This programme video is presented in Dutch

This programme video is presented in Dutch

Are you thinking about studying Financieel Recht? Learn more and watch the videos. Please note that this programme is taught in Dutch

Are you thinking about studying Fiscaal Recht? Learn more and watch the videos. Please note that this programme is taught in Dutch.

Are you thinking about studying Notarieel recht? Learn more and watch the videos. Please note that this programme is taught in Dutch.

This minor is in Dutch.

Today, 189 out of 193 officially recognised nation-states have a written constitution, and 75% of these have been ratified since 1975. How did this worldwide diffusion of constitutions come about?

Jaroslaw Kantorowicz, assistant professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, isolated the reaction of the public to the potential breach of constitutional fiscal rules from the reaction of other players, such as the opposition, media and civil society organizations.

Kantorowicz & Voigt examine whether federal systems, with their multiple levels of government, lead to higher constitutional compliance

Are you thinking about studying Encyclopedie en filosofie van het recht? Learn more and watch the videos. Please note that this programme is taught in Dutch.

Encyclopedie en Filosofie van het Recht is a specialisation of the master’s programme Rechtsgeleerdheid (Law) at the renowned Leiden Law School of Leiden University. This unique programme considers the philosophical issues and concepts upon which law is founded, in the broadest sense.

On Thursday 9 november, Reijer Passchier defended his dissertation 'Informal constitutional change'. His supervisor is Professor Wim Voermans.

Constitutional and administrative law covers a broad area of law. It provides the rules with which issues in society can be solved by government authorities.

On 18 september 2018, Claudia Bouteligier defended her doctoral thesis 'Dialoog in recht en literatuur. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. mr. dr. A. Ellian.

On 18 september 2018, Jonathan Price defended his doctoral thesis 'The Egalitarian Constitution'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A.A.M. Kinneging.

Jaroslaw Kantorowicz, assistant professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, is a co-author of this publication that explores the nature of the ideological bias in a constitutionally relevant decision.

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Constitutional and administrative law is a specialisation of the master’s programme Rechtsgeleerdheid (Law) at the renowned Leiden Law School of Leiden University. This programme looks closely at the interaction between national and European law.

In what way did Hellenistic legal institutions concerning secured credit influence Roman law?

In this article, Jaroslaw Kantorowicz and his coauthors analyse how recent political changes reshaped Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal and why this transformation provides important insights into contemporary democratic backsliding in Europe.

On Wednesday, 14 May 2025, Catherine O'Regan will deliver the annual Van Vollenhoven Lecture

'Een nieuw commentaar op de Grondwet' is the title of a book published this week. The book uses 35 essays to describe the importance of the Constitution to the Dutch democratic rule of law.

On 28 June, Jakob Tobing defended the thesis 'The essence of the 1999-2002 constitutional reform in Indonesia: remaking the Negara Hukum. A socio-legal study'. The doctoral research was supervised by Jan Michiel Otto and Adriaan Bedner.

Stam defended his dissertation ‘Freedom of speech and the suppression of discrimination in the Netherlands: a constitutional-developmental approach’ on 12 November 2025. The doctoral research was supervised by Afshan Ellian and Bastiaan Rijpkema

On 11 November 2016, The Hague Law Labs and the department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, in collaboration with the Italian Association for European and Comparative Law, will organise ‘The Dutch Constitution Beyond 200: tradition and innovation in a multilevel legal order'.

Applications can be submitted by doctoral researchers (at least in the second year of their studies during the proppsed stay), postdocotral researchers, and senior researchers. The research should thematically align with one of the research themes or projects conducted by the academic staf of the Department…

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’…

The Global Summit on Constitutionalism took place from 16 to 18 March. Wim Voermans, Gert Jan Geertjes and Rowie Stolk, from the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, travelled to Austin where the conference was organised by the School of Law of the University of Texas at Austin.

This thesis describes the design and development of subunit‐selective inhibitors of particular catalytically active subunits of human constitutive proteasomes and immunoproteasomes.

On 8 October, an inspiring session was held at the KOG Building. The session focused on the award-winning book entitled 'The Story of Constitutions' by Professor Wim Voermans, recently published by Cambridge University Press. The event attracted a diverse audience comprising both colleagues and students…

Roel Becker and Jelle But recently joined the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law as PhD candidates.

The Dutch Constitution is the second oldest constitution in the world after the US Constitution and it dates back to 1814. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law and author of the book ‘Our Constitution’ published earlier this year, advocates for a more accessible Constitut…

The first 'Tafel van Thorbecke' took place at Leiden University on Thursday 17 November 2022. For this new lecture series, initiated by Fatma Çapkurt and Gert Jan Geertjes, external scholars will be invited to speak about their research in the field of constitutional and administrative law.

Recently, Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, and Jaroslaw Kantorowicz, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs and a research associate at the Department of Economics, were awarded a grant from the KNAW Statesman Thorbecke Fund. This grant will…

On 26 May 2023 the European Constitutional Law Review (EuConst) organized a symposium on constitutional change in Europe.

On Thursday 13 October 2022, the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law bid farewell to Elly van der Tang-van Loenen, for years the department's mentor for master’s students. Having enjoyed this position for many years, Elly is now retiring.

Femke Binnendijk and Olaf van Loon have been appointed as lecturers at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden Law School.

This theme is central to the recently published book 'Onze Constitutie' by Wim Voermans, professor of constitutional and administrative law. The colossal book has no fewer than 911 pages, but Voermans has managed to turn it into one very readable book, with fluent pen, with an eloquent tone and, moreover,…

For a long time, in the United States ‘Schmoozes’ have been organized. These small-scale meetings offer the opportunity to informally discuss important themes. On 12 and 13 October, the first European Schmooze took place in Milan. The topic was ‘Economic Inequality as a Global Constitutional Challenge’.…

Professor Versteeg is currently Professor of Law at Virginia School of Law in the United States, where she has been working since 2011 as Miller Center Director and Human Rights Program Director at the Center for Comparative and International Law University of the Virginia School of Law.

Jurisprudence

The Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden University has published a collection of research essays on the separation of powers. This collection addresses the main question of whether the historically developed combination of concepts of democratic legitimacy and the separation…

On 1-2 November, Professor Luuk van Middelaar spoke at the Academic Conference “EU Constitutional Imagination: Between ideology and utopia” at the University of Copenhagen.

'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.