On 12 April, Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden Law School, was one of the speakers at a debate organised by platform for investigative journalism Follow the Money to discuss closed government.

On Tuesday 11 October, Demy Jongkind, Louise Verboeket and Veerle van Waarde gave a post-academic course (PAO) at the NetlawAcademy of Netlaw law firms dealing with recent developments related to subsidy law.

Een demonstratie in de Utrechtse gemeenteraad zorgde onlangs voor veel opschudding en leidde tot een aangifte. Volgens Rowie Stolk, universitair docent Staats- en bestuursrecht, ‘is het juist de bedoeling van zo’n demonstratie dat het ophef veroorzaakt en een beetje wringt’. Dit leidt er vaak toe dat…

The tally now stands at a 19th no-confidence motion in the Rutte IV cabinet, though it is just one year old. All Rutte cabinets combined have faced more no-confidence motions in the past 12 years than the entire parliamentary history before it. The score is 1.5 per month, 87 in total as of 2010 which…

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…

For some time now, discussions have been held within the legal profession in the Netherlands about strengthening supervision in the sector and the establishment of a national supervisory authority ('landelijke toezichtautoriteit', LTA). Tom Barkhuysen, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative…

Negatieve ambtelijke adviezen lieten eerder zien dat het uitroepen van een asielcrisis op grond van het vreemdelingennoodrecht vanuit democratisch en rechtsstatelijk oogpunt niet aanvaardbaar is. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar staatsrecht, licht in Nieuwsuur toe welke hordes bij zowel bij de inzet van het…

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…

This book presents concrete solutions for managing the legal risks distorting the development of various areas of EU law. It pursues an innovative and effective approach to identify legal risks, their causes at the EU level and their impacts on the functioning of the Union and its Member States. It…

Het demissionair kabinet zet een koerswijziging in ten opzichte van eerdere ‘stille diplomatie’ strategie. Deze koers bevat o.a. een inreisverbod voor twee extremistische ministers Smotrich en Ben-Guyir. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, zegt in de Volkskrant’ dat het kabinet hiermee een belangrijk…

The jubilee conference for the centenary of the Vereniging van Drentse Gemeenten (the association of municipalities in the province of Drenthe) took place on 23 September. The conference focussed on the collaboration between the municipalities, the province and the water boards in Drenthe past, present,…

Looking back on 2024, Elon Musk and his impact on the global stage, political developments in the Netherlands and the war in Ukraine come to mind. These and other topics were discussed in ‘De Jortcast’, a podcast hosted by Jort Kelder on Dutch radio offering ‘radio therapy against hypes and hysteria’.…

The past decade, against the backdrop of a fragmented political landscape, has witnessed the greatest changes to the Netherlands since the aftermath of the Second World War. The labour market, the housing market, the energy market, the bank system, the pension system, the healthcare system, to name…

The government’s intention to be more transparent following the childcare benefits scandal is long overdue according to Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law. One of the problems behind the benefits scandal was the lack of openness of the authorities. The government…

The Municipality of Veere wants to limit accommodation for tourists. However, this puts a number of council members in a dilemma. Are they allowed to debate the future of tourism in the area while being landlords themselves? Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, comments…

Now that the new Dutch government's plans are set out on paper, the chess game begins for cabinet formation leader Richard van Zwol. He has to make the next move and put together the ministerial team. But how do you know if you’ve made the right move with the right chess piece? And who is a suitable…

Geert Wilders zaait twijfel door de verkiezingsuitslag in twijfel te trekken, wat volgens critici herinnert aan de tactiek van Donald Trump. Hoogleraar staatsrecht, Wim Voermans, noemt het in het Nederlands Dagblad een ‘trumpiaans soort hetze.’

Minister Judith Uitermark proposes that 125 seats will become electable through provincial electoral lists and only 25 seats through a national electoral list, according to Dutch RTL news. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, comments on the plan.

Op 17 februari 1983 trad de geheel herziene Nederlandse Grondwet in werking. Het radioprogramma Villa VdB – gepresenteerd door Jurgen van den Berg – besteedde aandacht aan het 42-jarige jubileum van die gebeurtenis. Van den Berg ging daarover in gesprek met hoogleraar staatsrecht. Wim Voermans.

Public authorities fail to inform citizens, or inform them too little or too late, about the use of algorithmic profiling in administrative decisions. This is clear from research conducted by Anne Meuwese and Fatma Çapkurt on the legally and practically responsible use of profiling algorithms.

Now that the government has collapsed, the Netherlands will have to vote once more. The elections will not take place before November, says the Electoral Council. The Electoral Act sets deadlines for various steps to be taken before new elections can take place. The fact that the summer recess and autumn…

The aim of the Scholars for Scholars Fund is to build a sustainable support infrastructure at Leiden University for researchers affected by war and unrest.

