Information provided by the Tax and Customs Administration is something that concerns every citizen. So it is not surprising that the Tax hotline receives around 10 million calls each year. The Benefits Affair emphasised the citizen’s perspective in communications with the Tax and Customs Administration.…

On Wednesday 7 June 2023, Dr Yvonne Erkens, Kate Verhoeff, Emma Snel, and Fleur Walravens of the Department of Labour Law in Leiden, gave a presentation on The Database of Business Ethics for the Oxford Business and Human Rights Network (OxBHR) at the University of Oxford.

This week an article was published in the American popular science magazine Scientific American on the uncertainty surrounding the extent to which territory can be claimed on the moon.

On Wednesday 18 November 2021, Jorrit Rijpma was part of a panel at a conference organised by ERA, Academy of European Law. The question discussed was how the protection of the EU’s external borders and Schengen could be best achieved.

Esteban Szmulewicz, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden University and expert on decentralisation issues, gave an online presentation of his research before the subcommittee on Political System, Constitutional Reform and Form of State in Chile and reported…

On 25 November 2019, Christa Tobler gave a lecture on

Anne Meuwese, hoogleraar Public Law & Governance of Artificial Intelligence, heeft in een uitzending van een EenVandaag NPO Radio1 een vraag van een luisteraar beantwoord. De vraag, ingegeven door de wens een apart ‘ministerie van Digitale Zaken’ te creëren, luidde of tijdens een regeerperiode een nieuw…

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.

On the 22nd of April 2021, the students of the LL.M. European Law had the opportunity to virtually visit the European Commission.

On 11 April 2016 the European Center for Connstitutional and Human Rights hosted a Round Table on topics related to the EU agency Frontex.

Het rapport van de Commissie Sorgdrager naar aanleiding van de Hawija-zaak, wijst uit dat Defensie niet transparant is over eigen fouten. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, bevestigt in Nieuwsuur dat ‘Defensie een patroon laat zien van verkeerd en onjuist informeren van de Tweede Kamer.’

‘Nederland is verworden tot een digitale kolonie en dit is ondermijnend voor onze democratie’ stelt Reijer Passchier, universitair docent staatsrecht en hoogleraar digitalisering en democratische rechtsstaat aan de OU, in een uitzending van NPO-radio1.

Omtzigt's new political party 'Nieuw Sociaal Contract' focuses on two key issues: livelihood security and good governance. A candidate list does not exist yet, a substantive programme does. What opportunities are lying in wait for the veteran politician? Dutch television programme Op1 put this question…

Het Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers (COA) moet dwangsommen gaan betalen aan de gemeente Westerwolde bij overbezetting in Ter Apel. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staats- en Bestuursrecht, spreekt zich bij Sven op 1 uit tegen de maatregel: ‘Ze willen chaos creëren.’

Nederland en Europa liggen ver achter op de VS in de AI-markt. Beljaarts doet de oproep dat Nederland een supercomputer moet bouwen, om zich stevig te kunnen positioneren. Reijer Passchier, universitair docent Staatsrecht en hoogleraar Digitalisering aan de OU, waarschuwt in EenVandaag voor de dominantie…

Digitalisering raakt iedereen, maar speelt nauwelijks een rol in verkiezingsdebatten. In een opiniestuk in de Volkskrant pleit Reijer Passchier, universitair docent staatsrecht en hoogleraar digitalisering aan de OU voor politieke urgentie en visie op digitale vraagstukken.

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…

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.

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…

The largest fertility clinic in the Netherlands lied to women, sperm donors, and the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate. On ‘Nieuwsuur’, Mirjam Sombroek van Doorm, Professor of Law and Health, foresees legal consequences: 'The situation is too serious.'

Study information

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.

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…

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.

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.

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…

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.

It poured down when Alexander Gallo received his diploma from West Point Military Academy. A bad sign, people said back then. It was June 2001, three months before 9/11. The now 46-year-old American fought in Iraq, did research in Afghanistan and stands in Leiden today, defending his dissertation on…

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.

Valedictory lecture

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…

Door de kalender-indeling 2026 zijn er weinig aaneengesloten vrije dagen rond Kerst en Nieuwjaar zonder vakantiedagen op te nemen. Gerrard Boot, hoogleraar arbeidsrecht, zegt voor Omroep West, dat ‘wanneer Kerst deels of helemaal in weekend valt je als werknemer gewoon pech hebt.’

Student Session

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.