This conference is organised by the European Society for International Law Interest Group ‘EU as a Global Actor’, supported by the University of Leiden (Europa Institute, Europe hub, Ukraine hub), KU Leuven and City Law School, City, University of London. It will be held at the Leiden Law School on…

On Tuesday 26 June Linlin Sun will defend her dissertation entitled ‘International Environmental Obligations and Liabilities in Deep Seabed Mining’. The dissertation has been written under the supervision of prof. dr. N.J. Schrijver and prof. dr. E.C.P.D.C. De Brabandere.

The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies & The Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum on International Humanitarian Law cordially invite you to a Panel Discussion on “The Dynamics of the Syria Conflict: Challenges for Contemporary International Law” .

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.

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.

Marc Koper, Professor of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, has been elected as President Elect of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE). He will be President Elect for two years starting January 2019, followed by two years as President and two years as Immediate Past President.

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…

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.…

Find out how to apply for International Financial Law at Leiden University by following our step-by step guide.

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…

The ongoing conflicts between the United States and its allies and Russia and between the United States and its allies and China reflect both the anarchical nature of the international system and the uncertainty with which decision-makers and diplomats have to deal with in attempting to solve the conflicts…

From 29 – 31 May, second-year students of the Advanced MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) took part in the programme's annual visit to Geneva, Switzerland. Students participated in various institutional visits, and got to hear first-hand from practitioners and experts on a variety of…

This academic year 49 promising international students will start their master’s degree here thanks to a Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS). The students, all from outside the EU, were welcomed in a special ceremony on 5 September. Who are they?

Marc Koper has been selected as one of the six new fellows in 2015 of the International Society of Electrochemistry.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is the world’s leading institution devoted to international investment dispute settlement.

Environmental researcher Paul Behrens generated both international as national media attention with his recent publication in Nature Energy. The media included Science Daily, Quartz and the Dutch financial newspaper Financieel Dagblad. In his publication, Behrens warns for possible power disruptions…

Global climate change is manifest by local-scale changes in precipitation and temperature patterns, including the frequency of extreme weather events (EWEs). EWEs are associated with a myriad range of adverse environmental and societal consequences, including negative impacts to agriculture and food…

Whether you continue to live in Europe or move abroad, the LL.M. International Financial Law prepares you for a successful career in a constantly growing global field.

Since its foundation in 1947, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has seen a huge rise in the number of cases brought to it. The tally currently stands at 22 cases. Last week alone, the ICJ issued three rulings in important cases. ‘It’s raining rulings, which is exceptional, ’ Eric De Brabandere,…

Vanaf september 2025 biedt de Faculteit Governance and Global Affairs de bacheloropleiding Cybersecurity & Cybercrime aan. Deze unieke Nederlandstalige opleiding leidt studenten op tot veelzijdige cyberexperts. ‘Er is veel vraag naar specialisten op het gebied van cybersecurity en cybercrime’.

Dr. Cecily Rose, Associate Professor at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, has appointed by the Dutch Government to the Advisory Committee on Public International Law, with effect as of 1 January 2025.

Extracurricular activities are a key component of the master's programme in International Financial Law. You will have the opportunity to participate in a number of activities.

International prosecutors, for instance at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, investigate particularly serious crimes such as genocide. They decide, among other things, whether or not to prosecute. PhD candidate Cale Davis investigated how prosecutors come to such decisions and will defend…

The UN International Law Commission was established soon after the Second World War with the mandate to promote the progressive development of international law and its codification. It is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly.

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…

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.

On 14 November, Ilya Kokorin defended the thesis 'Intra-group financing and enterprise group insolvency: problems, principles and solutions'. The doctoral research was supervised by Matthias Haentjens and Reinout Vriesendorp.

The Department of Company Law and Financial Law conducts research in areas including the law of legal entities and corporations, the law of financial obligations and liability, corporate governance, sustainability, national and EU financial supervision, mergers and acquisitions, insolvency law, and…

On 31 January 2025, Leiden University participated in the Dutch National Rounds of the 2025 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, the world’s oldest and largest moot court competition, featuring more than 800 teams from over 100 countries and jurisdictions.

Valentina Carraro explores the relationship between overlapping UN human rights institutions, specifically the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Eva Michaels talks about the current international security environment, including intelligence issues with Sir John Sawers in an interview in El País.

September 2022 marks the tenth anniversary of International Studies bachelor's programme. Some (former) staff members tell us what they think makes the Faculty of Humanities' largest programme so special.

On 11 January, the book chapter ‘Duty of care as a judicial review tool for SSM composite procedures’ written by Barbora Budinská and Jouke Tegelaar was awarded the 2023 Meijers Prize for best publication by a PhD candidate published in 2022–2023 in the research programme ‘The Progression of EU law’…

From 16 to 18 June 2019, Professor Matthias Haentjens, Professor Reinout Vriesendorp, emeritus Professor Bob Wessels, and PhD candidate Shuai Guo from Leiden Law School attended the 19th International Insolvency Institute (III) Annual Conference held in Barcelona, Spain.

From 4-5 March 2021, the Stichting Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection invites PhD students from Europe and beyond to participate in a third (online) edition of the PhD workshop on European/International Insolvency Law.

From Wednesday-Thursday 19-20 April 2023 the Stichting Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (BWILC) invites PhD students from Europe and beyond to participate in the 5th edition of the PhD workshop on European/International Insolvency Law. Following four successful editions, PhD students are invited…

Alexandre Genest will defend his PhD dissertation ‘Performance Requirement Prohibitions in International Investment Law’ as part of a double PhD programme at the Universities of Leiden and Ottawa.

Over the past two centuries, the concept of human dignity has moved from the fringes to the centre of the international legal system. This book is the first single-authored detailed historical, theoretical and legal investigation of human dignity as a normative value, the intellectual sources that shaped…

At Leiden University College we are determined to offer the best Liberal Arts & Sciences programme, and we believe that our students have the potential to play a leading role in tackling the challenges our world faces. Therefore, we aim to ensure that any student - regardless of their background - can…

On 12 September 2019, Michiel Rhoen defended his thesis 'Big Data, Big Risks, Big Power Shifts: Evaluating the General Data Protection Regulation as an instrument of risk control and power redistribution in the context of big data'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. G.J. Zwenne and Prof.…

On 17 October 2019, Laure d'Hondt defended her thesis 'Addressing Industrial Pollution in Indonesia. The Nexus between Regulation and Redress seeking'. The doctoral research was supervised by prof. A.W. Bedner and dr. J.A.C. Vel.