Dutch right-wing political party Forum for Democracy has repeatedly demonstrated that it has no lower limit when it comes to morals. Should the courts in the Netherlands protect democracy by banning parties like Forum? Several legal experts from Leiden University commented on this question in newspaper…

Legal frameworks are often a pitfall when it comes to citizens’ initiatives. Esmee Driessen, a guest lecturer at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law and an expert in citizen participation, conducted research on the support and facilitation of citizens' initiatives. In a Dutch journal…

There’s a trend going around within administrative law: submitting court documents late to make things as difficult as possible for the opposing party. As Mr. magazine reports, Tom Barkhuysen, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law and partner in administrative law at Stibbe, argues in the…

Door onduidelijke stikstofregels komen milieuzaken steeds vaker voor de rechter. De zaak van een Reeuwijkse varkenshouder leidt al tientallen jaren lang tot een getouwtrek tussen een milieuorganisatie, de provincie en de rechter. Rogier Kegge, universitair docent Staats- en bestuursrecht, bespreekt…

Rowie Stolk, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law has been admitted as a visiting researcher to UCLA School of Law (University of California, Los Angeles) where she will stay during the first semester 2019 – 2020.

Minister Wiersma heeft circa vijftien informatieverzoeken, over de hoeveelheid vee en de locaties van stallen van veehouders stilgelegd. Universitair hoofddocent Staats- en bestuursrecht, Annemarie Drahmann, stelt in het NRC dat de wet verplicht dat dergelijke milieugegevens openbaar moeten worden g…

De rol van de Raad van State staat opnieuw ter discussie. Kritiek uit de politiek botst met staatsrechtelijke analyses, terwijl experts waarschuwen voor aantasting van het gezag van het instituut. Staatsrechtgeleerde, Wim Voermans, duidt de zaak in een artikel van JAS nieuws.

Minister Van Weel ligt onder vuur omdat hij de Tweede Kamer niet volledig informeerde over een contract tussen de Koninklijke Marechaussee en het Amerikaanse technologiebedrijf Palantir. Reijer Passchier, hoogleraar digitalisering en de democratische rechtstaat (OU) en universitair docent staatsrecht,…

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…

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 Municipality of Dronten is temporarily bailing out the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) in Ter Apel by accommodating 360 asylum seekers at the Biddinghuizen event site in the province of Flevoland. This helps the COA avoid a sky-high fine. Rowie Stolk, Assistant Professor…

PhD candidate Demy Jongkind and Associate Professor Annemarie Drahmann – both part of the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law – have been interviewed by the Kenniscentrum Europa Decentraal (KED) on the Dutch Services Act (DW) and cannabis tolerance policy.

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.

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.’

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.

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…

Momenteel vindt onder Trump in de VS, een snelle ontmanteling van verschillende instituties, die de democratische rechtstaat stutten, plaats. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar staatsrecht, acht de kans aanzienlijk kleiner dat dit in Nederland zal gebeuren door ons meerpartijenstelsel, het poldermodel en het…

From January to March 2020 Ymre Schuurmans, full professor in Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden University, will be a visiting professor at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

On 21 June, Ingrid Leijten gave a lecture at the Centre for Human Rights of the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (CHREN) in Germany. The interdisciplinary centre is linked to a Master’s Programme in Human Rights with students from all over the world.

It is becoming increasingly common for large Dutch municipalities, including the Municipality of Amsterdam, to allow special enforcement officers to wear religious symbols such as the kippah and headscarf. Dutch Minister of Justice Dilan Yesilgöz and PVV party leader Geert Wilders are opposed to this…

Recently, the University of Amsterdam was the scene of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that got out of hand. The demonstrators included rioters who wished to remain anonymous by wearing face coverings. Several experts, including Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, spoke…

The public disclosure of documents under the Dutch Open Government Act (Woo) is often delayed, especially when the information is considered socially or politically sensitive. Dr Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative law, explains the case on platform for investigative…

Although Dick Schoof, of no party affiliation, has been nominated by the four coalition parties as the new Dutch Prime Minister, various experts have expressed doubts. Can he lead the new cabinet? Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, spoke to 'RTL Nieuws'.

De uitnodiging staat ter discussie vanwege Bosmans controversiële uitspraken over het slavernijverleden. Bosman is echter in de hoedanigheid van voorzitter van de Tweede Kamer uitgenodigd en niet als PVV’er. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, spreekt over dit onderwerp in het Parool.

This semester, Ingrid Leijten is appointed as a guest professor at the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU).

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.…