Simona Demková from the Europa Institute participated as a key speaker at the annual Digital Constitutionalism Academy on 27 and 28 March 2025. The Academy brought together leading scholars and practitioners to explore the evolving intersection of digital innovation, fundamental rights, and regulatory…

In het asielplan van vorige week kondigde het kabinet aan meer in te zetten op vertrek van ’Dublin-claimanten’. Daarbij stelt het kabinet z’n hoop op een hernieuwd EU-plan.

Het couldbedrijf Solvinity, actief als aanbieder van cruciale IT-diensten voor de overheid, staat op punt overgenomen te worden door een Amerikaanse partij. Volgens Reijer Passchier, universitair docent staatsrecht en hoogleraar digitalisering en de democratische overheid (OU), zijn de zorgen bij de…

Imagine: you’re seeking asylum in the Netherlands due to your sexual orientation or gender identity. The immigration authorities might question you about your sexuality. PhD candidate Elias Tissandier-Nasom, who is researching asylum applications submitted by LGBTQI+ children, explains that the process…

On Friday 17 November 2017, H.E. Dr. María Fernanda Espinosa, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of the Republic of Ecuador gave a lecture on Fairness in Global Taxation at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies at Leiden University, Campus The Hague.

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Common Market Law Review, the Editors of the Review hosted a one-day conference on 'Membership of the European Union: Implication, Challenges, Boundaries' on Friday, 9 June 2023. EU law scholars from different countries all over Europe…

Arbeidsuitbuiting van migranten wordt als een vorm van het strafrechtelijke delict mensenhandel beschouwd. De rechtspositie van de slachtoffers is mede daardoor ondergeschikt aan de strafrechtelijke procedure. Dat kan en moet anders, stelt Gerrie Lodder in haar proefschrift. Promotie op 21 april 202…

Jorrit Rijpma was invited to teach at a number of summer schools this year. He lectured at the CLEER summer school on External Relations, the ICPMD summer school on migration and asylum and the Odysseus summer school.

It recently became clear that the Dutch Ministry of Health would rather pay a penalty than share information about the controversial face mask deal with former CDA party activist Sywert van Lienden. Dutch news site Nieuwsuur reports that this is no exception. In recent years newspaper De Volkskrant…

On Wednesday 16 June 2021, Karim Khan was sworn in at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Experts say this is no easy time to join the ICC.

The Pandora Papers turned the spotlight on Wopke Hoekstra’s investment in an African safari company via a tax haven. Apparently, there was no tax evasion, but that does not seem to be the whole story. Martijn Nouwen, assistant professor in tax law, explains in Follow the Money how the safari enterprise…

For one week, regional public transport drivers will go on strike. At least, that is what Dutch trade unions FNV and CNV are calling for. According to the employers’ association WVOV, half the busses will still be running.

Polls conducted by I&O research point to a political landslide. What's in store for the Netherlands? The polls show that the new party of MP Pieter Omtzigt is well-positioned for the upcoming election, with an expected 31 seats, but only 3 for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) party. It is obvious…

Last week Russia and Ukraine met for the first time since the outbreak of the war. The talks took place in Belarus.

Het nieuwe kabinet onder leiding van D66 leider Jetten verschuift het sociaal beleid terug naar een focus op activering, ten koste van wat jarenlang ‘bestaanszekerheid’ werd genoemd. Critici – waaronder expert sociaal zekerheidsrecht, Barend Barentsen- waarschuwen in de Volkskrant voor grotere financiële…

Agressie op de werkvloer treft drie op de vier zorgverleners. Barend Barentsen, die gespecialiseerd is in bedrijfsongevallen en beroepsziekten, zegt in een uitzending van Zembla dat zorginstellingen tekort schieten in adequate nazorg van hun personeel die gewond zijn geraakt, kampen met PTSS en stre…

The Europa Institute has invited Dorjana Bojanovska from Macedonia to visit Leiden Law School to conduct her master thesis research from 6 March - 31 March 2017. Dorjana is a student at the Comparative Constitutional Law program at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University. The…

Russia has been condemned by the International Court of Justice for violating the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, but only minimally. Larissa van den Herik, Professor…

The battle for a strong power position in the run up to the provincial council elections in the Netherlands is currently being fought fiercely. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has become accustomed to a minority in the Senate in recent years. The four Rutte cabinets were always able to do business with various…

Coffeeshop licences may be issued temporarily and reissued after this period has expired. This follows from a ruling by the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State in the appeal lodged by the mayor of Roermond municipality against the Court's April 2021 ruling.

Food security is increasingly under pressure due to rising inequality, climate change, and armed conflict. From 28 October, Leiden University College (LUC) in The Hague offers a seven-week course

The return payment of 900 euros for Syrian asylum seekers is a striking part of the Dutch policy to promote voluntary return. Mark Klaassen, university lecturer in immigration law, told RTL News he considers the scheme premature and points to the uncertainty about how safe Syria currently is.

