Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (VVD) has resigned as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management with immediate effect. She has decided to take up a position outside politics and will become chair of the lobby organisation for the energy sector, Energie Nederland.

The decision by the court in preliminary relief proceedings to immediately lift the curfew in the Netherlands – following a case brought by pressure group Viruswaarheid (Virus Truth) – has been overturned until the appeal on the case is heard this Friday. The government is doing everything in its power…

De Tweede Kamer wordt de meest versplinterde ooit, met zeven partijen van drie zetels of minder. Waar verschillende experts waarschuwen voor bestuurlijke chaos, ziet hoogleraar staatsrecht, Wim Voermans, hierin juist de kracht van de Nederlandse democratie, zegt hij in het NRC.

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…

It was already clear that the Dutch tax office had been working with black lists for years, containing the names of people who, according to the authorities, had a high risk of committing fraud. But reports by research agency PwC make it clear how systematically the Dutch tax office discriminated when…

De formatie sleept voort en de roep om een minderheidskabinet klinkt luider. Staatsrechtgeleerde Wim Voermans, waarschuwt in een recent opiniestuk in de Volkskrant dat zo’n constructie instabiel is en de kans op een nieuwe kabinetsval vergroot.

On 22–24 October 2025, Leiden University welcomed scholars, policymakers and higher education leaders for the Una Europa Conference on Academic Freedom. Organised by the AFITE project team and supported by Una Europa Seed Funding 2024, the three-day programme examined current pressures on academic freedom…

Nu belastingsystemen over grenzen gaan, speelt de politiek een steeds grotere rol. Irma Mosquera Valderrama pleit voor een wereldwijd, inclusief systeem.

Libraries in the Netherlands are removing books that contain references to Black Pete. According to the director of the Public Library Association, a logical and fitting response in the spirit of the times.

A new social media campaign launched by students from across Europe, including Frederik Behre from the Europa Institute, is aiming to motivate young Europeans to go to the polls.

Maria Pichou is selected to act as a judge for the 2019 International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition (ICCMCC). Dr. Maria Pichou is Assistant Professor at Leiden University College The Hague.

Information obtained from Czech intelligence authorities has shown that politicians from several European countries, including the Netherlands, are involved in a Russian bribery scandal. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, comments on this in Dutch newspaper ‘NRC’.

On 5 April 2017, Prof. Christa Tobler gave a guest lecture at the Centre for European Studies of the O.P Jindal Global University in Delhi on the topic of „“Brexit“ - what is it about and what could it mean for India?“

Countries in the Global South, including India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Nigeria, are gaining increasing influence in the world economy and in international decision-making. The Netherlands and Europe should strengthen ties with these countries to avoid being sidelined, according to the urgent advice…

The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies is delighted that Brooks Daly will rejoin the LL.M. (Adv.) in International Dispute Settlement and Arbitration as a Visiting Professor in 2024.

In collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, the Europa Institute hosted a roundtable on Thursday 30 May on the theme of the upcoming European elections. The consequences of these elections extend far beyond the European Parliament's political composition: they affect how the European Union is…

Doing a PhD on the side? External PhD candidates, like Joost Van der Helm, just get on and ‘do it’. Besides his hectic job as a justice at the Court of Appeal in The Hague, Van der Helm managed to still find time to write a PhD dissertation.

Fear and hatred of Muslims are rising rapidly to the surface in the United Kingdom, Assistant Professor Tahir Abbas writes in his new book. British politicians and journalists play an insidious role in this, he says.

Claire Vergerio, political scientist at Leiden University, has been awarded a VENI grant by Dutch research organisation NWO. This will allow her to conduct an in-depth analysis of the legal rights and duties of non-state actors involved in warfare. The aim is to tackle some persistent blindspots in…

On 15 February 2022, Irma Mosquera Valderrama, Professor of Tax Governance, holder of the EU Jean Monnet Chair on EU Tax Governance EUTAXGOV and Principal Investigator of the ERC funded project GLOBTAXGOV, participated in the High-Level Webinar Taxation and Business in Africa.

Valedictory lecture

Each year it is estimated that thousands of people fall victim to human trafficking in the Netherlands. Many of these victims are minors. Assistant Professor of Criminal Law Luuk Esser conducted research on the current legislation to combat human trafficking. His PhD defence is on 25 September.

Student Session

Dive into the CJEU’s recent judgment in Case C-356/21 on non-discrimination from three unique perspectives on the 16 February at 17.00 hrs. Abogada Rosa Oyarzabal, Professor Christa Tobler, and Dr Olga Ceran will give you an insider’s view of the case in its legal and national context.

