The Dutch State is set to challenge The Hague Court of Appeal's ruling that the Netherlands must stop exporting arms to Israel at the Supreme Court. The government believes that foreign policy falls within the political domain and not within the judiciary. Geerten Boogaard, Professor of Constitutional…

Municipalities are increasingly attempting to solve problems without issuing decisions. A notification procedure (notification – investigation – application – decision) has recently been introduced that replaces part of the traditional application procedure. Ymre Schuurmans, Professor of Constitutional…

Alumnus Petri Freundlich received the first prize for his LL.M. thesis in the category Master’s theses and academic articles of the Max van der Stoel Human Rights awards 2017

Courts that adjudicate war crimes or other crimes against humanity are increasingly taking regional norms and cultural values into consideration. PhD candidate Seun Bakare examined whether this could also be an asset in cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

On Saturday 15 February 2020, the Leiden University Thesis Prizes were presented during the Dies celebration day for alumni. Joint first prize went to Vincent Peeters, who was awarded a cum laude master's degree in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure in August 2019.

On Tuesday 19 December 2017 at 16:15 hrs Anneloes Kuiper-Slendebroek will defend her doctoral thesis 'Rechter over Grenzen' which deals with the application and interpretation of international law in Dutch private law. Supervisor is Martijn Polak, co-supervisor is Jeroen van der Weide.

Are international courts effective? Dr Fatou Bensouda, a former Lead Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC), will discuss this issue during her lecture at the Owada Symposium 2025. The ICC’s efficacy depends on the actions of its member states, she says.

Islamic State may be losing ground rapidly, but Syrian President Assad's position is gaining strength. His torture chambers and the battlefield are scenes of countless criminal acts. Will these crimes ever come to trial, at the International Criminal Court, for example?

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…

Jamie Korporaal and Fieke Weber, teaching staff at the Department of Labour Law and Social Security, recently published an item in the ‘Tijdschrift voor de Procespraktijk’. The journal item entitled ‘Kort en Bondig: Arbeidsrecht’ (‘Short and Sweet: Employment Law’) informs readers of rulings passed…

Several cases inspired by the Urgenda case have now been filed. For example, by the Portuguese, concerning widespread forest fires, Swiss women of a somewhat respectable age (known as the ‘KlimaSeniorrinnen’) who suffer from the heat, and the mayor of a French city situated by the sea who fears the…

On 6 September 2023, the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its ruling in T-600/21 WS and Others v Frontex, dismissing a damages claim brought by a family of Syrian refugees against the EU agency Frontex.

Over the past months regular updates have been provided on the work of the Leiden Turnaround, Rescue & Insolvency team (TRI Leiden) in creating EU Cross-Border Insolvency Court-to-Court Cooperation Principles. During the last week of January this project was finalised, resulting in 26 EU Cross-Border…

The court has dismissed Ratko Mladić’s appeal and upheld his life sentence for genocide and war crimes. The verdict is one of Yugoslavia tribunal’s last. Mission accomplished?

De nieuwe leerstoel bij de Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid is onderdeel van de samenwerking tussen de Universiteit Leiden en de rechtbank Den Haag.

The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport is to appeal against a recent court ruling on the Public Access to Government Information Act (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur, WOB). The court ruled that the way in which the Ministry handles WOB requests was not in accordance with the law.

The current rule of law debate in the EU occupies not only the mind of European policy and lawmakers, but also of legal practitioners on the ground. The Europa Institute, in collaboration with the Meijers Committee, therefore organized a Leiden Law Exchange (LLX) to facilitate the exchange of ideas…

On Friday 12 September 2025, the Opening Ceremony of the European Law LL.M. programme took place in the Lorentz lecture hall at Leiden Law School. Following Dr Barbora Budinska’s and Professor Armin Cuyvers’s warm words of welcome for the incoming students, Dr Darinka Piqani presented two student pr…

Research.com, a leading academic platform for researchers, has just released the 2023 Edition of Ranking of Best Scientists in the field of Law. Carsten Stahn Professor of International Criminal Law & Global Justice at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies in Leiden has ranked #340 in the…

Twee mannen zijn veroordeeld tot zes maanden cel voor het projecteren van racistische leuzen op de Erasmusbrug tijdens de jaarwisseling van 2022 naar 2023. Universitair hoofddocent Marloes van Noorloos sprak met de Volkskrant over de strafbaarheid van dergelijke leuzen.

