Law stories, blogs and videos
Law stories
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Professor Bruno de Witte is saying goodbye to Maastricht University, but not to European Law. He will continue to deliver his razor-sharp legal analyses at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence.
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After years of meaningful work at our university, Prof. Fons Coomans gave his farewell address to the Faculty of Law on 2 September, where he examined important human rights questions. How do they impact our daily lives? And how do they affect people on a personal level? Will future generations...
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Both work on their projects at Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law on a Hestia Grant. With that, their paths towards settling in Dutch academia and enriching the knowledge and skills in their home countries might look parallel moving towards the future. But Nasrat Sayed’s and Arif Aksu’s...
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The European rule of law is under siege in Poland. On October 7th, 2021, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal declared that the Polish Constitution is more important than any EU treaty. The rest of Europe is keeping a close eye on the situation; how is it going to develop? Is there any chance that the...
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She was a criminal lawyer for many years and a member of the Dutch Senate for the GroenLinks (green left) party. Since 2019, she has been professor of Legal Professions & Ethics at Maastricht University. And in her latest novel, De Juiste Houding [The Right Attitude], her fascination with the grey...
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It is 1986. The time of Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C., but also of Billy Oceans' When the going gets tough, the tough get going and a harsh Elfstedentocht’. In Leiden, Jan Smits starts studying law at a sizeable faculty with 1200 first-year students. It’s a big contrast to the small-scale law...
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Abazi’s potential is easy to recognise, which is reflected in the reactions from several mentors and juries in her academic career thus far. She is lucky (or is it foresight?) that her research topics, such as her work on the legal protection of whistleblowers, often appear in the news. Recently...
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It was a long-held desire: redesigning the curriculum for the bachelor's programme in Rechtsgeleerdheid (Law).' It is a return to the thematic approach, but in a 21st century context. There are no more short cases, but one big project per semester that involves the different types of law. After two...
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One from Italy. One from Romania. Both sharing a house in Maastricht while getting their PhDs. Both earning their degrees with the distinction cum laude. Matteo Bonelli and Daniel On share about their life and research at the Maastricht University Faculty of Law.
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Imagine you live in Belgium and have been working in the Netherlands for years. But unlike your Dutch colleagues, you can’t access your pension information online. That is because you are not entitled to a DigiD, which is the identity verification service of the Dutch government. To help make life...
Law stories in UMagazine
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The Facebook Papers, a series of documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen, brim with revelations. The company appears to have been fully aware of its role in the dissemination of false information and anger-inducing content. Moral philosopher Katleen Gabriels and data protection lawyer Paolo...
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After 35 years at Maastricht University, Constitutional Law Professor Aalt-Willem Heringa will hold his farewell lecture on 25 March. Here he looks back on a successful career and ahead at the role of courts in the Netherlands and Europe.
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Hildegard Schneider is set to say goodbye. As professor of European Migration Law and former dean of the Faculty of Law, her career coincided with the foundation and pioneering years of the law faculty. She herself made an important contribution to the profiling of Maastricht University as a...
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Sexual harassment in public is becoming a punishable offence. It’s a good idea, says Suzan van der Aa, professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, but one that doesn’t go far enough. “Sexual harassment in the workplace is common too, and usually has a greater impact on the victims.”
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The pandemic has called into question the idea of a Europe without frontiers. Sarah Schoenmaekers and Martin Unfried—specialists in EU law and Euregional cooperation, respectively—search for answers.
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Robert Horselenberg has been in charge of the Maastricht cold-case team since its creation about 10 years ago. Ten students, mostly from the master’s degree in Forensics, Criminology and Law, are given six months to study an existing cold case and come up with recommendations for the Public...
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Anna Goldberg is currently writing her dissertation on the role of addiction in criminal law from a neuroscientific perspective under the supervision of David Roef, endowed professor of Criminal Law.
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It started with an international phone call from the lawyers of the Norton Simon Museum in California. Not long after that, assistant professor Lars van Vliet served as an expert witness in a important court case. The stakes: a diptych by Lucas Cranach the Elder, which the heiress of the Jewish art...
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Research on the legal issues surrounding new technologies has become a fixture at most universities. What has received less attention is how AI itself can be applied in the study and practice of law. This is where the Maastricht Law and Tech Lab comes in.
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Soul kitchen: a peek inside the kitchens of UM employees
Catalina Goanta, assistent professor of Privat Law, is the ultimate host: “In Romania we see that as normal. If you pay someone a visit and don’t get anything to eat, that’s a reason never to go back. It’s a sign of respect.”
Law blogs
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The 1st of April 2024 marks the day when Germany adopted the most progressive legal approach to cannabis in Europe. While for the Dutch, this may sound like an April’s fool prank, it is far from it: The new German CanG (Cannabis Law) regulates the consumption, possession, and supply of the soft drug...
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Every time consumers use online email, stream music or videos or archive pictures on the internet, it is quite likely that they are using cloud computing. Those online pictures, videos or emails are not stored on consumer’s computers. Instead, they are processed and stored on a group of remotely...
