In an opinion piece in Dutch newspaper NRC, Corné Smit, teaching and research staff member at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, discusses the possibilities and possible advantages of a minority government.

Een minderheidskabinet komt in Nederland nauwelijks voor. Dat ligt volgens Corné Smit, gastmedewerker staats- en bestuursrecht, die onlangs op dit onderwerp promoveerde, aan de diepgewortelde traditie van meerderheidskabinetten, zegt hij in EenVandaag.

Uit onderzoek van Dagblad Parool, blijkt dat de Amsterdamse sportschool Saint & Stars zich mogelijk schuldig maakt aan arbeidsuitbuiting. ‘Als het kan worden bewezen komt je er niet makkelijk mee weg’, zegt Gerard Boot, hoogleraar Arbeidsrecht.

Na de 7 oktober demonstraties schoffeerde Wilders burgemeester Halsema, door op X te roepen dat zij het land moet verlaten. Volgens experts overtreedt Wilders hiermee de gemaakte afspraken met de coalitiepartijen. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, hierover aan het woord in het Parool.

In the public debate on the coronavirus, bold assertions from academics, doctors and other medical practitioners are often heard. For example, that the coronavirus would be no more deadly than the flu. Or that measures to combat the virus like wearing face coverings are unnecessary.

Turbulent times in Italy: Deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini wants new elections so that he can become prime minister himself. He is campaigning on social media, including photos of himself posing in his swimming trunks.

Federica Antoniani is the recipient of the very first MA thesis prize awarded by Leiden University’s Europe Hub. She received the prize for her thesis entitled 'Accounting for Accountability: Europol between Protecting Personal Data and Fostering Innovative Artificial Intelligence for Law Enforcement…

Na Shell en Unilever is DSM het derde grote bedrijf dat vertrekt uit Nederland. Fiscalisten zijn niet verbaasd: het sentiment over het vestigingsklimaat hier is momenteel minder gunstig.

Environmental organisation Greenpeace wants to see a drastic reduction in nitrogen deposition on the Netherlands’ most vulnerable nature conservation areas. This would extend beyond the nitrogen targets that the Dutch government is currently striving to meet. Rogier Kegge, Assistant Professor of Constitutional…

The Netherlands will comply with the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Netanyahu and proceed to arrest him as soon as he enters Dutch territory. Jens Iverson,Assistant Professor of Public International Law, discusses the issue in Dutch daily newspaper ‘Trouw’.

Financial support that wealthy countries provide to poorer countries in order to help them combat climate change and the associated emissions was the central topic of this year's UN Climate Change Conference in Baku. Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, discussed…

Dr Amy Strecker (Heritage Dept., Faculty of Archaeology) has recently been awarded a LGI BREED grant to develop her project on property and spatial justice in international law. Building on her previous research into landscape protection from cultural heritage, environmental and human rights perspectives…

The new European migration pact is intended to speed up the asylum process in Europe. A pragmatic and realistic plan that will at last provide a fast and fair handling of asylum applications in Europe.

Members of Parliament will soon be discussing with various organisations what the Netherlands can do to stop pushbacks, a policy where migrants are forced back at the European borders.

Pieter Omtzigt, a strong contender in the polls for the Dutch general elections with his New Social Contract party (NSC), has said he would prefer to remain in parliament as party leader. He is not saying who the NSC candidate for prime minister might be and will only reveal this after the elections.…

De dagen van demissionair premier Dick Schoof zijn geteld. Met de Algemene Politieke Beschouwingen achter de rug komt een einde aan een ongebruikelijk experiment: een partijloze premier. Hoogleraar staatsrecht, Wim Voermans, spreekt in EenVandaag over een ‘een deerlijk mislukt experiment, eens maar…

On 6 September 2019, the Governor of Murang'a County, Mwangi wa Iria, signed a declaration at Leiden University to protect the rights of children.

A new report reveals five actions that leaders can take to contribute to economic development, advance global security and sustainability, and make space a safe and globally accessible domain.

On Friday 3rd June, the Europa Institute hosted a Leiden Law Exchange (LLX) on the British referendum on membership of the European Union. In a roundtable discussion, academics, policy makers and other experts engaged in a lively debate on the legal and political implications of a ‘Brexit’ or a ‘Bremain’…

Vice-President Vance uitte bij zijn recente bezoek aan Groenland kritiek op Denemarken. Trump had eerder al afstand genomen van Europa. Luuk van Middelaar, hoogleraar Grondvesten van de Europese Unie, en oprichter van het Brussels Instituut voor geopolitiek, deed een analyse over de situatie in Nieu…

Professor Maartje van der Woude, Professor of Law & Society at the Van Vollenhoven Institute, has been appointed as one of the three new series editors for the Routledge Studies in Criminal Justice, Borders and Citizenship.

Gedupeerden krijgen maar met mondjesmaat duidelijkheid over hun schadevergoeding in de toeslagenaffaire. Ymre Schuurmans, hoogleraar staats- en bestuursrecht, stelt dat het vooral misgaat door de complexiteit en onduidelijkheid over wie recht heeft op welke compensatie, zegt zij in de uitzending van…

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.

Conference

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…

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.

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.

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…

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.

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…

Book Launch

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

Lecture

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!’

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

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…