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,…

Quincy Promes has been arrested in Dubai at the request of the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service. The Dutch judicial authorities now want Dubai to extradite Promes. But how does that work? Professor Jannemieke Ouwerkerk explains on ‘RTL Nieuws’.

Ahead of the new Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF), the entire European academic world is calling upon Brussels to double the budget for education, research and innovation.

Research from Dutch news organisation NOS shows that gambling companies, including Holland Casino and the Dutch Lottery, have more influence on the creation of new rules on gambling adverts than addiction experts.

In May 2018, Malek F. stabbed three people in The Hague. According to Malek F., he was told by a ‘big bird’ in the sky to randomly stab people. His lawyers registered a plea of insanity with the court because of his mental condition. In the end, the court sentenced Malek F. to involuntary commitment…

OSCL members, amongst which our representative in the Archaeology faculty, were part of Data Carpentry for Social Sciences. Here's what happened.

As of 14 May, people from all over the world can follow a little part of our university’s education through a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Health & Health Behaviour. This MOOC provides an introduction to the field of Health Psychology.

The Neumark-Nord 2 site in central Germany, dates back to 125,000 years ago. During an interglacial period with temperatures similar to those today, Neanderthals where doing something we previously thought happened only tens of thousands of years later.

Reijer Passchier, Assistant Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, recently published a statement entitled 'The AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park Asked the Wrong Questions' in the International Journal of Social Quality.

After seven years, the Faculty of Science said goodbye to Geert de Snoo as dean During on 29 August. This happened with a pub quiz, a special edition of Our Talents & Discoveries and no less than two decorations. Take a look at the pictures for an impression!

On Thursday evening, 7 December, the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) gave the government's external communication pool a glimpse of what there is to learn about Public Affairs and the scientific research that is being done about it within the Faculty of Governance & Global Affairs.

Archaeology is the only science that allows us to study the material traces left by most of human evolution. But what happens when we bring philosophy into the picture? A new series of papers demonstrates how philosophical reflection can enrich archaeological research - especially when grappling with…

Willemijn Aerdts, lecturer at ISGA, discussed the Russian interference in the domestic affairs of Western countries on Dutch radio BNR.

The United States has recently imposed sanctions on four more senior officials of the International Criminal Court, including Judge Prost, who is a Canadian national. Jens Iverson, assistant professor of international law, commented on this in The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper.

Invoking old legislation, Spain has imposed fines on five airlines, including Ryanair, in an attempt to crack down on extra fees for hand luggage and seat reservations, as well as other surcharges. Steven Truxal, Professor of Air and Space Law, discusses this in Dutch daily newspaper ‘de Volkskrant’…

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

It was the Night of Discoveries on Saturday 16 September: a summer encounter between art and science. Leiden researchers from various disciplines inspired the public with their quest to understand our world.

The Dutch town of Schiedam was shocked this week by a fatal stabbing involving a 13-year-old victim and suspect. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, spoke to Dutch ‘RTL Nieuws’ about procedures with underage suspects.

Social media are playing a key role in calling for resistance to the corona measures. Online, agreements are made about where and when people will gather to protest. The authorities are not always fully aware of what is happening and cannot just infiltrate, whereas civilians can often easily participate…

On Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, Mr. Seán Ivory (VU) presented part of his prize-winning research in a lunch talk entitled Let Sleeping Dogs Lie: The Politics of Emotion in the Pamphlets of the De Hondt Affair During the Small Brabant Revolution (1787).

Through its launch of Instagram Teens, Instagram promises to create a safe environment for teenagers by introducing age restrictions. But is it actually going to improve the mental health of young people? And is the feature that allows parents to monitor their teenagers’ use of Instagram even legal?

The Perfect Spectator. The experience of the art work and reception aesthetics. By Janneke Wesseling

The right to strike is regulated by the European Social Charter, but employers also have the right to take collective action. Employers actually resorting to this in reality hardly ever happens, however. Instead, we constantly hear about workers going on strike.

From deepfakes and disinformation to killer robots, surgical robots and AI lawmaking: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing our world. That raises the question whether this requires some form of regulation. At eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, prof. Bart Custers…

Erik Deul was awarded a royal decoration on Wednesday afternoon. He has been appointed Knight of the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Mayor Peter Heijkoop of Leiden presented him with the honour.

This conference explored the various ways in which anthropologists at the Leiden Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology engage with global vulnerabilities and social resilience through their ethnographic research and representation. All staff and students were invited to participate…

During a working visit to a company that cleans up space debris, the British Prince Charles suggested that a climate agreement specifically for space might be a good idea. Experts, including Leiden Law School’s Tanja Masson-Zwaan, say the idea is wishful thinking.

Chronic stress weakens the immune system, psychologist Jos Brosschot warns in an interview with Leidsch Dagblad newspaper. Social isolation can cause feelings of insecurity and stress. He therefore advises keeping in touch with others.