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As the 37th edition of TEFAF Maastricht is set to welcome visitors from 9th to 14th of March, many will remember the armed jewel heist that took place almost two years ago. During TEFAF opening hours on 28th of June 2022, five men violently smashed a display case with a sledgehammer, removed...
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Efforts to improve the working conditions of platform workers within the European Union faced a major setback as a group of Member States declined to support the latest deal on the Platform Work Directive last month. As discussions continue, the timing of the impasse raises concerns about the future...
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Evolution of legal science can better take place as a consequence of academic dialogue. Engaging in such dialogue is a manifestation of humbleness, of being willing to listen, and of welcoming growth. Academic dialogue is the epitome of university life. It can take place in three dimensions...
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On February 22, it's the 'European Day of the Victim'. On this day, various organizations at home and abroad pay attention to victims of criminal offenses. For example, Victim Support Europe organizes a symposium in Brussels titled 'Leave No Victim Behind: Victims' Rights and the Sustainable...
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Choosing to work or live in another country often does not happen overnight. Obtaining information beforehand is indispensable. To this end, one can rely on numerous websites that provide further insight into conceivable administrative, fiscal and social security law aspects you will be confronted...
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M-EPLI was delighted to have Professor Vanessa Mak in Maastricht to discuss her research on consumer law and policy at the M-EPLI Talk on February 6th.
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Our pensionland is in a state of flux; especially when it comes to the regulation of cross-border pensions. On 17 January, the Lower House debated the Future Pensions Act (WTP). It is surprising that in the more than 100 hours of parliamentary debates and many hundreds of pages of parliamentary...
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A brief explainer about the ICJ case brought by South Africa against Israel
On 29 December, almost three months after the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip, which had by then resulted in the deaths of more than 21,000 people and more than...
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At the end of 2022, the House of Representatives instructed the Dutch government to take measures against the influx of international students in higher education. In response, the Ministry of Education requested Dutch higher education to stop actively recruiting international students and to limit...
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From 30 November to 12 December 2023, the COP28 climate summit took place in Dubai. It is special because all parties agreed to phase out fossil fuel use, triple global renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 and double energy efficiency. This annual UN climate conference is the world’s largest...
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Last year’s COP28 has resulted in a ‘historic’ mention of fossil fuels in its final decision, be it in a rather limited way. Where does the EU, the forerunner in climate action, stand when it comes to the elimination of fossil fuels? This post highlights a few problematic features of the EU’s policy...
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On December 6th and December 13th respectively, the Council and the European Parliament announced their support for the creation of a European Health Data Space (EHDS). According to the press release of the Council, the EDHS will enable “a Spanish tourist to pick up a prescription in a German...
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Last September, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive on European cross-border associations (COM(2023) 516 final). “The proposal aims to improve … the conditions for establishing and operating European cross-border associations (ECBAs)”. According to the Commission, the current...
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On 1 October last, the new Treaty between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on police cooperation finally entered into force (in short BENELUX Police Treaty). This happened more than five years after the treaty was signed in 2018. This treaty replaces the 20-year-old Convention on...
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Today, 6 December 2023, the new MPs take office, following the Parliamentary elections on 22 November 2023 On 1 December last, the election results were finalised. The PVV emerged as the biggest party from the ballot box (37 seats), followed by GroenLinks/PvdA (25 seats), the VVD (24 seats) and...
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This dissertation investigates private partnerships in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Antwerp (1621–1791) from both a legal historical and a socioeconomic perspective.
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Law journals can inform the community about developments in legal science. Journals offer a public forum where networks can be formed and nurtured, growing around the publication of research findings and the discussion amongst peers, ultimately reaching intellectual consensus within a specific...
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Why it is so challenging for Dutch authorities to effectively implement the government policy against serious drug related organized crime? Recently, my colleagues and I from Maastricht University and Erasmus University Rotterdam published an article in the Dutch Tijdschrift over Cultuur en...
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The pain and suffering of accident victims does not have a price and, in claims for damages, no fixed economic value. Thus, quantifying the amount of money needed to compensate for pain and suffering is a subjective exercise often influenced by adjudicators’ biases.
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“Change humanity’s relationship with the planet.'' Words of the President of Kenya, William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto, during the opening meeting of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee.
Midway the negotiations on a Global Plastics Treaty, the third round of...
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What follows is not new in the realm of legal science, but it ought to be remembered, especially in these times when fundamental rights are being challenged in so many different ways. Developments in legal science are very often interconnected. Legal scholars have acknowledged that the traditional...
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The EU-funded project FullCompensation aims to make the compensation of pain and suffering damages more equitable and efficient. To this end, the project led to the development of a model legislative proposal and guidelines, based on comparative and empirical evidence. These results were presented...
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The EU-funded project FullCompensation aims to make the compensation of pain and suffering damages more equitable and efficient. To this end, the project led to the development of a model legislative proposal and guidelines, based on comparative and empirical evidence. These documents are intended...
