Leiden Law School’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies is pleased to announce its first massive open online course (MOOC). On 18 January 2016, International Law in Action: A Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague will go live on Coursera, an education platform that…

On 2 September 2022, 300 students received their Bachelor Diploma of International Studies. The students were awarded their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden, in front of a large audience of family and friends. With about 1000 people present, including the graduates, the International Studies…

A series of workshops at Leiden University and the University of Hamburg will act as a forum in which international legal scholars whose research adopts a behavioural approach can present their works-in-progress and gain feedback from a broad range of peers, including scholars in economics and cognitive…

Gender sidestreaming? Analysing gender mainstreaming in national militaries and international peacekeeping

The Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum on International Humanitarian Law and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies hosted the second annual “International Humanitarian Law Clinic Exchange Conference”, from 8 to 14 December 2016, in The Hague. The idea to organize the conference stems from a collaboration…

The Frits Kalshoven International Humanitarian Law Competition, organised by the Netherlands Red Cross and Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, lets students explore the legal framework governing armed conflict. Eight teams from Belgium and the Netherlands competed in the 19th edition (23–27 February 2026) in…

On 3 March 2022, Cambridge University Press published An Introduction to Public International Law, a co-authored textbook led by Cecily Rose.

On 7 November 2018, Catherine Harwood defended her thesis 'Navigating Between Principle and Pragmatism: The Roles and Functions of Atrocity-Related United Nations Commissions of Inquiry in the International Legal Order'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. L.J. Van den Herik and Prof.…

The world is full of wars, and no war is without its dead. What happens to the bodies of fatal casualties of armed conflict? The winner of the faculty Jongbloed Thesis Prize 2015 is Welmoet Wels (Public International Law). Her thesis Dead body management in armed conflict: paradoxes in trying to do…

The IHL Clinic offers outstanding LLM candidates the chance to work pro bono on KGF projects and gain practical experience in humanitarian law in cooperation with practitioners working in the humanitarian field.

Meet the ABPP2027 organisers

James Shires has contributed a chapter to the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon 2021), which gathers 20 articles from the law, technology and strategy domains.

On Friday 29 August 2025, 370 students received their Bachelor's degree in International Studies. The diplomas were awarded in the historic setting of the Pieterskerk in Leiden. Family members, friends, and staff gathered to celebrate this joyous occasion with the graduates in a packed Pieterskerk.

This article discusses the degree of independence that is required for national human rights institutions to function successfully.

Carsten Stahn has just published Confronting Colonial Objects: Histories, Legalities and Access to Culture. The book is part of the OUP Cultural Heritage Law and Policy Series.

On 28 February and 1 March 2019, Stichting Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (Foundation) held its first PhD Workshop on European and International Insolvency Law. The workshop attracted more than 25 applications from PhD students from all over Europe. At the workshop young researchers had a chance…

Research.com publishes the 2026 ranking of top legal scholars. Carsten Stahn, professor of International Criminal Law & Global Justice, ranks #244 worldwide and #7 in the Netherlands.

The organisation of the Platform for Postcolonial Readings is a collaboration of main organisers and occasional guest organisers.

Between 11 and 13 September 2025, the ESIL Annual Conference took place in Berlin, Germany. This year's conference unfolded on the theme 'Reconstructing International Law', attracting an unprecedented number of legal scholars from all over the world.

On Monday, 18 January 2016 the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies hosted a roundtable on the practice, process, strategy and impact of the amicus curiae in international criminal trials.

Aileen Schuurmans finished her MA International Relations this summer. She wrote an article titled 'How to Change the Story of the Pandemic with Daoist IR', which got published on E-International Relations, the world’s leading open access website for students and scholars of international politics.

We are pleased to invite abstracts for a conference on ‘Counterclaims in International Law’ to be held at Leiden University on 27 June 2024, in collaboration with Queen Mary University of London.

Are you interested in the BA programme International Studies but not yet sure what it all means?

Every year, the Netherlands Red Cross and Belgian Red Cross-Flanders organise the Frits Kalshoven International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition. Eight teams from Belgium and the Netherlands participated in the 17th edition of the competition, from 5-7 March 2025 in The Hague. The team from Leiden…

From 29 to 30 October 2024, the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum (KGF) and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies had the pleasure of hosting an inspiring authors’ workshop in The Hague for the forthcoming Research Handbook, Victims' Rights under Public International Law, edited by Dr Robert Heinsch…

The UN is highly critical of the Netherlands over the effect of its Work and Income (Capacity for Work) Act (WIA). Contrary to agreements, workers who are less than 35% incapacitated for work receive no benefits and the income of their partner is taken into account when they apply for welfare benefits.…

Professor Eric De Brabandere has been appointed as the new Director/Head of Department of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, succeeding to Professor Nico Schrijver who has led the Centre for more than 12 years. Eric De Brabandere holds the chair of international dispute settlement law…

After a successful pilot in 2016, the second edition of the International Arbitration Course took place at the end of August. The course is a tripartite collaboration between the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, the Department of Civil Law of Leiden Law School and the Permanent Court…

Complex systems can be characterized as systems in which multiple components interact with each other, often in non-linear ways. The main goal of this research will be to investigate if and how the international tax system can be defined and modelled as a complex system. Approaching the international…

Peak Performance: Collaborative Crisis Management Before and During International Summits. This comparative case study probes into conditions for collaborative governance in the security organisation of international summits.

On 19 juni 2018 Matthew Gillett defended his doctoral thesis ‘Prosecuting environmental harm before the international criminal court’. His supervisor is prof. dr. L.J. van den Herik.

Women In International Security (WIIS) is a global organisation dedicated to advancing the leadership and professional development of women in the field of international peace and security. As part of her research on women, peace and security, Dr. Vanessa Newby at the Institute for Security and Global…

University lecturer Vineet Thakur hosts a series of webcasts for the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement. Karen Smith and Audrey Alejandro joined him to discuss western dominance in the field of International Relations.

We are glad to present our new research report on Exploring the Frontiers of International Law (EFIL). International Law has traditionally been one of the flagship areas of the Leiden Law School. The report provides a taste of our rich research agenda in international law.

Institute of Political Science

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.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FSW) offers an inspiring and competitive, international working and learning environment to around 1,025 staff and around 7,000 students from home and abroad on 13 bachelor's, master's and research master's programmes.

'After my BA International Studies I decided to do the MA International Relations, and that proved to be a good choice,' Mats Radeck (23, Trier, Germany) says. He is in the last phase of the MA, working on his thesis on