Polls conducted by I&O research point to a political landslide. What's in store for the Netherlands? The polls show that the new party of MP Pieter Omtzigt is well-positioned for the upcoming election, with an expected 31 seats, but only 3 for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) party. It is obvious…

How to strike a balance between the sometimes conflicting stakes of individual, public and private data-producers and data-processors?

As both old and new democracies experience increasing democratic backsliding, there is a critical societal need to rethink the design and effectiveness of democratic checks and balances. In this conference on Friday 9 June, the aim is to explore multidisciplinary insights about what makes the checks…

How do balanced lethal systems originate and persist in nature?

We strive for FGGA staff to feel sufficiently challenged and recognized with an assigned workload that is realistic within their working hours. Besides that, staff should be transparently and correctly informed about their personal career perspectives and growth opportunities within the faculty / un…

On 18 January, Esteban Szmulewicz, a PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, spoke on the following theme at an online seminar: 'Comments on the International IDEA report: the state of democracy in the world and the Americas in 2023. New checks and balances'.

From Jan. 24 until Jan. 26 the 11th annual conference on Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) takes place in Brussels. The Leiden Center for Law and Digital Technologies (eLaw) will be represented in several of the panels at the conference.

As partner within the EuDEco-poject, the Centre for Law and Digital Technologies (eLaw) organized a panel titled “Filling accountability holes in algorithmic networks” as part of the 11th annual conference on Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP), January 24-26 2018 in Brussels.

Kim Stroet is examining how the interaction between teachers and pupils influences pupils’ motivation. ‘Children need to have the feeling that they are in control of their own learning process.’

On 2 May, Sophie Starrenburg defended the thesis 'Striking a balance between local and global interests: communities and cultural heritage protection in public international law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Nico Schrijver and Yvonne Donders.

JSixty researchers have received a grant of approximately 50,000 Euros during round 3 of the NWO Open Competition SSH-XS pilot programme. Two of them are working at FGGA: Jolien van Breen and Honorata Mazepus. The sixty researchers received the grant to start working on a promising concept or an innovative…

When you finish your dissertation, it must undergo a plagiarism check via IThenticate.

Publishing about your research is a key aspect of your career as a researcher; the majority of research publications are written in English. When applying for research funding, too, it is very important to ensure that your application is written in clear, accessible English. Maria Sherwood-Smith, Academic…

The current resurgence of whooping cough is alarming, and improved pertussis vaccines are thought to offer a solution. Outer membrane vesicle vaccines (omvPV) are potential vaccine candidates, but omvPV-induced humoral responses have not yet been characterized in detail.

On 20 May 2022, eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies of Leiden University organised the Hans Franken lecture for the third time. This year the lecture was delivered by Aleid Wolfsen, chairman of the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Data Protection Authority (DPA)), the privacy watchdog of the…

On 4 March 2024, the Local Public Sector Alliance (LPSA) held a meeting of its Working Group on Local Democracy and Inclusive Governance, in which theoretical ideas and experiences about local governance and decentralisation were discussed. Esteban Szmulewicz, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional…

The past decade, against the backdrop of a fragmented political landscape, has witnessed the greatest changes to the Netherlands since the aftermath of the Second World War. The labour market, the housing market, the energy market, the bank system, the pension system, the healthcare system, to name…

To be eligible for Law and Society at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

PhD defence

On 5 June, Maarten Aalbers defended the thesis 'The balancing of general interests in EU State Aid Law: blurred lines between the prohibition and the compatibility of aid'. The doctoral research was supervised by Pieter van Cleynenbreugel and Stefaan van den Bogaert.

Public leadership received increasing attention, but we still do not understand how the context of public leaders affects leadership. This research project delves into public leaders’ perceptions of the leadership situations they find themselves in, which are characterised by multiplicity – one could…

Promotor: C.A.J. Knibbe, Co-promotor: J.J. Boelens, R.G.M. Bredius

In pursuit of solutions to China’s inter-regional cross-border insolvency cooperation, my doctoral dissertation provides 10 original recommendations accompanied with comments, which are entitled “China’s Inter-regional Cross-border Insolvency Arrangement” (CICIA).

In the article, Ruth Prins gives her opinion on the possible consequences chosen mayors might have for the police.

