made. The question has since arisen as to whether it’s still possible for civil servants…

Tijdens de campagnes voor de Europese Verkiezingen werd beweerd dat 70 of zelfs 80 procent van onze wetten door de EU worden bepaald. Maar klopt dit wel? Hoogleraren Armin Cuyvers en Kutsal Yesilkagit spraken erover met Pointer.

Recently, a pro-Palestine demonstration was held outside the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam during its opening, which was being attended by President Herzog of Israel. Wilders’ response? ‘It smells like a political campaign by the far-left mayor of Amsterdam. Irresponsible.’

Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the ‘Nieuw Sociaal Contract’ (‘New Social Contract’) party, has withdrawn from talks to form a new Dutch government. Government finances are a divisive issue, and Ronald Plasterk’s decision to withhold documents on government finances seems to have particularly broken trust.…

The unanimous condemnation of the American attack on Venezuela is 'hypocritical', says Andreas Kinneging, Professor of Philosophy of Law, in Dutch newspaper ‘De Telegraaf’: 'We should humbly thank the Americans for still looking out for us.'

Can judges be impartial if they are a member of a political party? In PowNed podcast ‘Op z'n Kop!’, Andreas Kinneging, Professor of Philosophy of Law, questions what he sees as an outdated system.

Het boek met de titel ‘the story of constitutions’ probeert interdisciplinair te begrijpen waar de grondwet vandaan komt en waarom het juist nu in korte tijd viral is gegaan. Waarom is dit oeroude fenomeen de laatste jaren zo in populariteit toegenomen en ook nog eens in een tijd, waarin democratieën…

eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies has published the editorial to the Special Issue Law and/versus Technology: Trends for the new decade in Computer Law & Security Review. With the publication of this editorial, the Special Issue is now fully published and complete.

The social coalition 'Over Informatie Gesproken' (meaning ‘Speaking of Information’) recently approved eleven grant applications for research aimed at improving the information relationship between the government and the citizen. Meuwese and Çapkurt’s grant application for research into algorithmic…

Recent developments in AI mean nobody is anonymous nowadays. The search engine PimEyes can find any photo of anyone that’s ever been placed online. No more Tinder Swindlers… or personal privacy. Everyone’s findable now. But is that even allowed?

Each year, the Faculty awards two Meijers PhD positions to talented researchers. One position is open to participants from the Pre-PhD Programme (PPP) and one position is open to other candidates from inside and outside Leiden University.

On Friday 3rd June, the Europa Institute hosted a Leiden Law Exchange (LLX) on the British referendum on membership of the European Union. In a roundtable discussion, academics, policy makers and other experts engaged in a lively debate on the legal and political implications of a ‘Brexit’ or a ‘Bremain’…

De Code voor Kinderrechten op het internet toont makers van apps en games hoe zij de rechten van kinderen kunnen beschermen en meenemen in hun ontwerp. Dat is hard nodig, zeggen de opstellers hoogleraar Recht en Digitale Technologie Simone van der Hof en onderzoeksdirecteur Sander van der Waal van stichting…

On Friday 12 March 2021, the (Dutch) website www.codevoorkinderrechten.nl was launched. This code for children’s rights has been created to help those involved in the development and design of digital services to develop these services with the interests of children in mind.