Partners in research: lecturer and student collaboration
Conducting legal research instead of having to sit an exam. In the ‘Onderzoeksassistent’ (Research Assistant) course, students and lecturers arrive at new insights together. Clemens Bakker and Bart Krans share their experiences: ‘You approach the law from a different angle.’
When Law student Clemens Bakker and lecturer Bart Krans were linked to each other in the Onderzoeksassistent course, they immediately hit it off. Bakker was looking for an extra challenge in his studies and was keen to gain experience in legal research. He got the chance to do just that by joining a project led by Bart Krans who is working on a book about Europeanisation of national civil procedural law.
What is Europeanisation exactly?
Krans: ‘European law affects Dutch civil procedural law in many ways. While some legal experts are already familiar with these developments, the influence of European rules on national procedural law is often greater than you might first expect. Courts, for instance, have to apply parts of European consumer law of their own motion, even in cases where the consumer fails to appear. Fully understanding these developments requires study at both the European and national level.’
Why is this research interesting?
Krans: ‘While the influence of European law on national procedural law is not new, it’s more topical than ever. Ongoing developments in European legislation and case law mean that European law increasingly shapes national procedural law. As a result, the topic is not only interesting for scholars, but also highly relevant for civil legal practice.’
Bakker: ‘The project sparked my interest in the interaction between national and European law, particularly in the area of procedural law which was new to me. It’s good to learn about this now, as the influence of the EU on national legal systems is expected to continue to grow.’
What did the research involve?
Bakker: ‘I mainly worked on analysing recent case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union, for example, as well as collecting any relevant international literature.’
Krans: ‘This project has a number of subthemes. Clemens helped by carefully identifying and structuring several of these subthemes. For instance, he explored the extent to which Dutch courts refer to rulings from courts in other jurisdictions. Clemens was also keen to assist in other areas where his work proved most valuable.’
Bakker: ‘Besides the main project, I also helped with several ad hoc activities. One of those involved helping to prepare a seminar at a Zuidas law firm [in Amsterdam’s main business and legal district] where Professor Krans gave a presentation on the Wet vereenvoudiging en modernisering bewijsrecht [Act on the simplification and modernisation of the Law of Evidence]. I examined how this legislative amendment was applied in case law during its initial months in force. The seminar itself also taught me a lot – I met a justice of the Supreme Court, spoke with lawyers from both large and small firms, and gained insights that I could use for my thesis.’
How do you look back on working together?
Bakker: ‘It was a great experience for me. I especially enjoyed our frequent meetings to discuss things, often over lunch here at the KOG. We talked about all sorts of other things, not just work-related. For example, we discussed doing a PhD which was a big help to me. At the invitation of Professor Krans, I was able to attend a seminar for PhD candidates in the field of civil procedural law. It was held in a beautiful venue at the District Court of The Hague and doctoral researchers from Leiden and Ghent presented their work. I really enjoyed being part of this event, as well as the reception and dinner afterwards.’
Krans: ‘I'm very positive about it. I always try to provide supervision that’s in line with a student’s specific interests and needs. Clemens enjoyed focussing on one main task as well as working on smaller ones in between. That worked really well, also because Clemens is fast and very thorough. He’s interested in a broad range of topics and is happy to take the initiative, which makes it a real pleasure to work with him.’
Would you recommend this course to other students and lecturers?
Bakker: ‘Definitely! It’s a great way to engage with a professor, outside the classroom. You learn so much from it. Content-wise, it also really helped me, because it encourages you to approach the law from a different angle. You have to analyse case law much more critically to see what’s actually relevant.’
Krans: ‘I would definitely recommend it too. The course is well organised by the Honours College, and you get to work with motivated students who are willing to go that extra mile. That alone makes it worthwhile.’
About this course
Onderzoeksassistent is a course for third-year students of the Honours College Law. Twice a year, they can sign up for a research project organised by a lecturer at this faculty and get hands-on experience in doing research. The lecturer gets assistance from a student and can benefit from a fresh approach to their project.
Are you a lecturer and would you like to hear more about possibilities to work together with HC Law? Contact honours@law.leidenuniv.nl.
Are you a student and would you like to find out what Honours College has to offer? Check out our website!