On 28 October 2021, the ombuds office of the city of Zurich - incidentally the very first communal ombuds office in Europe - celebrated its 50th anniversary.

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).

The Dutch Public Prosecution Office is investigating whether to prosecute care workers involved in the Vlaardingen foster child case. Mariëlle Bruning told ‘de Volkskrant’ it will be difficult: 'It must be established that the care worker knew about the abuse.'

EU Member States are struggling with rising numbers of migrants and asylum seekers. At the recent EU summit, agreements were reached on better controls at the external borders of the European Union and more consultation with countries where migrants come from.

During her work for the European Union, Sophie Vériter witnessed how young people in countries like Ukraine and Moldova were exposed to Russian propaganda. After mapping out the EU’s disinformation policy, the PhD candidate now advocates for a revised approach.

On 12 June 2025, Advocate General Ćapeta delivered her Opinion in WS and Others v Frontex, a Grand Chamber case currently pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The case concerns a Syrian family that was returned to Turkey in what is arguably a violation of the principle of non-refoulement…

Human Rights organisation Amnesty International recently set up a walk that passes by important locations in Leiden in relation to human rights. The Kamerlingh Onnes Building, home to Leiden Law School, has been included in the route.

A warm welcome to the students of the Master’s Programme in European Law starting in September 2017. Below you will find important information concerning the start of the new term.

Following the conference of the 20th Austrian European Law Day in September 2021 at the University of Liechtenstein in Vaduz, the academic papers of the conference have now been published in book form. The book contributions include a chapter by Christa Tobler: Christa Tobler, 'Finally Brexit - Alternative…

Will Belgian politician Didier Reynders become the new secretary-general of the Council of Europa? At the end of January he submitted his candidacy and he now only has one rival: the Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marija Burić.

On Thursday 16 November, the Europa Institute had the honour of receiving HE Jana Reinišová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Netherlands. She delivered a speech in the framework of the European Union Seminar Series, jointly organized by the master’s programme in International Relations, the…

On Tuesday 30 May 2017 Jorrit Rijpma, Associate Professor at the Europa Institute, together with his colleagues Prof. Thomas Spijkerboer (Free University) and Dr. Maarten den Heijer (University of Amserdam), delivered a key note address at the Nordic Asylum Law Seminar in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Lecture, European Union Seminar

On 17 September 2018 Rijpma, Associate Professor of European Law at the Europa Institute, spoke at the European Academy for European Law’s annual conference on EU border management.

On 12 October, Melanie Fink and Jorrit Rijpma presented at the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights in Warsaw, on the issue of responsibility under EU and international law.

Dr Joris Larik, Assistant Professor at the Europa Institute and Leiden University College, was invited to give a keynote address in Brussels. He gave the address entitled 'Navigating multilateralism or how to not become a Flying Dutchman' on 12 June 2024.

On Monday 24 April 2023, the Europa Institute held a hybrid Leiden Law Exchange (LLX) Roundtable to discuss the Irish Supreme Court’s Costello ruling on the government’s proposed ratification of the EU-Canada Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Ontwikkelingshulp- en migratiedeskundigen zien dat er lessen zijn geleerd in het nieuwe regeerakkoord op het gebied van asielbeleid. Maar aan veel toezeggingen kleven cynische voorwaarden.

On 20 June, Freya Baetens delivered the keynote presentation at a workshop on

The EU and Switzerland have negotiated a broad package of agreements that awaits formal signature by the parties.

On 10 April the Verfassungsblog published the blog by Armin Cuyvers entitled: Five Scenarios for Europe – Understanding the EU Commission’s White Paper on the Future of Europe.

On 6 July 2023, the Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs organized an expert meeting on European solidarity.

On 12 July, a workshop was held in hybrid format (on site and online) at the University of Reading in the UK on the subject of 'EU law teaching in the UK post-Brexit: Learning from EU law colleagues based in other non-EU states and seeking UK solutions'.

Marco Bronckers, professor for trade law at the Europa Institute at Leiden University, is cited by POLITICO as one of the initiators for a new approach to the ratification of EU trade deals.

The Centro de Estudos Internacionais at Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) will host the

The Board of Leiden University has appointed Armin Cuyvers as a full professor of European Law, specifically EU Constitutional Law and Comparative Regional Integration, effective per 1 September 2021.

Over 300 people from 38 different countries took part in the online lecture

With Brexit looming, stronger economic governance of the European Union is more essential than ever. It’s high time for action, says Amy Verdun, Professor of European Politics and Political Economy. Inaugural speech on 27 September.

Moritz Jesse presented a paper titled “The Resilience of Implicit Exclusion in EU Migration Law – How the Law Helps Those Who Separate ‘Them’ from ‘Us’” at 23rd International Conference of Europeanists organized by the Council for European Studies in April 2016 in Philadelphia.

Christa Tobler, Professor of European Law at the Universities of Basel (Switzerland) and Leiden, participated in a Swiss television debate on the free movement of persons.

From 27-29 August, the Conference of the International Society for Child Indicators (ISCI) took place in Tartu (Estonia). Prof. Ton Liefaard was one of the key-note speakers during that conference.

What would it be like if you could work with the best in your field every day? Alumnus in International Studies Niels Drost knows just what that’s like. He currently works as a junior researcher at the Clingendael Institute.

How you think about yourself is important for the choices you make. Adolescents are faced with choosing a study programme that will determine their future, while their self-image is still under development. Tough choice? Research by psychologist Laura van der Aar has shown that taking a training course…

A growing number of AI tools are being developed for the legal sector, to help professionals search lengthy texts or check court rulings. Leiden SAILS researcher Masha Medvedeva, an expert on the technical development of these systems, warns: ‘Users should know what’s under the hood.’

'The kind of knowledge you gain in International Studies can take you anywhere,' says Gaby van de Wal (26, The Hague, The Netherlands), who graduated from the programme in 2018. Her own career path is proof that indeed, an International Studies degree comes with many opportunities.

Moritz Jesse, Associate Professor of EU Law at the Europa Institute, has published his book, “The Civic Citizens of Europe: The Legal Potential for Immigrant Integration in the EU, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom”.