Almost a century passed since the much-celebrated judgement in the case concerning the Factory of Chorzów was delivered. This 1928 judgement of the Permanent Court of International Justice affirmed the essential principle of ‘reparation’ in international law, claiming that ‘restitution’ is the preferred…

Our Master Public International Law (L.L.M.) you will gain understanding of the legislation that governs international relations in a complex global society

On 21 January 2021, Fachrizal Afandi defended his thesis 'Maintaining Order: Public Prosecutors in Post-Authoritarian Countries, the case of Indonesia'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A.W. Bedner and Prof. J.H. Crijns.

This week, Leiden University celebrates the fifteenth year of its world-class International Criminal Law Summer School. The International Criminal Law Summer School has convened every year since the creation of the International Criminal Court, guiding scholars and practitioners in this rapidly developing…

You often hear that the public find court sentences too short. Professor Jan de Keijser emphasises that the gap is reduced if the public is given more information about a case and the sentence.

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

“Transitional justice” is a field of practice, policy and study that focuses on the ways that societies respond to legacies of large-scale atrocities though tribunals, truth commissions, reparations, and other mechanisms.

Does suffering suffice? Andrei Poama, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, and Paul C. Bauer, research fellow at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, did an experimental assessment of desert retributivism. Their resulsts were published on April 20 on PLOS ONE.

The research project addresses the question how complaints in the voluntary youth care system are dealt with on the municipal level and what role (municipal) Children’s Ombudspersons play in this context, through qualitative research methods.

The Department of Child Law offers organisations consultancy expertise in the field of national and international child law and children's rights.

On 25 Februarry 2021 Hart Bloomsbury brings out a monograph by Frans-Willem Korsten: Arts as an Interface of Law and Justice: Affirmation, Disturbance, Disruption. Its working title was 'Annoyance' but that did not sell. A sign in itself; most struggles for justice have been considered as annoying.

The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies continues Leiden University’s long and outstanding tradition in the study and teaching of public international law.

How does the presence of internally displaced people impact on the justice and security concerns of longer-term residents in host communities, and to what extent do residents have different concerns than displaced?

The European Registry of Exonerations database provides an overview of miscarriages of justice in Europe with a view to preventing future errors.

Almost three years after receiving her honorary doctorate, Dr Graça Machel returned to Leiden University. Over the course of two days she spoke with students, researchers, and other interested persons, about human rights – particularly those of women and children – in a world in which these are continually…

Fergus McNeill has been appointed as visiting professor at the Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology of Leiden Law School.

What does it mean to do public policy ethics today? How should philosophers engage with ethical issues in policy-making when policy decisions are circumscribed by political and pragmatic concerns? How do ethical issues in public policy differ between areas such as foreign policy, criminal justice, or…

On 1 February 2018 Nathalie-Sharon Koster defended her doctoral thesis ‘Crime victims and the police’. The doctoral research was supervised by Professor J.P. van der Leun and M.J.J. Kunst.

The nineteenth century truly was an age of transformation. Throughout Europe processes of industrialization and urbanization, nationalization and centralization, changed the structures of society. It was an age in which the number of people living in urban communities grew substantially.

Few events have influenced our global order as intensely as the events of September 11, 2001.

The study at hand focuses on the control of sex and youngsters through the response by authorities most notably from within criminal justice.

Money laundering, fraud, DNA testing: current affairs is key in this master’s programme. 'Forensische Criminologie' provides specialist expertise related to the criminal justice system - from forensic psychiatry to criminalistics.

Leiden is a real student city and has everything you’ll need to turn your time as a student into the time of your life.

Nadine Raaphorst wrote an chapter for The Oxford Handbook of Administrative Justice about how two notions of fairness are studied in street-level bureaucracy literature and about the factors that influence how bureaucrats behave in this regard.

Andrei Poama, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, published a piece in the journal of Political Philosophy about social injustice, disadvantaged offenders and the state's authority to punish.

The German Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung has awarded a Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers to Jannemieke Ouwerkerk for her project ‘The Moral Limits of EU Criminal Law: A Rechtsguts-theory for the European Union’.

Twelve researchers of our Law School have been awarded an ILS seed money grant. This grant enables researchers to create space for preparing a grant proposal for NWO, ERC or otherwise.

What can criminal courts do when the course of justice is obstructed? Countries such as England and Wales apply the instrument contempt of court, which enables the court to act according to criminal law in such a case. Could that work in the Netherlands too? PhD defence on 18 December.

We would all like to live in a world in which individuals feel safe, conflicts are resolved peacefully and the interests of future generations are taken into consideration. At Leiden University legal scholars investigate to what extent public international law meets the needs of a globalised society.…

Ten underage boys are due to appear before a juvenile court. They are accused of luring and attacking nine men whom they believed were paedophiles. Last October, one attack cost a 73-year-old former teacher from Arnhem his life.

Many adults and juveniles who are in prosecuted in criminal courts also have financial problems. This applies to almost one third of probation cases and around 60% of all prisoners.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the continuing armed conflict. Many forms of critical infrastructure have been destroyed. Much of this devastation has been caused by weapons that utilise forms of artificial intelligence…

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.

Leiden Law School offers different intensive Master's programmes, that provide tremendous opportunities for talented students.

The research within eLaw is mainly (but not exclusively) connected to the Faculty of Law research program Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a Pluralist World. The central research question of this program is: What opportunities and threats flow from the existence of institutional and normative…

As an alumnus of Leiden University, you can continue to use the Leiden University Libraries (UBL) throughout your life.

You’ve been accepted! Leiden University looks forward to welcoming you as a new student. Your next step is to prepare for your studies. Below you can find some tips to help you get a head start as you embark on your studies at Leiden University.

The Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance, and Development and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies organised the Van Vollenhoven Lecture 2013.

On 4 November 2022, the Conference ‘Modernisering Wetboek van Strafvordering’ was held at the KOG. The conference was organised by JPAO and the Department of Criminal Law and Procedure of the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology.

The Prison Project investigates to what extent imprisonment has consequences for the relapse, health, career and intimate relations of the (ex-)prisoners.

This dissertation presents a legal geographical analysis of the heritage laws of the independent English-speaking islands of the Lesser Antilles.

On 1 March 2023, the Dutch Safety Board (Onderzoeksraad Voor De Veiligheid, OVV) published its report on the protection provided by the Dutch security services and lessons learned from three cases. The OVV was highly critical of the use of key witnesses and the protection offered to them. Jan Crijns,…

On 27 February 1976, two men wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying loaded guns ring the door of temping agency Cito. A security van has just delivered cash. The suspect later claims in court that he and his friend were just doing a ‘dress rehearsal’ – preparing ahead in other words, but not an actual…