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.

From January to March 2020 Ymre Schuurmans, full professor in Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden University, will be a visiting professor at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

Ymre Schuurmans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, has been appointed Chair of the Dutch Legal Aid Board’s Advisory Council following permission from the Dutch Minister for Legal Protection.

In a recent interview with Maya Plentz for The Unbrief, Dr Gianclaudio Malgieri, Associate Professor of Law & Technology at eLaw, Leiden University, explored the intersection of AI-powered search technologies and privacy rights.

Gianclaudio Malgieri, Associate Professor of Law and Technology at eLaw, was invited to speak at the third edition of the prestigious 'Privacy Symposium' in Venice on 11 June 2024.

After the kick-off on 28 November, the next ILS Lunch Seminar will take place on Monday 19 December. During this lunch seminar series all researchers from Leiden Law School can present their research. The idea is to hear in a simple and nice way what researchers from other research programs and institutes…

Simona Demková from the Europa Institute participated as a key speaker at the annual Digital Constitutionalism Academy on 27 and 28 March 2025. The Academy brought together leading scholars and practitioners to explore the evolving intersection of digital innovation, fundamental rights, and regulatory…

In recent years, much research has been conducted at the Department of Labour Law on the topic of sustainability and fundamental labour rights. Linked to this field is a journal: the International Labor Rights Case Law Journal (ILaRC).

As of September 2023, Leiden University is a new host of the Research Network on Academic Freedom.

An international team of astronomers has witnessed a cosmic weather event that has never been seen before.

Leiden theoretical physicists have proven that not only the genetic information in DNA determines who we are, but also DNA’s mechanics. Helmut Schiessel and his group simulated many DNA sequences and found a correlation between mechanical cues and the way DNA is folded. Publication in PLoS One.

Surya Tjandra has been appointed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo as Deputy Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister.

The Dutch labour market is struggling with serious shortages in all sectors. Major causes are the ageing population, work pressure, mismatched and unused labour potential, and flex workers. In a joint article in the 'Tijdschrift voor Recht en Arbeid' (TRA), researchers from the Department of Labour…

As part of Metamorfoze, the national digitalization project for the preservation of paper heritage, journals of The Van Vollenhoven Institute’s library have been digitized.

Conatus News has publiced an extensive review of the book The Fall and Rise of Blasphemy Law by Paul Cliteur and Tom Herrenberg.

On 20 and 22 November Rick Lawson, Professor of European Law at Leiden Law School, gave lectures at Cleveringa events in Bratislava and Budapest.

The first ILS Lunch Seminar of 2017 will take place on Monday 30 January. During this lunch seminar series all researchers from Leiden Law School can present their research. The idea is to hear in a simple and nice way what researchers from other research programs and institutes are working on. During…

Op dinsdag 3 november is Ilektra Antonaki cum laude gepromoveerd op haar proefschrift over kapitaalbewegingen binnen de Europese Unie.

The research group Organizational & Entrepreneurial Behavior investigates the behavior of individuals and groups who start, work in, or lead organizations, in order to inform organizational practice. By focusing on the behavior of (groups of) employees, entrepreneurs and leaders, the main levels of…

PhD defence

On Friday, June 12th, the Europa Institute held its annual PhD Day.

Those who seek justice do not always manage to find their way through the legal system. Yet the Dutch Legal Aid Act assumes that citizens are self-reliant and can stand up for their interests in cases that are not legally complex. However, in the childcare benefits affair in the Netherlands, this proved…

For some time now, discussions have been held within the legal profession in the Netherlands about strengthening supervision in the sector and the establishment of a national supervisory authority ('landelijke toezichtautoriteit', LTA). Tom Barkhuysen, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative…

Jorrit Rijpma responds in Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant to attention surrounding the reintroduction of border controls in the Schengen area.

On 15 July 2019 Hans-Martien ten Napel started a new series on freedom of religion or belief for the London School of Economics research-led interdisciplinary Religion and Global Society Blog.

Dutch right-wing political party Forum for Democracy has repeatedly demonstrated that it has no lower limit when it comes to morals. Should the courts in the Netherlands protect democracy by banning parties like Forum? Several legal experts from Leiden University commented on this question in newspaper…

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.

