Meijers Lecture, prizewinners and 2026 New Year's Reception
On Thursday 15 January 2026, the Meijers Lecture was held and the Meijers Prizes and Van Wersch Springplank Prize presented. Suzan Stoter, Dean of Leiden Law School and portfolio holder for research, introduced the lecture to a full house.
Meijers Lecture
This year, the Meijers Lecture was delivered by two researchers, Jason Rudall (Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies) and Bernardo Riberio Almeida (Van Vollenhoven Institute). The title of their lecture was: ‘Climate reparations: global promises versus local needs’.
The topic was discussed by Jason Rudall from his expertise in international law, and Bernardo Riberio Almeida using his empirical research on the more local perspective of land ownership, law, and legislation. After the lecture, Irma Mosquera Valderrama moderated a session putting questions from the audience to the speakers.
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Bernardo Riberio Almeida -
Jason Rudall -
Irma Mosquera Valderrama -
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Meijers Prizes
After the Meijers Lecture, the Meijers Prizes were presented by jury member Jannemieke Ouwerkerk. The Meijers Prizes are awarded each year to researchers who have written the best published article from each research programme. Below are the names of the winners, the research programme, and the title of their article:
- Programme: Societally Effective Criminal Justice
Jozef Coppelmans: An empirical investigation of emotion and the criminal law: towards a 'criminalization bias'? - Programme: Coherent Private Law
Rick Weijers: Splitsingsaktewijzigingen bij appartementsrechten in het licht van recente rechtspraak [in Dutch, meaning: Amendments to subdivision deeds for apartment rights in light of recent case law] - Programme: Exploring the Frontiers of International Law
Sze Hong Lam: The gentle civilizer of the Far East: A re-examination of the encounter between 'China' and 'international law' - Programme: Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a Pluralist World
Elias Tissandier-Nasom: An LGBTQI+ child rights-based approach to eligibility for international protection - Programme: Limits of Tax Jurisdiction
Juliana Cubillos Gonzalez & Frederik Heitmüller: Influence of domestic constituencies in the implementation of international tax standards and legitimacy of global tax governance - Programme: Reform of Social Legislation
Renren Gan: The evolution of the child penalty and gender-related inequality in the Netherlands, 1989-2022 - Programme: The Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Law & Governance in a World of Multilevel Jurisdictions
Roel Becker & Lotte van den Bosch & Louis Honée: De terugtred van de wetgever en het staatsrechtelijke materiële legaliteitsbeginsel [in Dutch, meaning: The legislature's retreat and the constitutional substantive legality principle] - Programme: The Progression of EU Law: Accommodating Change and Upholding Values
Tuvana Aras: The inclusion of aviation in the EU taxonomy regulation: groundbreaking or greenwashing?
Van Wersch Springplank Prize
The Meijers prizewinners also competed for another prize: the Van Wersch Springboard Prize. Each year, Leo van Wersch comes to our faculty to present this prize in person. This year’s winner was Sze Hong Lam for his article: The Gentle Civilizer of the Far East: A Re-Examination of the Encounter between 'China' and 'International Law’. The jury wrote: ‘His beautifully written article offers an impressive legal historical analysis of the complex interaction between Chinese and European world orders’. Sze Hong Lam, also known as Ocean Lam, has won €10,000 to spend on his research.
Master’s Theses Prizes
As jury chairman Barend Barentsen had unfortunately fallen ill, Vice Dean Jan Crijns stepped in to present the faculty’s master’s theses prizes. The three prizes, amounting to €500, €800 and €1,000 respectively, are funded by the foundation Stichting Oukha.
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1st prize: Ludo Schrover (thesis supervisor Dr Martijn van den Brink): Segmentation through law: How EU and Dutch legal frameworks enable the exploitation of EU migrant workers in Dutch agriculture |
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2nd prize: Marjolein Bakker (thesis supervisor Jessie Pool LLM BSc) De implementatie van de insolventieaangifteplicht in Nederland. Een empirisch en rechtsvergelijkend onderzoek naar de beoogde effecten van de Commissie en de juridische kader in Nederland en Duitsland [in Dutch, meaning: The implementation of the insolvency filing obligation in the Netherlands: An empirical and comparative legal study of the intended effects of the Commission and the legal framework in the Netherlands and Germany] 3rd prize: Nick McGuire (thesis supervisor Dr Cecily Rose): State-owned enterprises and legal identity manipulation in international law |
New Year's Reception
After the Meijers Lecture and award ceremonies in the Lorentz Lecture Hall, the audience was invited to the KOG restaurant for the New Year's Reception. First, the Master’s Theses Prizes were presented and then it was time for Dean Suzan Stoter's New Year's speech. In her speech, the Dean briefly reflected on the past year and our celebration of the faculty’s 450th anniversary. 'It was a year of not only highs for everyone but, as in life, also one of losses. The strength of Leiden Law School lies in the people who shape it. People who are inquisitive, keen to share knowledge, nurture connections, and work together. 2026 is the first year of our faculty’s next 450 years, the responsibility for which lies in our own hands.'
The Dean concluded with words of encouragement: 'All that you experience, both the highs and the lows, can be turned into something valuable that shapes you and stays with you throughout your life and career.'