In the summer of 2021, Lucy Opoka was awarded one of the coveted Meijers PhD positions. In October, she arrived back in Leiden, where she obtained her LLM degree Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights in 2019. Professor Liefaard interviewed Lucy upon arrival.

On Tuesday 10 January 2023, former master’s students in Child Law – Fien Bouwmeester, Renee Muller, Imaani Stegeman, Demi Onclin and Rosa Passchier – held presentations on their master’s theses at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security.

This month we interview alumna Dominique Mars who made an interesting career choice: she tells us how she chose to be a teacher at a primary school whilst having obtained her Master in Child Law.

On 3 November 2022, Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, spoke as an expert on child protection at a roundtable discussion with Dutch Lower House members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Security.

The legal protection of parents and children in cases involving placement in care must improve. That is the opinion of Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law.

At the request of the Dutch Parliament, Professor Marielle Bruning, Dr Kartica van der Zon (Dept. of Child Law), Professor Lenneke Alink and Dr Sabine van der Asdonk (Education and Child Studies) have produced a fact sheet on the placement of children in care in the Netherlands.

Children aged between 12 and 17 years can decide themselves whether they want to be vaccinated or not. Experts say that children are capable of taking a well-considered decision.

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.

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.

In Europe, the Netherlands is in middle position when it comes to the placement of children in care. The consequences of such a placement in care are often disastrous, says Mariëlle Bruning.

In accordance with Article 1.21 of the WHW, Leiden University is obliged to draw up a reporting protocol that students and staff can follow if they perceive signs that students, children, or staff are experiencing domestic violence or child abuse.

It is not possible for juvenile courts to properly assess whether it is necessary to place a child in care. This is evident from a fact sheet that has been prepared by legal scholars from Leiden University, commissioned by the Dutch House of Representatives and others.

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

During an evacuation, all employees and students of the Law Faculty gather at the Kamerlingh Onnesgebouw or the Old Observatory.

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.

Onderzoekers van het Instituut Pedagogische Wetenschappen en de afdeling Jeugdrecht gaan samenwerken in 2 nieuwe onderzoeken: onderzoek naar het terugplaatsingen van kinderen na uithuisplaatsing en draagmoederschappen in Nederland.

Investigations conducted by several Dutch child protection bodies within family situations are not good enough. Due to lack of knowledge, time and money, these investigations are not carried out properly, with major consequences for the families involved.

Leiden Law School and the Center for Constitutional Studies of the Mexican Supreme Court (CEC-SCJN) have signed a memorandum of understanding, to carry out joint activities in the field of constitutional law and children's rights.

Stichting Onderwijsgeschillen (Foundation for Educational Disputes) is pleased to announce that it has established an endowed chair ‘Conflictoplossing en rechtsbescherming in het onderwijs' (conflict resolution and legal protection in education) at Leiden University.

Kamerlingh Onnes Building, Steenschuur 25, 2311 ES, Leiden

Economic law, environmental law and human rights are important fields of law for sustainable development. But they do not interact sufficiently, which makes it difficult to implement sustainable development.

Many parents whose children have been placed in care do not understand the basis on which the decision was taken. Dutch youth protection organisations and the Child Protection Council must better document why they request such a measure from the Juvenile Court.

From Wednesday 20 October 2021 to Thursday 21 April 2022, Leiden Children’s Rights Observatory and the Centre for Constitutional Studies of the Supreme Court of Mexico organize an Online Webinar Series on Children’s Access to Justice and the Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure (OP3)

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has accused Finland of violating the rights of Finnish children by leaving them in life-threatening conditions in Syrian camps. Ann Skelton, member of the committee, calls the situation 'inhuman'.

Charlotte Parree won the Jaap Doek Children's Rights Thesis Prize on Tuesday afternoon, 6 December, with her thesis entitled 'Suffering knows no age; active termination of life does.' The prize was awarded for the tenth time by em. prof. Jaap Doek.

In the online panel discussion of ESOF 2022 ‘The effect of the online world on adolescents’, together with Amy Orben, Professor Eveline Crone, Sterre van Riel, Professor Anne-Laura van Harmelen and Professor Jan Sleutels, Professor Ton Liefaard shared his research on adolescents and the online world…

On Wednesday 18 May, the students of the LL.M. Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights presented their work to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child with the aim to provide recommendations on how to make its decision more accessible to children.

Practice and science show that secure residential youth care in the Netherlands should no longer be used as a catch-all solution. This is the conclusion of several professionals including Professor of Child Law Mariëlle Bruning in Dutch newspaper NRC.

Conference, Seminar

On 30 April, Prime Minister Mark Rutte was presented with the manifesto of the NWO Youth Challenge, which contains advice for policymakers, scientists and administrators on the empowerment of youth in the time of coronavirus. The manifesto is based on research questions submitted to the science community…

Research

The Dutch cabinet will allocate a total of 40 million euros extra for institutions providing youth protection and youth rehabilitation over the next four years. Local councils must make the same amount available. Will that be enough to solve the problems?

Library

Legal protection. What do those involved in youth care and child protection understand by this concept? And what needs to change to improve legal protection? This question was explored by researchers from Leiden University’s Department of Child Law. Their research fits with the government’s ambition…

Via expedited proceedings at Leeuwarden Court of Appeal, a mother is trying to impose a relatively new treatment for her 15-year-old daughter’s eating disorder. The girl is suffering from anorexia nervosa and if she does not receive urgent treatment which the girl herself supports, there is a chance…

Children are suffering disproportionally from the coronavirus measures. They feel depressed more often compared to other age groups. But what about the legal perspective? Are children’s rights being violated?

Last Thursday the Dutch House of Representatives held a debate on children being put into care when the childcare benefits scandal (toeslagenaffaire) had caused problems for their families. Four Leiden University academics were asked by the House to produce a fact sheet for this debate, bringing together…

The team from Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) came out on top at the international online Moot Court organised by Leiden University and law firm Baker McKenzie.