In opdracht van het WODC doen onderzoekers van de Universiteit Leiden onderzoek naar de landelijke daling van het aantal jeugdbeschermingsmaatregelen en jeugdreclasseringstrajecten. Bij dit interdisciplinaire onderzoek zijn onderzoekers van de afdelingen Jeugdrecht en Gezondheidsrecht, Bedrijfswetenschappen…

This new rotating professorship has been established to offer renowned academics the opportunity to teach and conduct research on international children's rights, while at the same time unlocking knowledge that has been acquired worldwide on children's rights.

On 28 January 2022, the Department of Legal Studies (Central European University), the Europa Institute (Leiden University), and the ESIL Interest Group ‘The EU as a Global Actor’ hosted an Expert Panel Discussion on the topic 'AI in the EU and Access to Justice'.

Moritz Jesse and Daniel Carter, both members of the Europa Institute in Leiden, participated in the Conference ‘EU Citizenship and Federalism: The Role of Rights’ in November 2017.

The European Court of Human Rights recently ruled in favour of a group of older Swiss women. The issued concerned the health of senior citizens, especially women, who experienced symptoms as a result of climate change. They claimed that the Swiss Government should have taken more climate action, as…

From 2 to 17 January, Leiden University co-organised an interdisciplinary course on children’s rights, that took place at the Centre for Studies on Justice and Society at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

The man prosecutors say bankrolled the 1994 Rwandan genocide is too ill to stand trial, but the judges in his case said they want to continue with a different type of inquiry. Félicien Kabuga, 90, is suffering from severe dementia. Judges want to move ahead with alternative proceedings that would not…

The Dutch cabinet wants to stop organisations from using zzp’ers (self-employed professionals) for work that is deemed to be embedded in the organisation. The only exception would be when a person explicitly meets certain criteria for entrepreneurs.

On Thursday 30 March, the Europa Institute held its second ‘Meet the Author’ event.

Between 5 and 8 September, PhD Candidate Esteban Szmulewicz attended the 45th annual Conference of the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA), which was organised in close cooperation with The Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb and other key partners.

Female workers at Tesco Stores, a chain of supermarkets in the UK, brought a case to the European Court of Justice claiming they received unequal pay for doing work of equal value to that of their male colleagues.

The Netherlands must introduce a lower limit for tax on profits to prevent major multinationals not paying tax on a structural basis.

De coalitie houdt woensdag en donderdag topoverleg over de koopkrachtdaling van 6,8%. Het kabinet wil deze ongekende koopkrachtval compenseren, maar hoe kan dat effectief en enigszins betaalbaar?

The government’s intention to be more transparent following the childcare benefits scandal is long overdue according to Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law. One of the problems behind the benefits scandal was the lack of openness of the authorities. The government…

The European Commission has started an investigation into possible illegal state aid from the Netherlands to Nike. It is high time that agreements between Tax Authorities and multinationals are made public, says Associate Professor in Tax Law Jan Vleggeert.

The Dublin Regulation is under pressure. The Regulation should ensure that refugees are able to apply for asylum in the first country they enter. This pressure is nothing new, says Jorrit Rijpma, Professor of European Law, to Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant.

Research conducted by Dutch news programme ‘Nieuwsuur’ into the work carried out by Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands for victims of the childcare benefits scandal raises many questions. Legal experts are puzzled as to how the Cabinet at the time assigned the tasks. Geerten Boogaard, Professor…

A national survey conducted by Dutch newspapers Dagblad van het Noorden, Turbantia, Brabants Dagblad and the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (FNV) shows that staff working in disability and mental health care often face violence in the workplace. In the three northern provinces of the Netherlands,…

Now that the government has collapsed, the Netherlands will have to vote once more. The elections will not take place before November, says the Electoral Council. The Electoral Act sets deadlines for various steps to be taken before new elections can take place. The fact that the summer recess and autumn…

Reijer Passchier, universitair staatsrecht en hoogleraar digitalisering en de democratische rechtsstaat aan de OU, waarschuwt in HP/De Tijd hoe weinig controle we werkelijk hebben over kunstmatige intelligentie, terwijl machtige bedrijven steeds meer invloed krijgen op onze democratische samenleving…

Dutch talkshow ‘Vier Avonden op Rij’ focused on the fall of the Schoof Cabinet, caused by PVV leader Geert Wilders withdrawing from the coalition. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, called the fall of the cabinet 'dramatic'.

On 22 April 2016, the Social Justice Expertise Center (SJEC) hosted the first global conference for international labour law judges and other adjudicators themed ‘Ensuring Coherence in Fundamental Labour Rights Case Law: Challenges and Opportunities’ at the Academy Building of the University of Leid…

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…

Amsterdam-based bicycle company VanMoof was declared bankrupt in court this week. The company had been struggling with financial problems for some time and recently closed its doors, causing great concern among customers. Several affected customers whose newly bought or repaired bikes were still being…