Prime Minister Rutte has broken the Archiefwet (Dutch Public Records Act) for years by deleting his text messages. That was the conclusion of the Information and Heritage Inspectorate in a scathing report. On Monday, Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives Vera Bergkamp also filed charges after…

Een rechter heeft duizenden ontwrichtende Woo-verzoeken ingediend bij alle Nederlandse gemeenten om vermeende misstanden van het systeem aan te tonen. ‘Met deze actie zaagt deze rechter aan de stoelpoten van de onpartijdigheid van de rechterkijke macht, zegt hoogleraar Staatsrecht, Wim Voermans in FTM…

On 11 February 2020, Clara van Dam defended her thesis 'Guidance documents of the European Commission in the Dutch legal order'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. W. den Ouden and Prof. J.E. van den Brink (UvA).

On 14 January 2021, Joost Westerweel defended his thesis 'Lokale democratische innovatie'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. G. Boogaard and Prof. M.J. Cohen.

Is the legitimacy of law and governance of multilevel jurisdictions diminishing? What is the significance of (diminishing) legitimacy for the effectiveness of law? These kinds of questions about the legitimacy of the supranational formation of law, its application, and the policy and governance based…

On 8 October, an inspiring session was held at the KOG Building. The session focused on the award-winning book entitled 'The Story of Constitutions' by Professor Wim Voermans, recently published by Cambridge University Press. The event attracted a diverse audience comprising both colleagues and students…

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.

On 11 February 2022, the Urban Governance Research Network (Ugovern) organised a webinar ‘Understanding Recent Changes in Belgium and the Netherlands Planning Law’. Rogier Kegge was one of the panel members during the webinar.

The Dutch childcare allowance affair has exposed the failings of the democratic constitutional state. Early in 2021, the government therefore pledged to establish a new public administration culture. There’s still a long way to go to achieve this.

On 17 April, Evert-Jan Govaers defended the thesis 'Ministers of State. Unknown and desired; from stage to the wings?'.The doctoral research was supervised by Wim Voermans.

On Thursday 15 December, Elisavet Alexiadou has defended her doctoral thesis ‘The Right to Health. A Human Rights Perspective with a Case Study on Greece.’ at the Academy Building of Leiden University. Supervisor was Prof.dr. A.C. Hendriks.

Recently, Ingrid Leijten’s book Core Socio-Economic Rights and the European Court of Human Rights was published with Cambridge University Press. The monograph was published in the series Cambridge Studies in European Law and Policy (edited by Laurence Gormley and Jo Shaw) and deals with the protection…

Beloftes van lokale partijen om asielzoekerscentra te sluiten, gemeenten die dwangsommen aan het COA willen opleggen en de vraag hoe onze rechtsstaat te beschermen tegen autoritaire invloeden met de opkomst van extreem radicaal rechtse partijen: Geerten Boogaard aan het woord in verschillende media.

Hiring commercial consultancy firms by (local or regional) authorities remains controversial and it is at the centre of attention. This was previously revealed in an investigation carried out by Dutch television programme ‘Nieuwsuur’. Dutch news platform Binnenlands Bestuur also sheds light on this…

Leiden law scholars prof. dr. Luc Verhey and Gert Jan Geertjes have edited a book about constitutional conventions and their added value for Dutch constitutional law. The book is published (in Dutch) by editor Boom in Amsterdam.

On 17 October 2018, Thomas Sanders defended his doctoral thesis 'Invordering door de overheid: de invordering van geldschulden uit herstelsancties onder de Awb'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. mr. T. Barkhuysen and Prof. mr. M.W. Scheltema.

