The King’s Speech delivered by King Willem-Alexander on the third Tuesday of September in 2017 will be written by an outgoing cabinet. What effect will this have on its content? Professor Arco Timmermans (Public Affairs) and public administration expert Gerard Breeman analysed other King’s Speeches…

The first results of the “Policing European Metropolises project” (PEMP) that associate Professor Elke Devroe and Professor P. Ponsaers launched in April 2013 are now published. Having been the referent for The Netherlands and Belgium in the Urbis project (Leonardo programme), the project focuses on…

On 31 January 2018, Vestert Borger was awarded his doctorate cum laude, following the defence of his dissertation: ‘The Transformation of the Euro: Law, Contract, Solidarity’. The dissertation contributes to a better understanding of the euro, and even of the European Union.

Toen in 2019 honderden afvalcontainers in de Waddenzee vielen, wilde de overheid geen informatie vrijgeven over wat er in de containers zat. Vijf jaar later weten we eindelijk meer, nadat hoogleraar Esther Kentin beroep deed op de Wet Open Overheid.

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…

'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.

Sebastian Diessner, associate professor at the FGGA, recently appeared in an article called 'Inflation: a spring remontée des taux se dessine' (Inflation: a slow rise in rates is emerging) in the newspaper Le Figaro.

Could water be present in planet-forming disks before the formation of rocky planets? The James Webb Space Telescope may have found evidence for that. Webb has for the first time observed water in the inner disc around young star where at greater distance, giant planets have already formed. The research…

Dr Olga Ceran has been selected as one of the re:constitution fellows of 2023/24. This distinguished group comprises 15 early-career scholars and practitioners, all set to work on diverse research projects on the rule of law and democracy in Europe. The fellowship will allow her to work on her project…

Er is een nijpend cellen- en personeelstekort in Nederlandse gevangenissen. En dit is niet voor de eerste keer. Miranda Boone, hoogleraar criminologie en vergelijkende penologie, sprak met Trouw over de problematiek: ‘Het aantal gevangenen is het resultaat van beleid.’

In an op-ed and an interview in Dutch newspaper ‘de Volkskrant’, Reijer Passchier, Assistant Professor in Constitutional Law at Leiden University and Professor of Digitalisation and the Democratic Constitutional State at the Open University, stresses that Europe needs to take radical steps to tackle…

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.

In a recent EUobserver opinion article, Salvador Santino Regilme, warns that Europe faces a crisis of legitimacy if it continues to ignore the structural influence of billionaires and oligarchic interests within its institutions.

First author Rubin Dasgupta, PhD student at the Biophysical Organic Chemistry & Macromolecular Biochemistry groups at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry has made the cover of the June edition of Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

A recent collaborative paper between researchers from the Theoretical Chemistry & Catalysis and Surface Chemistry groups has been chosen by the renowned Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics journal as a

This publication examines the issues regarding the cross-border resolution of financial institutions, focusing on the power allocation between the home and host resolution authorities, i.e. the jurisdiction rule.

‘Big Tech heeft de democratische staat op feodale wijze aan zich onderworpen’, schrijft universitair docent Reijer Passchier in zijn nieuw verschenen boek De vloek van Big Tech. In NRC waarschuwt de docent voor de groeiende macht van techgiganten.

The six-feet society is being built up rapidly; arrows and planes made of tape, circles and stripes of chalk, fences and other barriers are popping up around us. Danica Mast, PhD-student at LIACS, collects photos of all these solutions on her website www.1meter50.nl, now that her research is partly…

A mix of data research, artificial intelligence and archaeology led to lively discussions on 31 January. On that day the unique event 'AI & Data Science @ Archaeology' took place in which the Data Science Research Programme (DSRP), SAILS and the Faculty of Archaeology joined forces.

PLATO in co-operation with Panteia and Ockham IPS upon invitation of the European Commission composed an article including an inventory of emerging professions in the heritage sector and the related needs for skills, training and knowledge transfer.

Archaeologists from the National Museum of Antiquities (Leiden), the Museo Egizio (Turin, Italy) and Leiden University have found the grave of Panehsy, the 'steward of the temple of (the god) Amun', in Saqqara.

Every day we make use of devices, services and apps which contain algorithms that could be discriminating. These range from Facebook to self-driving cars, from the Tax Authorities to a rotating door.

In the January Quest issue is an article about a project done by three Media Technology students, from the Cool Science course by Bas Haring.

Assistant professor Fenneke Sysling spoke in National Geographic about the return of the ‘Java Man’ to Indonesia.

