How successful are interest groups in court? A Kiem project finds out
Interest groups seem to be going to court more often to force politicians to act. How often do they do so? And how successful are they? The Kiem project ‘Litigation in the name of public interest’ is compiling a database on this.
Urgenda and greenhouse gas emissions, Vluchtelingenwerk on the reception of asylum seekers: these are two high-profile examples of two Dutch interest groups going to court to influence government policy on a major issue. Moreover, they seem quite successful in that approach. ‘On the one hand, that is good news,’ says Rowie Stolk (assistant professor at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law), ‘because as an individual it is much more difficult to have your interests represented by the courts on these kinds of issues. On the other hand, it can also create tensions: doesn't this put the judge too much in the political chair?'
That question spurred Stolk and her co-applicant Caelesta Braun (Professor of Public Governance and Civil Society) to find out more about the legal process of interest groups. In doing so, Stolk is interested in the legal aspect - what exactly can the organisations ask from the courts? And Braun wants to understand more about the legal process of interest organisations as a strategy to influence policy - how successful are they at it?
No hard data yet
The Kiem project focuses on collecting data on the legal proceedings initiated by interest groups in the administrative and civil courts. ‘We do not yet have data on the number of cases that have been initiated, on which policy areas those cases focused, what the rulings were, and so on,’ Stolk explains. 'That is why we are creating a database on all judgments available online. With that database, we can start the scientific, political and social debate. One way we will do this is in the form of a workshop, in which we will share our findings with scientists from different disciplines. Such as sociologists, lawyers and political scientists. And people from abroad who have done similar research. They can help us further: have we now collected all the relevant data, are we still missing something in our interpretation of the data? Eventually, the intention is to make the database public as well.'
Kiem grant achieves its goal
The Kiem grant is meant to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and Stolk says it has certainly achieved that goal. 'Caelesta is teaching me a lot about constructing a dataset. That is not my expertise; lawyers do little empirical research. In turn, I can interpret exactly what things to look at within legal judgments. I think it's very instructive for her to see what those court judgments look like, how different they can be and what nuances those differences have.'
Planting a seed
The application process for a new round of Kiem grants has now started: does Stolk have any tips for people who want to submit a project? 'First of all: do it! I really enjoy interdisciplinary cooperation, so I can recommend it to everyone. You learn a lot from it, also about all kinds of things you thought you already had a grip on. Another tip: use the grant to step outside your comfort zone, not to do something you have already done before. This is a great opportunity to freely plant a seed and just see what comes out.'
Would you like to apply for a Kiem yourself? Deadline is 6 May!
Researchers, teaching professionals and support staff at Leiden University can all apply for a Kiem grant 2025 - 2026 until Monday 6 May, 09.00h. Look here for the application conditions and more information.
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