Three professors, including Leiden Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law Wim Voermans, sent an urgent letter to the Dutch Senate on 29 May 2023 concerning the new pension system. The criticism focuses not so much on the content of the new pension system, but on the fact that, according…

For a long time, in the United States ‘Schmoozes’ have been organized. These small-scale meetings offer the opportunity to informally discuss important themes. On 12 and 13 October, the first European Schmooze took place in Milan. The topic was ‘Economic Inequality as a Global Constitutional Challenge’.…

On 2 September 2019, the Constitutional and Administrative Law Department of Leiden Law School and Review of European Administrative Law REALaw are organising a Conference on the Europeanisation of national administrative law through general principles of law: from resistance to voluntary adoption. Subsequently,…

By a ruling of the Dutch Council of State, local residents and organisations can after all take their case to court even if they made no objection during a consultation session. This extension of access to court is the outcome of a judgment by the European Court of Justice. The Court ruled that in this…

Leiden Law School established the Empirical Legal Studies Lab to support legal research and education using empirical methods during the Law Sector Plan (2019-2025). This page now functions as an archive.

On 11 November 2016, The Hague Law Labs and the department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, in collaboration with the Italian Association for European and Comparative Law, will organise ‘The Dutch Constitution Beyond 200: tradition and innovation in a multilevel legal order'.

On Monday 4 September, Professor Christopher Martinez, from the Universidad de Concepción (University of Concepción), Chile, was invited by the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law to introduce his forthcoming book at our university.

Verschillende bewoners in de kansarme wijk Poelenburg in Zaandam leven in angst en voelen zich geïntimideerd door de ondermijningsaanpak van de gemeente, waarbij misstanden als huisbetredingen zonder toestemming en achtervolgingen niet worden geschuwd. Fatma Çapkurt, universitair docent staats- en bestuursrecht,…

In what ways and to which extent are the systems of national administrative law becoming Europeanised? What role do EU legal principles play in this process? Are EU legal principles smoothly absorbed in national law and practice, or do the principles encounter resistance? Which legal principles attract…

The traditional Res Publica study trip took place this year from 20 to 24 April. Because of the coronavirus restrictions, the members of Res Publica – the faculty’s study association for constitutional and administrative law – travelled ‘virtually’ to Portugal, the United States and Singapore. Of course,…

Leiden University and REALaw organise a Conference and Summer Course on Europeanisation of national administrative law. This will be held from 2-4 September 2019 in the Old Observatory in Leiden. All speakers are confirmed and the programme is now published.

This dissertation looks into the role of discretion granted by EU directives (Article 288 Treaty on Functioning of the European Union) in legislative decision-making and national transposition processes of these directives.

Between 5 and 8 September, PhD Candidate Esteban Szmulewicz attended the 45th annual Conference of the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA), which was organised in close cooperation with The Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb and other key partners.

Omtzigt's new political party 'Nieuw Sociaal Contract' focuses on two key issues: livelihood security and good governance. A candidate list does not exist yet, a substantive programme does. What opportunities are lying in wait for the veteran politician? Dutch television programme Op1 put this question…

Municipalities are increasingly attempting to solve problems without issuing decisions. A notification procedure (notification – investigation – application – decision) has recently been introduced that replaces part of the traditional application procedure. Ymre Schuurmans, Professor of Constitutional…

What are the institutional dynamics of the adoption of internal market legislation?

On September 4, 2022, Chile held a referendum on a new Constitution, drafted by a directly elected Constitutional Convention. Esteban Szmulewicz, PhD candidate at the Constitutional and Administrative Law Department of Leiden Law School, recently published an article on this topic.

Is the child benefits scandal an omen for the future and will people’s lives soon be fully dominated by algorithms? Assistant Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law Reijer Passchier warns that the encroaching digitalisation is giving the executive branch even more power, leaving parliament…

‘It became very clear that Brazilian legislative policy was frail, obsolete and unreliable,’ says Felipe de Paula. He defended his dissertation on the limits and possibilities of legislative policy in Brazil on Tuesday 27 March 2018.

The Dutch Constitution is the second oldest constitution in the world after the US Constitution and it dates back to 1814. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law and author of the book ‘Our Constitution’ published earlier this year, advocates for a more accessible Constitut…

Students attending Richard Albert’s seminar on constitutional change asked Reijer critical questions about an article he recently wrote with Maarten Stremler.

On 10 June 2022, a conference on topical issues in Dutch subsidy law was held at the Old Observatory building of Leiden University. With almost 90 enthusiastic participants, it was a huge success!

Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, has been appointed as a member of the complaints committee of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). In performing this (ancillary) position, she will use her knowledge of administrative law, and in particular…