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The EU-funded project FullCompensation aims to make the compensation of pain and suffering damages more fair and efficient. To offer judges better guidelines for this, it is essential to understand how judges actually award pain and suffering damages. Reading the case law and interviewing judges...
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The scientific study of law–when consisting of the drafting of a research paper–undergoes a series of stages, running a cycle that matures and evolves. Four stages can be identified in that cycle, namely those related to the researching, writing, reasoning, and testing processes. Researchers can...
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Law students have to be global citizens and curious. Students have to be open-minded and eager to engage with otherness, going places. They have to start by visiting the library – it is free and takes readers to many places. Global citizens can benefit significantly from embarking in a study tour...
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ChatGPT’s rapid virality sparks both enthusiasm for using the product and concerns about consumer protection. Protecting consumers in the age of AI was also a central topic at the AI-Assisted consumer seminar, co-organized by MaRBLe, GLaw-Net, and IGIR.
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The IMCO Committee is trying to amend the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29) to include a ban on dark patterns. The proposed amendments are part of the EU’s plans to empower consumers for the green transition and the Parliament is expected to address the proposed amendments on 17 April...
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Over the weekend of March 25-26, TikTok users started sharing videos of their experiences trying to delete their Instagram accounts on Android devices. Users took issue with not being able to delete their accounts via the Instagram app and having to use a desktop/mobile browser to complete the...
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Technological developments challenge consumer protection in the digital sphere. One adaptation that could make the digital environment become safer and more trustworthy is to provide consumers with explanations of AI-based algorithm mechanisms used by intermediary platforms.
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In scientific research, transparency is key.
This is why I have made the study design and protocols for my project FullCompensation - Rationalising Full Compensation of Non-Pecuniary Damages to Reconcile Equal Treatment and Personalisation publicly available on Dataverse and the Open Science...
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We Write to be Read, should always resonate in the mind of authors of research papers. The contents of Student-Edited Law Reviews (SL Reviews) is decided by students. These reviews offer a forum for outstanding research papers by law students. SL Reviews have strengths, while they face challenges...
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How does EU consumer laws address dark patterns on the Internet? This topic has been part of the scholarly debate during the panel discussion “The AI-assisted consumer”, organized on 6 December 2022 in collaboration with Glaw-Net and IGIR.
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The widespread use of AI-assisted technologies in the digital sphere has given rise to the concept of digital vulnerability, as a contextual vulnerability experienced by internet users. This phenomenon sparks debate about whether the current legislative framework is sufficient to ensure effective...
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Content creators, exercising their freedom of expression, may use trade marks in their content in a way that might damage the interests of trade mark proprietors (e.g. use of Nike shoes in a porn movie). How does EU trade mark law address these different interests?
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The European Patent Convention defines subject-matter that is not eligible for patent protection, such as methods for doing business. However, when implemented by a computer, non-eligible subject matter becomes eligible for patent protection. Is this desirable?
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Only a short drive from Maastricht, border stones still mark the borders of Neutral Moresnet, a small condominium that was the result of a very peculiar round of border negotiations and for over a hundred years was a tax haven, a gambling paradise and a would-be Esperanto state.
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EU trade mark law excludes certain signs from becoming registered trade marks. In particular, shapes cannot be registered if they are necessary for achieving a technical result. In 2015, the amended Regulation broadened this exclusion to ‘another characteristics'. But what is now covered exactly?
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In this piece, I will use two memes to begin to unpack what I think is the common denominator of contemporary populist rhetoric. I will explain that the real substance of this rhetoric is the creation of a false moral equivalence, revealing a nihilism. Finally, I will suggest how this false moral...
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Throughout the EU, the rights of asylum seekers come under pressure. Overdue policy changes remain stuck in negotiations because of lacking political will. It is up to the European Commission to step up and protect the fundamental rights of asylum seekers.
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The debate on the implications of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia recently intensified after a report concluded that the Dutch forces had used extreme violence. Reactions to the report reveal that the issue remains controversial and challenging to discuss. The findings in the report do however...
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Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev’s new book, Getting to Diversity, offers data-backed evidence to substantiate what I have long suspected to be true: Many diversity and inclusivity trainings (e.g. mandatory implicit bias training, active allyship training, etc.) not only have little to no effect...
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An important part of becoming a fully-fledged academic is the development and curation of a research line. A research line is the main research topic and the thread throughout (large parts of) a career. It could be law and technology in private law, globalisation in public law, human rights in...
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This blog includes a brief description of a METRO seminar held on 30 May 2022, where a draft research design of FullCompensation was shared for feedback. This seminar was the first scientific deliverable of the project and set the ground for its further development.
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Suppose that you get injured in an accident. In that case, you are entitled to damages. Damages are money that the injurer (or their insurer) must pay to you to make you ‘whole’. The aim of damages is, basically, to fully compensate you. Sounds easy? Believe me, it’s not!
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Digital platforms are one of the key developments in facilitating industry 4.0 and are at the center of the multifold benefits the consumers derived through this. An important feature of the digital platforms is the presence of high sunk costs and low marginal costs (UNCTAD, 2019). This occurs since...