Promotor: Prof.dr. F.S. de Boer

A European cooperation project on disinformation and fact-checking training empowering current and future media and media education professionals, to identify, prevent, and combat fake news spread over digital networks.

Elon Musk managed to foil a strategic Ukrainian drone attack with the push of a button. It clearly shows that democracy is hanging by a thread, says Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at Leiden University and Professor of Digitisation and the Democratic Rule of Law at the Open University, Reijer…

The ERC project ‘Healthscaping Urban Europe’ will hold a concluding plenary event on 30 September, where three experts will explore the history of premodern public health and especially reflect on possible future directions within this research field. All are welcome to join in person in the Doelenzaal.…

Conference

The free AI and Ethics course (in Dutch) is available online to anyone who wants to find out more about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. One of the eight experts featured in the course is Professor Reijer Passchier. ‘Artificial Intelligence is spreading so fast and has such an impact…

Young Academy Leiden wants to bring together young academics. After all, it is not that easy in practice to meet peers outside your field. With inspiring and fun Faculty lunches, the organisation strives to connect young researchers. The most recent, hosted at the Faculty of Social and Behaviourial…

The Economist published an article about a working paper about the effects of democratic elections on satisfaction with democracy. The paper was written by Dimiter Koshkov, Associate Professor at the Institute of Public Administration and Honorata Mazepus, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Security…

Traditional leaders in many African countries have regained some of their former powers. Politicians and companies in some of these countries manage to gain access to valuable land via these leaders, at the cost of the local population. This is the message of Professor of Law, Administration and Development…

Hans-Martien ten Napel has been awarded a Research Fellowship in Legal Studies at the Center of Theological Inquiry (CTI) at Princeton University, USA, which enables him to be in full-time residence at CTI for the academic year, 1 September 2014 to 31 May 2015.

On 8-10 July, 2024, public law scholars from around the world gathered in Madrid for the annual conference of the International Society of Public Law – the ICON-S, hosted this year by IE University. The theme of the conference “The Future of Public Law: Resilience, Sustainability, and Artificial Intelligence,”…

Should we be deeply concerned about the America of Donald Trump? Or will he bring about positive change? This was the main topic of discussion between researchers and students at the Big Leiden Presidential Breakfast on 9 November.

The 2015 and 2018 Personnel monitors show that maintaining a good work balance remains difficult for staff at the Faculty of Humanities. Lecturer and researcher Judith Naeff and holder of the operational management portfolio Suzy Sirks have joined the Work Balance Steering Committee to examine the…

Islamic primary schools contribute to the integration of Muslims in Dutch society, concludes Marietje Beemsterboer in her PhD dissertation. The schools offer children a sense of belonging and prepare them for Dutch society.

In a publication in Science, Noam Zelcer from the Division of Biopharmaceutics describes a previously unrecognized pathway to regulate LDL-cholesterol levels. He is also able to modulate this pathway. This opens the possibility for complementing and improving the efficacy of statins: A class of drugs…

Ben Wielstra studies balanced lethal systems, in which half of the offspring die before birth. In the journal Current Biology, he explains in an accessible way how such a disadvantage can originate in nature.

Ben Wielstra strives to unravel the evolution of balanced lethal systems. On 1 February he started his own lab at the Institute of Biology Leiden. Wielstra is one of five researchers at Leiden University who has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant in 2018 by the European Research Council. ERC Starting…

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…

PhD candidate Sebastiaan van de Lubben has written live blogs about Leiden politics. But how do you go about covering an event while it unfolds? ‘You don’t have time to think while you’re at it.’ Much proved to be unknown about this relatively new journalistic genre.

The student navigator ‘Find your way’ helps students find their way around the university. The ombuds officer for students, Eugène van der Heijden, can also be found on this roadmap. Eugène talks about his work as ombuds officer and what he does for students.

Psychedelic drugs like magic mushrooms and LSD are embraced by some and seen as lethal by others. Cognitive psychologist Michiel van Elk delved into the world of psychedelic drugs and wrote a surprisingly sober book about them. ‘Without first-hand experience my story wouldn’t be complete.’

Is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) adequate in ensuring responsible innovation using data analytics? What is the role of ethics with regard to placing limits on technological developments? Does innovation drive business and industry transformations, or does shareholder value maximization…