Female workers at Tesco Stores, a chain of supermarkets in the UK, brought a case to the European Court of Justice claiming they received unequal pay for doing work of equal value to that of their male colleagues.

Het Amerikaanse hooggerechtshof oordeelde op 1 juli dat een president tijdens hun ambtsperiode een zekere immuniteit heeft. Zij zijn onschendbaar in geval van ‘officiële handelingen’. Tessa van Buchem uit haar zorgen en kritiek in het FD.

On Friday 27 November 2015, the conference ‘Law & Sustainable Development’ took place at the University of Leiden, organised by the students of the Mordenate College .

In important cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in Luxembourg, judgments are preceded by an Opinion of an advocate general. These Opinions are not binding on the Court, but are highly influential in practice.

On Tuesday 23 May 2023, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in collaboration with The Hague Academy of International Law, held an event to commemorate the life of the Brazilian jurist Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, who served as a Member of the Court from 2009 until his death on 29 May 2022…

The Case of the Painted Plaster

INFORM (Introduction of the data protection reform to the judicial system) is a project granted by the Directorate-General Justice and Consumers of the European Commission.

Decent work involves opportunities for work that delivers a fair income, care for occupational health and safety, freedom for people to organize and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. The Labour Law department at Leiden University conducts research and provides education on…

This book underscores the interplay between religion and politics (local and global) in the production, escalation, management, mitigation, and resolution of conflict.

Sociology of Policy in Practice focuses on policy-oriented research. It enables you to gain relevant working experience by conducting a three-month research internship in Ghana or the Netherlands.

Do you want to know the best reasons to study at Leiden University or want to know what's it like to live in the student cities Leiden or The Hague? Our students tell you why they chose Leiden University to study their master's programme.

Career prospects are very important these days. The programme European and International Human Rights law provides you knowledge in human rights settings.

The Hague is the Netherlands’ fastest-growing student city, and has been Leiden University’s second location since 2010. In addition to housing the Netherlands’ ministries and government bodies, The Hague is the International City of Peace and Justice and is home to countless embassies, political…

Leiden University College (LUC), an institute of Leiden University in The Hague – the international city of peace, justice, and security – offers the English-taught Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges since 2010. Inspired by the American university college model, LUC combines…

Students and lecturers from around the world who have obtained international training, experience and exposure bring an international and multi-cultural perspective on psychology and being a psychologist to class.

At Campus The Hague, the University works closely with diverse parties and institutions in the city.

On 10 november 2021, Carmel van Niekerk-Jacobs defended the thesis 'Realising the right to reproduce with assistance in South Africa'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. J.J. Sloth-Nielsen and Prof. T. Liefaard.

The work of judges can also be done by AI systems. These systems can formulate an objective proposal for a ruling. But such proposal should always be checked by a judge, says Bart Custers.

The Institute of Private Law was closely involved in the development of Nieuw Burgerlijk Wetboek (the Civil Code of the Netherlands, which came about between 1948 and 1992). It has continued to fulfil this socially engaged role over the years. It also made a significant contribution to the development…

Starting this academic year (2016-2017) Maartje van der Woude, Professor of Sociology of Law at the Van Vollenhoven Institute will organize the Leiden Socio-Legal Series (LSLS).

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of Leiden Law School with the University of Rwanda.

Globalisation leads to more contradictions between national and international tax norms. It therefore seems necessary to revise the fiscal legislation. This is not only due to the problem posed by multinationals, but also to changing norms regarding tax burden distribution. Fundamental research on the…

Impressions by Dr. Lilian Ruhe

This research cluster explores processes of cultural creation, reception and transformation within a wide range of societal contexts from the early Middle Ages until c. 1800.

The Institute of Public Administration in The Hague conducts leading research on contemporary policy and management processes within the public sector.

The Department of Child Law and Health Law is a knowledge centre dedicated to academic research and education for both students and professionals in two fields: child law (and children's rights) and health law.

Psycholinguistic research

Rembrandt experts have been puzzling over this painting from 1626 for years. The work may have been commissioned by someone from University circles and may depict a judgment. It can be seen at Gravensteen, a building that served as a prison between 1463 and 1955. This historical building later became…

If you want to maintain a valid penal system, you have to continue to ask the big questions on punishment. Why do we punish people? What is permissible for the government and what is not? Philosopher of Law Jeroen ten Voorde examines these kinds of questions and keeps his academic colleagues and the…