Uit onderzoek van Follow the Money blijkt dat burgemeesters demonstraties steeds vaker belemmeren en ontmoedigen. Follow the Money verwijst daarvoor onder andere naar eerder gepubliceerd onderzoek van universitair docent staats- en bestuursrecht, Rowie Stolk, waaruit blijkt dat sommige gemeenten niet…

Yvonne Erkens and Fieke Weber, both from the Department of Labour Law and Social Security, recently organised a panel discussion on behalf of the International Labor Rights Case Law Journal (ILaRC). The discussion took place during the ISLSSL World Congress in Rome and was a huge success.

Kan een computer in de rechtszaal net zo goed uitspraak doen als een rechter? Hoogleraar Recht en informatica Jaap van den Herik vindt volmondig van wel. Hij legt het uit in een college van de Universiteit van Nederland.

A civil servant employed by the municipality of The Hague was cause for discussion after taking part in an Extinction Rebellion protest. Only under additional conditions could the employee in question stay on at the municipality. She decided to resign. According to Barend Barentsen, Professor of Labour…

In a world where law and morality strive for clarity, order, and control, this book challenges us to confront what has long been forgotten: the tragic dimension of existence. Drawing on the ancient wisdom of Greek tragedy and the passionate urgency of both atheist and religious existentialism, Timo…

This year The Netherlands once again chairs the EU Council. In the book ‘Fit for the Future’ Leiden researchers reflect on the priorities that the Dutch presidency has put forward for 2016 and raise the question: is the EU fit for the future?

De 21-jarige Aoife Fleming werd maandagavond 21 oktober 2019 verkozen tot jongerenvertegenwoordiger Duurzame Ontwikkeling van de Verenigde Naties.

Het faculteitsbestuur heeft prof. Van den Bogaert benoemd tot wetenschappelijk directeur van het Instituut voor Publiekrecht. Van den Bogaert is hoogleraar Europees recht en al meer dan 10 jaar hoofd van de afdeling Europees recht. Hij is tevens directeur van de Stichting Europa Instituut.

Christa Tobler writes an extensive article on voting rights for different groups for the annual congress of the

While the first votes of the American elections are being counted, PhD candidate Tessa van Buchem appeared as a guest on Radio 1. During the radio broadcast, she discussed the US Supreme Court: ‘The judges are seen as politicians in gowns.’

On 12th July 2016, Wim Voermans spoke in the ZDF-heute documentary 'Glamour, Gold und die Liebe: Europas Königshäuser'

Last weekend, Reijer Passchier talked about the constitutional right of the king to renounce the kingship.

Het kabinet wil noodrecht toepassen in het asielbeleid. Minister Faber meent dat dit juridisch ook is getoetst. Verschillende juristen, waaronder Mark Klaassen, universitair docent Migratierecht en Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, betwisten dat het noodrecht in de huidige situatie een geschikt…

The Dutch government will be unable to make wearing face masks mandatory in public spaces in the short term, according to three constitutional and administrative law experts in NRC newspaper, including Wim Voermans.

The proposal made by the Dutch Benefits Agency (part of the Ministry of Finance) to issue one-off compensation payments of €5,000 in the wake of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal is causing a stir among the affected parents, lawyers and academics. Ymre Schuurmans, Professor of Administrative Law,…

On 1 September, the conference of the Kirchheiner Chair ‘Government and citizens: A matter of trust’ took place. In a packed hall in the beautiful Old Observatory of Leiden University, under the inspiring leadership of Willemien den Ouden, a debate was held on the role of the Dutch National Ombudsman,…

The Netherlands Open Government Action Plan was recently presented to the Dutch House of Representatives. One of the action points in the plan relates to research to be conducted by Annemarie Drahmann, Louis Honée and Ymre Schuurmans, all staff at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative…

Currently, the bill ‘Wet versterking waarborgfunctie Awb’ (strengthening the guarantee function of the Dutch General Administrative Law Act) is in preparation. The bill is intended to strengthen the human dimension in the execution and administration of justice.

'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.