The Yearbook for Dutch Book History publishes Dutch and English-language articles on the book history of the Low Countries in all time periods. For the 31st edition of the Yearbook, to be published in 2024, we welcome in particular contributions concerning the theme ‘Controversy’. Deadline: 1 March…

Danica Mast, PhD candidate at LIACS, investigates how technology can encourage people to move more. In Mare she explains more about the so-called exertion interfaces and her research at Lowlands.

The design process of new buildings is extremely complex due to strict requirements. Computer models are used to create the designs. Scientists from LIACS developed advanced algorithms that help their colleagues at Eindhoven University of Technology to optimise these models.

The municipality of The Hague wants to build 3000 additional student residences by 2026 because of the shortage of rooms. The plan is an addition on to the already existing ambition of an upgrade of 1900 student residences before 2020.

According to University newspaper Mare professor Bas Haring, head of the Media Technology Masters programme, is among the eleven most influential Leiden Scientists.

Anthropologist Marja Spierenburg talks in the Dutch newspaper NRC about the neoliberal system and how it has to change in order to solve the energy crisis in South-Africa.

The Yearbook for Dutch Book History publishes Open Access articles in the Dutch and English language on all aspects of the book history of the Low Countries. For the 32nd edition of 2025, they particularly welcome contributions within the theme of “Books across borders.”

How dangerous are AI tools, such as chatGPT? Media Technology researchers Max van Duijn and Tom Kouwenhoven explain the potential dangers of AI for EenVandaag national news outlet. "We must develop a critical view for applying such tools."

New developments within societies create a complex patchwork of control and therefore a renewed mission for the public police.

As with other dual-use technologies, non-lethal drone applications are increasingly becoming both a cause for concern and an exciting area of development.

Because the last Elfstedentocht celebrates its twentieth anniversary, New Scientist spoke with physics professor Tjerk Oosterkamp about his research on the slipperiness of ice and his passion for skating on natural ice.

Students of the Leiden University Faculty of Archaeology once again explore the archaeology of Oss between April and May of 2023. New areas along the Gewandeweg will be investigated. The local news platform DTV Nieuws featured an article about it.

Robots, nervous looks and above all, lots of fun. On November 16, children up to 16 years old came together for the MakeX competition. With this robot contest, in which children program their own robots, children are made enthusiastic about technology and programming.

On Wednesday, September 27th the mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, gave a lecture to the master's-degree students of Child Law, Criminal Law and Constitutional and administrative law.

Postdoc Intigam Mamedov comments in The Conversation on the recent peace talks between Russia and the USA regarding the war in Ukraine.

Thanks to an extremely successful crowdfunding campaign, the Leiden Law School now has a mock courtroom for Moot Court, the course that teaches students advocacy skills. ‘The more realistic it is, the better. Then students grow into their role.’

Groupcard provided prepaid cards to Dutch municipalities for welfare recipients, informal carers and volunteers. Now it is bankrupt, the cards are worthless and consumers and municipalities have lost money. Associate Professor Jessie Pool is investigating whether vulnerable people need better protection…

The Europa Institute has invited Dorjana Bojanovska from Macedonia to visit Leiden Law School to conduct her master thesis research from 6 March - 31 March 2017. Dorjana is a student at the Comparative Constitutional Law program at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University. The…

PhD candidate Manon Wintgens is using an algorithm to trawl through thousands of international tax treaties. She hopes to detect a system in the dizzying interplay between countries, businesses and documents. It is a unique research project.

His article on ‘the War on Drugs’ in Colombia and the Philippines has been in the top five most downloaded articles of Oxford University Press for some time. Now, Assistant Professor Santino Regilme is to receive a NIAS grant to map out the global war on drugs.

For the Dutch Safety Board (DSB), the investigation into the MH17 plane crash was unprecedented in scope. It wasn’t easy, but it provided valuable lessons for international disaster investigations, says Sanneke Kuipers, a crisis expert from the Institute of Security and Global Affairs.

It is always a pleasure when a young academic can reach out to the broader public and discuss his/her research's societal relevance and impact. Our own Vincent Walstra has been doing very well on disseminating his work and featuring in various media. This is a list of his recent publications and int…

Leiden's Boerhaave Museum and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have discovered parts of a skeleton in an 18th-century manikin. The manikin was once used as a teaching aid for midwives. As far as we know, this is the only one of its kind in the world.

It is with great sadness that we learned that our colleague Leo Waaijers, guest employee at our institute, passed away on August 1 after a short illness.

Higher temperatures are resulting in changes to vegetation and soil in mountain areas throughout the world. An international research team including Leiden ecologist Ellen Cieraad published an article on 25 January in Nature on the disruption to the ecosystem.