On early October, the Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights released its October Newsletter to its friends and partner networks.

Political scientist Corinna Jentzsch received an NWO Veni grant for her research on the conditions of collaboration between militias and state forces and its consequences for safety and political order.

Every year in the Netherlands, thousands of children are placed in out-of-home care because their parents are unable to look after them properly or because the children are at risk.

On 4 April 2024, a meeting of the standing committee of the Dutch House of Representatives was held. At this meeting, Anna Marhold, Assistant Professor at the Grotius Centre and Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, informed the committee about the economic and legal implications of a military…

Leiden University Proudly Announces Dr. Mikiko Otani as the Rotating Honorary Chair Enforcement of Children's Rights 2023/2024

How do parents communicate anxiety to their child via body language and words? Psychologist Cosima Nimphy studied this question for her PhD research. Experiments show that children of anxious parents are not more sensitive to their parents’ signs of anxiety.

Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law at Leiden University, responded in various media to the new draft agreement aimed at reducing work pressure of youth protectors.

Dr. Stephanie Rap, Denise Verkroost, LL.M. and prof. Mariëlle Bruning conducted a research on the participation of children in youth care in the Netherlands. In 2016 the first part, a legal desk-research on the possibilities for children to participate in youth care procedures and decision-making in…

International Coalitions for Peace in the Era of Decolonization, 1918-1970

Children are not always immediately helped due to staff shortages. For years, youth protection agencies have used an emergency protocol. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law in ‘Trouw’: ‘It’s shocking that an emergency protocol has been used for three years.’

Leiden University has written an advisory report at the request of the Ministry of Justice and Security on a legislative bill to improve legal protection in youth protection. The report acknowledges the improvements that the proposed legislation would bring, but also provides criticism.

Terminating the Trade Treaty between the US, Mexico and Canada, as Trump intends, violates the treaty and also has implications for labour law, says emeritus professor of international labour law, Paul van der Heijden, in Dutch newspaper ‘Het Financieele Dagblad’.

Every day, Veilig Thuis employees receive hundreds of reports of domestic violence and child abuse. Despite their efforts, they are heavily criticised due to the long waiting times. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, appeared on talk show ‘Eva’ to discuss the Dutch care and welfare…

A new almost free childcare system may sound ideal, but it also comes with risks for parents. Psychologists from Leiden University and research firm D&B have concluded that the system can cause uncertainty and stress, particularly among vulnerable groups.

Exchanges between different cultures and institutions of learning have taken place for centuries, but it was only in the twentieth century that such efforts evolved into formal programs that received focused attention from nation-states, empires and international organizations.

Study information

Mums posting photos and videos of their child on Instagram and TikTok and also earning loads of money doing so. Kidfluencers, momvloggers and familyvlogs are very popular, in the Netherlands too. But the lack of legislation regulating these activities means that these children are barely protected.…

Intimate Legal Interactions (ILI) is an interdisciplinary and international group of scholars who share an interest in laws governing intimate relationships – such as marriage and civil partnership, divorce, birth, death, parenthood, childcare, sexual/romantic relationships, and caring relationships…

The waiting lists in youth care are alarmingly long. This has been confirmed again by a study carried out by a Dutch foundation The Forgotten Child.

Recently, the so-called refugee crisis has been framed as a threat for well-developed welfare states in Europe by the president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem. According to him, external borders have to be guarded, because otherwise ‘loads of people will come to demand support and they blow up…

Should the law and norms applicable to armed conflict include a distinct category covering the transition from armed conflict to peace, jus post bellum, and if so what are its characteristics?

The Jaap Doek Children’s rights thesis award is an annual award for the best thesis in the field of Children’s Rights granted by Defence for Children and the Department of Child Law of the Leiden Law School. This year the thesis award will be presented for the fourth time.

Within the bachelor's program of Education and Child Studies, we include the minor Kindermishandeling en Verwaarlozing: een levensloopperspectief and several other courses.

Research conducted by the Department of Child Law and Health Law at Leiden University concerns the legal position of the child at both the national and international level.

Policy plans state that children should be placed in secure youth care less often and for shorter periods. But this is problematic in practice.

On 20 February 2018, Simone van der Hof will give a lecture on the use of AI in combating online sexual abuse of children at the Academy of European Law (ERA) in Trier during the seminar The Life Cycle or Electronic Evidence - Handling E-Evidence in Child Sex Abuse Material.

On the 24th of March, Prof. Ton Liefaard gave a lecture at the Girne American University entitled ‘International Children’s Rights: Achievements and Challenges’.

The Dutch child protection system

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This study tests whether behavioural problems at a young age are related to early reading and mathematics development.

The Department of Child Law and Health Law focuses in its education on the legal position of the child in national and international law.

Children of preschool age are increasingly understanding what adults expect of them. What rules of behavior do these children learn from their fathers and mothers in certain cultures within the Netherlands?

In dit onderzoek van de Universiteit Leiden kijken we hoe vaders en moeders de zwangerschap en de overgang naar het ouderschap ervaren.

The Child Law Department of Leiden University and Defence for Children kindly invites you to the fourth Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award Ceremony and the official launch of the book ‘The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Taking Stock after 25 Years and Looking Ahead’ (Brill…

Stephanie Rap and Chrisje Sandelowsky-Bosman have contributed as authors to the online training manual for lawyers, that is developed as part of the training programme Advancing the Defence Rights of Children.

In opvanggezinnen voor alleenstaande minderjarige vluchtelingen komen veelvuldig misstanden voor, blijkt uit onderzoek van Zembla. Hoogleraar jeugdrecht Mariëlle Bruning reageert geschrokken tegenover BNN VARA: ‘We moeten zorgen dat we die kinderen in veiligheid brengen.’

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A pregnant woman from Drenthe will lose her baby directly after it is born. A juvenile court has already ruled during her pregnancy that the infant will go to a foster family. The court believes that the child would risk physical neglect.

From 25 to 31 October, Professor Simone van der Hof was on a working visit to China with a delegation from Leiden Law School, including our dean Professor Joanne van der Leun.