Research on lethal violence related to criminal activities.

The study at hand focuses on the control of sex and youngsters through the response by authorities most notably from within criminal justice.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the programme Public International Law and the specialisation International Criminal Law.

On 29 april 2020, Beth Van Schaack defended her thesis 'Imagining Justice for Syria: Water Always Finds Its Way'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C. Stahn.

State utilization of 'hukum adat' and its implication for the Indonesian rule of law

On 29 September 2020, Tom van Ham defended his thesis 'Collective violence offenders and offending. The role of individual characteristics'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A.A.J. Blokland, Prof. O.M.J. Adang (RUG) and Prof. Th.A.H. Doreleijers (VUMC).

This book brings together a collection of emergent research that moves the debate on desistance beyond a general consideration of individual and social structural influences.

Both departments provide teaching in the bachelor and master programmes.

To assess the impact of illicit firearms trafficking on gun violence, this research looks at the scope, characteristics and contexts of firearm violence, and also the scope and nature of firearms trafficking in Europe since the new millennium. Nils Duquet, Dennis Vanden Auweele and Marieke Liem created…

A research into homicide.

The faculty has around 650 employees, academic and administrative staff. More than 325 of these are involved in teaching. Together they make Leiden Law School what it is today: a faculty driven by its research and enriched by its teaching.

Prosecutor Karim Khan has asked the Pre-Trial Chamber at the International Criminal Court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Larissa van den Herik, Professor of Public International Law, discusses the case on Dutch radio programme ‘Nieuws en Co’.

This research evaluates the Youth Act. It will provide an overview of how the transition takes place, whether the transformation process develops in the right direction and whether the legal safeguards are functioning properly.

On 11 December 2015, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies organized a seminar on

On 25 October 2017, the current class of students of the advanced LL.M. programme International Children’s Rights visited juvenile detention center ‘De Hunnerberg’ in Nijmegen (the Netherlands).

The Centre for Public Values & Ethics (CPVE) is an interdisciplinary, academic centre of expertise aiming to conduct and disseminate scientific research on normative issues in the public sector, in particular the fulfillment of public office and the planning, making and executing of public policy, both…

The Department of Economics concentrates its research on Social Policies, Public Finance and Law and Economics.

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

The programme International Criminal Law at Leiden University prepares you for a succesful career. Read more about our career preparation activities

A prisoner from Eindhoven who posted vlogs about his life in prison is attracting thousands of viewers on TikTok and other social media. Esther van Ginneken commented on regional news site ‘Omroep Brabant’: 'Contact is a human necessity.'

Mensen jarenlang opsluiten in een gevangenis werkt niet en kost de samenleving veel geld, zeggen experts. Hoogleraar Criminologie en Vergelijkende Penologie Miranda Boone stelt tegenover NEMO Kennislink dat het anders moet: ‘Het strafrecht zoals we het nu inzetten, werkt niet.’

The Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology conducts extensive research on imprisonment. Sending a person to prison is the most severe form of punishment that can be applied in the criminal justice systems of European countries. In most countries, the number of prisoners has risen in recent decades.…

The university aims to expose all students to sustainability topics and issues that are relevant to their field during their time studying here. Students are educated to become academic professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to contribute to the sustainability transition.

On 12 January 2022, Mirjam Franke defended the thesis 'Over de grens van de onrechtmatige daad'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A.G. Castermans and Prof. J.H. Crijns.

In his lecture, Professor Platt discussed some of the main arguments from his latest book entitled “Beyond these Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States”

How were war heroes and war criminals created, and how do these images relate to the historical context?

The curriculum in the first semester provides an overall introduction to public international law and international criminal law. The second semester is more track-specific and focused on interaction.

Thousands of Ukrainian children have been transferred to Russia from occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, reports say. Is this, as the government in Kyiv has claimed, an act of genocide? Defined as an intent to destroy a particular group of people, the term genocide was first coined amid the horrors…

In the series 'PhD in the Picture', our PhD students tell us all about their research: what are their findings? How did they do it, and how does their research touch upon hot topics in our society today?

This book provides an exploration into the historical transformations of women's interactions with state police in the Western world from 1800 to 1950.

On 9 April 2019, Yudan Tan defended her thesis 'The Rome Statute as Evidence of Customary International Law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. W.A. Schabas.

As our society becomes increasingly complex, it is critical that we better understand how we can deal with fundamental issues such as societal and personal security, and resilience against threats to our security.

The sentencing decision of the judge might be the most important decision in the criminal proceedings, not only because of the impact the punishment has on the offender, but also because the sentencing decision is a cornerstone of the legitimacy of the entire criminal justice system.

On 1 February 2018 Nathalie-Sharon Koster defended her doctoral thesis ‘Crime victims and the police’. The doctoral research was supervised by Professor J.P. van der Leun and M.J.J. Kunst.

Still have questions about the Comparative Criminal Justice programme? Please contact us!

On 20 January 2022, Marco Stam defended the thesis 'Essays on Welfare Benefits, Employment, and Crime'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. M.G. Knoef.

In this project, we use social network analysis to analyze the behavior of users in online forums and associated marketplaces over time.

The Faculty of Law has five institutes:

On 12 December, Anke van der Hoeven defended the thesis 'Crossing through Europe at full speed - The work situation of international truck drivers: constructions and perceptions'. The doctoral research was supervised by Joanne van der Leun, Yvonne Erkens and Masja van Meeteren.

On 5 September 2019, Jennifer Doekhie defended her thesis 'Dimensions of desistance: A qualitative longitudinal analysis of different dimensions of the desistance process among long-term prisoners in the Netherlands'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. P. Nieuwbeerta.