The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies is proud to announce a fortified partnership with the International Bar Association to annually stage the largest moot competition focused on international criminal law: The International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition.

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.

During an evacuation, all employees and students gather at the front or backside of the building. If this is too close to the calamity, the emergency response coordinators will guide you to the car park of the Willem Einthoven Building (other side Sandifortdreef).

The sixth edition of the Max Rood Moot Court Competition was held on Friday 24 June 2022. This Dutch interuniversity labour law moot court unfortunately could not take place the last two years due to the coronavirus, but this year teams from four universities took on each other again. The day was organised…

How can we safeguard children’s rights in conflict zones? The winners of the 2025 Children’s Rights Moot Court Competition, team 19 from O.P. Jindal Global University in India, show unique potential to bring about positive change in this area.

The Leiden University team won the 46th edition of the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition. Besides winning the final round, the team was also awarded the prize for Best Memorial on Behalf of the Respondent.

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice. This year more than 570 law schools from across the world participated.

Leiden University hosted the 47th Telders International Law Moot Court Competition, which took place between 30 May and 1 June 2024.

It was the seventeenth time the Moot Court Challenge Cup had been awarded! This time for the best pleader in the autumn term of the 2025–2026 academic year.

A team of four Leiden master's students has qualified for the final of the prestigious Helga Pederson Moot Court Competition 2022. This final will take place in May at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The MA International Relations program at Leiden University convened a roundtable forum at Leiden University The Hague Campus to examine the international and domestic stakes of Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and detention under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is under intense scrutiny when it comes to prosecuting international crimes. This due to increasing conflicts worldwide. During her visit to Leiden, the President of the Court, Judge Tomoko Akane, said that the Criminal Court will not yield to threats.

Grotius Dialogue

The 2024 Thorbecke Lecture was held on Friday 19 April, with the theme of ‘The role of the Court of Justice in protecting the consumer’. Before the lecture, students from Leiden Law School and Ghent University’s Faculty of Law competed in a Moot Court competition based on the same topic.

The Leiden University team representing the International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) won the World Finals of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition that took place in Paris on 20 September 2022.

A team of three Leiden tax law students have reached the finals of the most prestigious worldwide moot court competition in the field of international and European tax law.

Over the course of eight weeks, twelve law students spent several days at the various sectors of the Court of The Hague where they learned all about the work of judges, judicial assistants and legal advisers. At the final session on 10 March, they shared their experiences.

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…

This was the tenth occasion that the Moot Court Challenge Cup has been awarded! This time for the best oral argument at the Moot Court held in the spring of academic year 2021-2022.

Like many moot court competitions around the world, the Leiden-Sarin International Air Law Moot Court Competition was conducted fully online this year. The International Air Law Moot Court is an unparalleled forum for bringing together students and aviation professionals who share a passion for air…

When an international cartel is exposed, the parties involved often face punishment by more than one authority for the same behaviour. There is very little international coordination in the actions of these authorities. Pieter Huizing claims that this can, and must, change. PhD defence on 10 March 2…

Lecture, Studium Generale

On 22 November, Tom Buitelaar, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, presents his new book ‘Assisting International Justice’. Five questions to Buitelaar about the book and the book presentation.

The team from Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) came out on top at the international online Moot Court organised by Leiden University and law firm Baker McKenzie.

Winners of Children's Rights Moot Court 2023

48 student teams from all over the world will be taking part in the international online moot court competition. The event is organised by Leiden University in partnership with Baker McKenzie.

Compared to suspects with the Dutch nationality, foreign nationals face court proceedings more often and are given a prison sentence more often than Dutch suspects. This was the outcome of research conducted by Hilde Wermink, Assistant Professor at Leiden Law School, and American sociologist Michael…

As part of the course 'Masterclass at the Court of The Hague', twelve law students spent several days at the court with judges, court lawyers and legal advisers over the course of seven weeks. At the final session on 13 March, they presented their experiences.

The Moot Court trophy has been awarded for the fifteenth time! This time it went to the best oralist in the spring of academic year 2024-2025.

The Moot Court trophy has been awarded for the fourteenth time! This time, it went to the best pleader in the spring of the 2023-2024 academic year.

On 8 and 9 July 2022, Leiden Law School hosted the second conference of the Research Group on Institutions for Conflict Resolution (COI).

Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded NWO Open Competition grants in the Science domain. This is for research into subjects such as immune cells in tumours, antibiotic resistance and magnetic semiconductors.

This is the eleventh time that the Moot Court Challenge Cup has been awarded! This time for best counsel in academic year 2022-2023.

The House of Representatives in the Netherlands has requested advice from the Council of State about combining membership of the House of Representatives with holding a post in the cabinet. Geerten Boogaard sees this as a sign that the Netherlands is moving towards a constitutional court.

International courts and tribunals depend on state funding, creating a potential risk of undue state interference in judicial processes. In her doctoral thesis, Maria Manolecsu explores mechanisms that safeguard judicial independence, ensuring that courts can adjudicate without external pressure or…