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Carel Stolker will retire as Rector Magnificus of Leiden University on 8 February. As a retirement gift he is setting up a fund for first-generation students and academics. You too can donate.

On Wednesday 12 December 2018, the department of Child Law, on the initiative of dr. Yannick van den Brink, dr. Stephanie Rap en prof. dr. Ton Liefaard), organized an expert meeting on ‘Equality, children’s rights and digital technologies’. The objective of the meeting was an in-depth exchange of ideas…

By tradition, the moot court competition of the 'Vereniging voor Bestuursrecht' (VAR, Dutch Administrative Law Association) takes place in May every year. This year, it was the honour of Leiden University to organise the event.

Aid workers being summoned to appear before a court in Greece and more stringent rules for rescue boats in Italy. Is providing aid to asylum seekers being criminalised? There's no doubt about it, according to Joanne van der Leun and Peter Rodrigues.

In January 2014, Irial Glynn started a two-year Marie Curie Fellowship in Leiden. His project will compare the migration experiences of Ireland and Italy since 1945.

Following years of negotiations between Member States and the European Parliament, there’s finally been a breakthrough for migration policy. What does it mean for the Netherlands, exactly? Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor in Immigration Law, discusses this on various media channels.

Italian PM Meloni’s election promise to limit the number of boat migrants entering the country looks like being fulfilled with help from Albania. A deal was recently approved that provides for two reception centres for asylum seekers in Albania. Dr Mark Klaassen, an expert in immigration law, questioned…

The 'language analysis interview' on the basis of which the Immigration and Naturalisation Department attempts to determine where an asylum-seeker without any documents comes from, does not meet the criteria of reliability and validity. Joachim Detailleur, student of Arabic, substantiates this statement…

Just off the coast of Libya, aid organisations try to rescue boat migrants. The confiscation of one of the rescue ships shows how important but difficult it is for aid organisations to remain neutral, independent and impartial, says Eugenio Cusumano.

Yuven Muniandy (36) from Malaysia recently obtained a PhD from Leiden University. His ‘orientation year’ visa gives him a year to find work in the Netherlands. But with Covid-19, companies have frozen recruitment. Yuven and seven other graduates are asking for a visa extension. He explains why.

On Wednesday 6 September 2017 the Interest Group on Migration and Refugee Law of the European Society of International Law (ESIL/SEDI) hosted a workshop in Naples, Italy, in cooperation with the ILS 2.0 Project.

On Monday 30 May 2016, the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at UNHCR, Mr. Volker Türk, delivered the Keynote Address at the Advanced Course on International Criminal Justice, Migration and Human Trafficking at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

A recent ruling by the Dutch Council of State indicates that asylum seekers may no longer be sent back to Italy. The Council of State increasingly concludes that the countries at Europe's southern and eastern external borders expose migrants to degrading treatment. This in particular is a reason for…

Dr. Moritz Jesse, Associate Professor European Law at the Europa Institute, gave a lecture about Migration and Asylum on Thursday 22 February 2018.

Francoise Baggeler started her PhD at the Institute for History on 1st of september 2011.

Migration and diversity are key factors in one of the most fundamental transformations of society today. Students study this phenomenon in the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus master’s specialisation in Governance of Migration and Diversity.

As from 1 August 2016 Jannemieke Ouwerkerk will be appointed to the position of Full Professor of European Criminal Law at the Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology of Leiden University. It concerns a full-time position. She will deliver her inaugural lecture on 7 April 2017 at 16.00.

The Dutch legal system perhaps appears at first sight not to be very suited for strategic litigation by interest groups. But judgments such as SyRI and Urgenda show that when an interest group does fulfil all the conditions, anything can happen in court.

The 18th Biennial EUSA conference, with the theme 'Beyond Sui Generis? Understanding the EU as a Comparative Polity and an Interdisciplinary Subject', took place on 4 to 6 May 2023 at the University of Pittsburgh (PA), USA. The Europa Institute was represented by Dr Moritz Jesse and Dr Darinka Piqan…

Recent publications

Engagement between Asia and Europe is increasing. If these continents want to build a lasting relationship, they need to understand each other better in the economic, socio-cultural, historical and legal arena. Researchers from Leiden have already contributed to the body of knowledge on past and present…

The bi-annual Children’s Rights Moot Court (CRM), organised by the Department of Child Law in partnership with Baker McKenzie, was initiated by Leiden Law School in 2014 on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Moot Court offers students…

You may find the answer to your question on this page.