On Thursday 11 January 2018, Xiang Li will defend her doctoral thesis: “Collective Labour Rights and Collective Labour Relations of China”. The defence will take place at 11:15 hrs at the Academy Building of Leiden University, Rapenburg 73. The supervisors are Professor Guus Heerma van Voss and Professor…

The topic of conversation at The Great Continental Breakfast the morning after the EU elections in the Netherlands was the election campaign, the – lacking? – constitutional basis of the EU and the Timmermans effect. ‘These were the most normal EU elections ever!’

What is the current situation of human rights in relation to detention under criminal law and immigration law, now that more and more parties are becoming involved in the administration of detention and crimmigration is on the rise? PhD defence on 21 January 2020.

The emergence of 'illiberal democracies' and the protection of human rights in Europe.

Book Launch

Collaboration within Europe is currently at a low ebb. This is threatening to undermine our freedom and the rights that are anchored in the European legal order, says Piet Hein Donner, Vice-President of the Council of State and Cleveringa professor at Leiden University for 2015. His lecture on 26 November…

On 1 March 2023, the Dutch Safety Board (Onderzoeksraad Voor De Veiligheid, OVV) published its report on the protection provided by the Dutch security services and lessons learned from three cases. The OVV was highly critical of the use of key witnesses and the protection offered to them. Jan Crijns,…

Landen proberen steeds strengere maatregelen te nemen om minder aantrekkelijk te worden voor asielzoekers. Mark Klaassen, universitair docent vreemdelingenrecht, noemt het Europese asielbeleid in de Volkskrant ‘een race naar beneden.’

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.

De laatste puntjes en komma’s worden gezet op het hoofdlijnenakkoord van de beoogde coalitie. De betrokken partijen presenteren morgen hun plannen, waarna volgende week een afrondend debat volgt met de informateur. Staatsrechtgeleerde, Wim Voermans duidt de zaak in een uitzending van Sven op1.

After 24 years of operations, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will close its doors at the end of this year. To mark this significant moment in the history of international criminal law, the ICTY and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden Law…

Food security touches upon human rights, international law and sustainable development. These frameworks are not separate worlds but deeply interconnected; something that becomes painfully clear in times of climate crisis, armed conflict and inequality.

With inflation skyrocketing, more and more workers are willing to take action for better working conditions. From regional transport to municipal officials, and from healthcare staff to pharmacy workers, it’s one strike after another in the Netherlands.

Recent developments in AI mean nobody is anonymous nowadays. The search engine PimEyes can find any photo of anyone that’s ever been placed online. No more Tinder Swindlers… or personal privacy. Everyone’s findable now. But is that even allowed?

On Thursday evening, three local councillors from the ONS.Vlaardingen party walked out of a council meeting during a vote on a no-confidence motion. One councillor even went home after the vote out of dissatisfaction with the proceedings. The no-confidence motion against Vlaardingen's municipal executive…

As of September 2023, Leiden University is a new host of the Research Network on Academic Freedom.

The social coalition 'Over Informatie Gesproken' (meaning ‘Speaking of Information’) recently approved eleven grant applications for research aimed at improving the information relationship between the government and the citizen. Meuwese and Çapkurt’s grant application for research into algorithmic…

Judicial officers have some leeway in how they act. In most cases that's fine, but it can also lead to abuses, such as ethnic profiling. It is easy to forget that these are not isolated decisions, but are also part of a framework of formal policies. Professor Maartje van der Woude calls for more comprehensive…

Wat kun je als burger doen wanneer de overheid je persoonsgegevens gebruikt en daarmee besluiten neemt waar je het niet mee eens bent? Fatma Çapkurt promoveerde op een onderzoek hiernaar. Burgers moeten verwerking van hun gegevens beter kunnen beoordelen.

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.

How many children are born with the help of a surrogate mother in the Netherlands, and which legal obstacles can arise? Through a new interdisciplinary study, researchers at Leiden University are attempting to provide clarity about surrogacy processes.

When a child is placed in care, the assumption is always that the child can return home again. But there are still many questions about how this process – the 'permanency plan' – is arranged. New research aims to provide insights.

On Sunday 18 June 2017 Melanie Fink, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Europa Institute, held a lecture on Schengen and the new European Border and Coast Guard Regulation in the framework of the ‘Open Doors’ Summer School on Migration, (Sea) Border Control and Human Rights.

Opportunities and challenges of digitalisation, the platform economy, and flexibilisation of European labour markets.

The latest innovation in the field of urban mobility could soon be buzzing over our heads. For some, it’s a science fiction dream come true. For others, however, it’s an unwelcome intrusion. ‘It has the potential to be a major development.’

Van Vollenhoven Institute Research Meeting

PhD defence