Want to sponsor scientific research by raising funds? You can now do just that via Leiden University's campaign platform acties.steunleiden.nl. A broad range of projects have already started, including for research on genetic diseases.

Een staatsrechtelijk unicum is in politiek Den Haag ontstaan, nu in navolging van minister Veldkamp alle NSC-bewindslieden zich hebben teruggetrokken uit het demissionaire kabinet. Volgens hoogleraar staatsrecht, Wim Voermans, ‘is dit geen goed nieuws voor de bestuurbaarheid van het land’, zegt hij…

ISGA researchers have received €1 million for research aimed at enhancing the Netherlands' digital resilience. The funding comes primarily from NWO, but private parties are also contributing financially. In total, €10.5 million is being allocated to launch six projects.

Yesterday, eight professors were simultaneously inaugurated as ‘Medical Delta professor’, at Leiden University, LUMC, TU Delft, Erasmus University and Erasmus MC. Ariane Briegel, researcher of the Institute of Biology Leiden of Leiden University, also received the double appointment.

The Humanities Faculty Teaching Award has been won by Olja Karmanova. The Russian lecturer was presented with the award during the opening of the faculty year.

Momenteel vindt onder Trump in de VS, een snelle ontmanteling van verschillende instituties, die de democratische rechtstaat stutten, plaats. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar staatsrecht, acht de kans aanzienlijk kleiner dat dit in Nederland zal gebeuren door ons meerpartijenstelsel, het poldermodel en het…

Until recently the Congo’s isolated Boa community had never read a single letter in their own language: quite simply, there was no alphabet to describe the language. A crowdfunding campaign by guest staff member Gerrit de Wit has changed that. He plans to use the rest of the money to work with a Congolese…

From February until April 2021, GTGC hosted an online PhD Winter School together with the University of Padova (Italy) and the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) on “Sustainable Glocal Futures: Knowledge, Democracy and Global Communications".

Sixty-four high school students from Slovenia, Czech Republic and The Netherlands have visited Leiden University in the week of 7-11 November, as part of the Talent Education Project. They split in eight groups, of which some went to the science faculty to conduct research projects.

Listening and Looking with dr. Janneke Wesseling and dr. Marcel Cobussen

Sonja Barend distantieert zich van het toneelstuk Sonja, dat gebaseerd is op haar boek. Dirk Visser, hoogleraar intellectueel eigendomsrecht, gaf uitleg in het AD: ‘De auteurs hebben het recht om te zeggen dat ze niet meer achter de productie staan.’

We have all been deeply affected by the events that took place in Rotterdam on Thursday evening. Our colleagues at Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University have lost a valued colleague and have been involved in a very serious incident, which will undoubtedly leave deep scars. The witnesses to this…

How did a fifteen year old paper receive an award? It happened to LIACS professor Todor Stefanov and his colleagues. Their paper was awarded with the Test of Time Award, an international award for papers that had the highest impact over time. This paper in particular is about Daedalus, a framework used…

On 25 November, Professor Ineke Sluiter received the Medal of Honour for Arts and Sciences in the Order of Orange-Nassau. She was presented with the medal by King Willem-Alexander.

Following Trump’s resounding victory over his Republican arch-rival in Iowa, it's clear that standing by passively and giving Biden the benefit of the doubt is not an option. Luuk van Middelaar, Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union and its Institutions, warns in his column in…

In its ruling this week, The Hague Court of Appeal made short work of how the Dutch Border Police allow the colour of a person’s skin to be taken into account when selecting people to check. According to Maartje van der Woude, this ruling reaches far beyond the border police. ‘This is a problem for…

Many deepfake porn videos are going around appearing to feature popular Dutch presenters, actors and politicians. These videos are banned, and yet they’re still being circulated. Dirk Visser, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, explains why: ‘There are enough rules telling us that deepfakes aren’t…

Next week, the Enterprise Chamber will decide on an investigation into possible abuses at Nexperia. Lawyers say the outcome is clear. Harold Koster, Professor of Company Law, spoke to the ‘Financieele Dagblad’ and suggested a political solution.

The easy-to-learn programming language Hedy has been used more than 100,000 times in no more than 9 months. Felienne Hermans was a guest in the broadcast of the radio program Science071 to tell more about it.

While the interim ruling passed down by the International Court of Justice did not order a ceasefire, it did state that Israel must take all measures to prevent further victims and genocidal acts in Gaza. South Africa brought the case as it alleges that the war in Gaza constitutes a violation of the…

Groenlinks-PvdA has reported two PVV MPs to police for spreading fake images of party leader Frans Timmermans. Bart Schermer spoke to the Volkskrant about the AI images: 'Freedom of speech ends when you threaten others with violence or incite violence.'

VVD party members last week voted in favour of the new distribution law, which could oblige municipalities to accommodate asylum seekers. This happened after Prime Minister Rutte pledged to work on curbing the influx of asylum seekers. To what extent can he deliver on that promise?