Over the course of the Latin American Studies programme you will learn to understand the here and now of this region by engaging with the most recent academic debates.

In the Humans of Humanities series, we will do a portrait of one of our researchers, staff members or students, every other week.

PhD Research Projects:

Students from no fewer than 26 different countries are visiting Leiden from 25-28 February to discuss the refugee crisis and European integration.

From March 14 to 16, 2018 Prof. mr. dr. Maartje van der Woude organized an international seminar and PhD masterclass on the topic of “Transformative Borders and the Politics of Migration in Western Liberal Democracies”. Both events were organized as part of Prof. Van der Woude’s NWO VIDI Grant “Getting…

On 7 May students from the Leiden Leadership Programme (LLP) and the International Leiden Leadership Programme (ILLP) gathered with an interdisciplinary panel to have a discussion about Intercultural Leadership.

Social scientists from Leiden University have worked with an international team to create teaching modules on migration.

Global versus local, democracy versus dictatorship, tradition versus modernisation: such contrasts make it difficult for anthropologists. They look in detail at what really happens and can therefore add some nuance to blueprints and debates, is what Frank Pieke, Professor in Modern China Studies, will…

This year’s EUSA biannual research conference, which took place in Miami in May 2017, saw a large delegation of the Europa Institute Leiden leaving its mark. In several panels, Prof. Luuk van Middelaar, Dr. Moritz Jesse (Associate Professor at the Europa Institute), Dr. Armin Cuyvers (Assistant Professor…

The EU Returns Directive is an important instrument to humanely return third-country nationals without lawful residence to their country of origin. However, the return of third-country nationals remains problematic for a number of reasons.

The midterm elections in the United States will be a vote of (no) confidence in president Trump and his divisive leadership style, says Brendan Carroll, assistant professor Public Administration. In this blog he explains why voter turnout can be a decisive factor.

Physicist, former D66 party leader and author, mainly of children’s books, Jan Terlouw, gives three to four readings a week. Even at the age of 86 he is tireless in communicating his message: ‘We need to regain trust in one another, and we have to seek fraternity.’

The group structure of Jihadist networks changes rapidly, which makes it difficult to monitor them. This is the finding of research by criminologist Jasper de Bie. PhD defence 14 April.

‘It's empty talk, nothing but political posturing,’ says Prof. Leo Lucassen about Minister Lodewijk Asscher's plan for a participation contract for migrants. ‘It will never happen.’ Lucassen, Leiden specialist in History of Migration, discussed Asscher’s Integration Letter on the NTR programme De Halve…

With the elections on the horizon, politicians frequently make bold statements to gain the support of voters. Leiden students of journalism check the truth of these statements.

Sixteen researchers at Leiden University are to receive a Veni grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). These awards offer promising young researchers the opportunity to further develop their own ideas over a period of three years.

Migration, globalisation, technological developments, climate change: the greatest challenges of our time all affect our labour market. But how exactly? And can we influence this? Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet regards it as his job to reveal how things really are. ‘That way, we can work on solutions…

Knowledge of Muslim societies is essential to function in a globalised world and to fully understand our own Dutch society. Leiden researchers explore the languages, cultures, religions, legal systems and history of Muslim societies and in this way contribute to a centuries-old tradition.

Imprisonment is currently the most severe sanction applied in the criminal justice systems of European countries. In most countries, the imprisonment rate has increased in the past decades. In the Netherlands, more than 30,000 people per year are detained in the prison of a penitentiary institution…

This project aims to revisit the relationship between the European cultural agenda and the local identity formation process, and social and religious transformations of Arab Christian communities in Palestine, when the British ruled via the Mandate. What was the role of culture in European policies…

The Cyber Security lecturers are scholars and lecturers of Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and The Hague University of Applied Sciences.

What opportunities and threats flow from the existence of institutional and normative diversity in the area of fundamental rights for the effective protection of those rights in a pluralist world?

Nine talented Leiden researchers have been awarded a Vidi subsidy by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Vidis are intended for researchers with several years of research experience who want to set up or expand their own line of research.

The trend of legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples is broadening. More and more rights are becoming available to same-sex partners – in more and more European countries. Leiden Law School and the French Institute for Demographic Studies publish detailed database and comparative analysis.