While acknowledging prominent legal-philosophical debates, this project proposes a radically different approach to provide insights into the concept of the rule of law.

Legal education initiative of the Leiden University, the University of Groningen and Universitas Indonesia.

This article studies the perceived legitimacy of EU enforcement actions.

This article investigates the causes and examines how differing public perceptions of the rule of law contribute to this trend.

The Editorial comment in the June issue of the Common Market Law Review examines three different aspects of the rule of law in relation to the European Union. Despite, or because of, the many challenges facing the Union, these questions are of continuing importance. The Union itself is based on legal…

On 1 October 2019, Dr. Darinka Piqani co-organized and moderated a panel discussion on the theme of “Rule of law challenges and prospects in Albania and North Macedonia”.

On 1 December 2023, Fatma Çapkurt was appointed as deputy chair of the State Committee on the Rule of Law.

On Friday 3 February, Minister Bruins Slot of the Interior and Kingdom Relations appointed Fatma Çapkurt, of the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, to the Dutch State Committee on the Rule of Law. Chaired by Henk Kummeling, Rector Magnificus of Utrecht University, this State Committee…

On 4 September, Eva Grosfeld and Armin Cuyvers presented at the UACES Annual Conference in Belfast in a Themed Track on empirical approaches to the rule of law. Their contribution to the panel focused on the approach of the Court of Justice to the rule of law and how this approach affects citizens’…

On 7th November 2018 Kristel van Kruisbergen was guest speaker for an event organised by the European Union Student Association (EUSA) on ‘The Rule of Law: the situation in Poland and Hungary’.

The current rule of law debate in the EU occupies not only the mind of European policy and lawmakers, but also of legal practitioners on the ground. The Europa Institute, in collaboration with the Meijers Committee, therefore organized a Leiden Law Exchange (LLX) to facilitate the exchange of ideas…

What are the institutional dynamics of the adoption of internal market legislation?

This 48-month project is to contribute to a solid, accessible, domestically owned knowledge base for people-centred interventions aimed at strengthening access to justice in Libya (A2JiL), and to disseminate such knowledge among stakeholders, enhancing awareness and the capabilities required to provide…

How do poor and disadvantaged Indonesians address the injustices they face in daily life and how can their situation be improved?

The project’s overall goal is to improve Indonesia’s environmental legal framework and its implementation by strengthening the regulatory capacity of the government, and by enhancing the capacity of CSOs and scholars to hold the government accountable for its regulatory performance.

'Een nieuw commentaar op de Grondwet' is the title of a book published this week. The book uses 35 essays to describe the importance of the Constitution to the Dutch democratic rule of law.

This socio-legal study focuses on the implementation of climate change response laws and policies in developing countries with a weak rule-of-law environment, and their (unforeseen) effects on vulnerable peoples’ land rights.

The process of forming a new coalition government in the Netherlands continued in the city of Hilversum last week. Geert Wilders has promised to withdraw three controversial own-initiative proposals in order to accommodate potential coalition partners. But is that enough to persuade Pieter Omtzigt,…

An analysis of people’s access to justice and the working of (legal) institutions in post-conflict, democratic Libya

On Monday 10 December, the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights dr. Adam Bodnar delivered the eighth Raymond and Beverly Sackler Distinguished Lecture on Human Rights at Leiden Law School. The event marked the annual celebration of International Human Rights Day, which was proclaimed to commemorate…

Almost two weeks after the general elections in the Netherlands, negotiations between the leaders of the four parties who were expected to form a new coalition government are still not going smoothly. Ronald Plasterk, appointed as ‘scout’ to explore possible alliances, has said he will need one more…

What does digitalisation mean for the labour market, the business sector and society in general? Reijer Passchier, Assistant Professor Leiden Law School and Professor of Digitalisation and the Democratic Constitutional State at the Open University, spoke at a meeting of the Social and Economic Council…

In recent days and weeks, experts have been falling over themselves to point the finger at the main culprit in the Dutch child benefits scandal. Although this debate is fascinating, equally important are the broader lessons to be drawn from the scandal in relation to constitutional and administrative…

Politicians in The Hague were in for an unpleasant surprise when the interview with CDA politician, and also current Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister, Wopke Hoekstra was published. Especially Hoekstra’s suggestion to let go of the Government’s target to reduce the amount of nitrogen by 2030 raised some…

Fundamental rights protect citizens from the government, but they are not absolute. A crisis situation not only gives the government the opportunity to restrict freedoms, it also shows citizens how far it is willing to go in doing so. ‘In the [Dutch] cabinets led by Rutte, there seems to be less and…

‘Anne Frank inventor of the ballpoint pen’ was the laser message projected onto the Anne Frank House last Monday. It could be viewed on a video shared via Telegram channel ‘The Laser Nazi Bunker’. The suggestion behind the text was that Anne Frank did not write her diary herself.

On 1 October 2022, Reijer Passchier was appointed as Professor Digitalisation and the Democratic Constitutional State at the Open University. Reijer is also working at Leiden University as Assistant Professor at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

What is the impact of digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the functioning of our constitution? Reijer Passchier, Assistant Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, warns in an article in Leidraad that digitalisation is giving the executive branch more and more power, and that…

After the episode of TV programme 'Collegetour' featuring Dutch Minister of Finance Sigrid Kaag, more attention is (rightly) being paid to threats made to politicians. Jeroen ten Voorde, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, answered pressing questions about this topic on Dutch news programme '…

How can the emergence of primary justice systems be facilitated and furthered?

Recently, a pro-Palestine demonstration was held outside the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam during its opening, which was being attended by President Herzog of Israel. Wilders’ response? ‘It smells like a political campaign by the far-left mayor of Amsterdam. Irresponsible.’

How can more people take ownership of technology? Underlying this question is the assumption that not enough people currently own technology. According to Reijer Passchier, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law in Leiden, and Professor of Digitisation and the Democratic Rule of…

Leiden University's Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) and the Montesquieu Institute are jointly launching the ‘Academie voor de Rechtsstaat’ (Academy for the Rule of Law). With this initiative, they intend to offer a course providing in-depth knowledge and insight into the basic principles of the…