Public Law
Research themes Constitutional and Administrative Law Research, inclusive Social Law1. Comparative European Administrative law
Coördinator: Prof. C.W. Backes
European Administrative law research in Maastricht concerns especially European administrative law and comparative law. Contributions in this area mainly ain at carrying out comparative law research into how European administrative law is implemented and applied in the different legal systems. The research should contribute to the European discourse on (the desirability of) a possibly developing ius commune in the field of administrative law. Also comparative research with regard to legal systems outside the EU, for example the USA, can provide interesting perspectives.
Important themes in this respect are judicial protection and enforcement. Special attention is devoted to the role of national courts in the EU system and to the enforcement of European law through national administrative law. With regard to this point, the focus is placed on the tension between the requirements imposed by European law and the procedural autonomy of the Member States.
2. International Constitutional Law, especially law regarding parliaments
Coördinator: Prof. L.F.M. Verhey
Research in the field of constitutional law mainly overlaps the research within the Maastricht branch of the Montesquieu Institute. The research focuses on institutional law, especially on the law regarding parliaments. The scope is not limited to rules of national constitutional law, but has a strong comparative, as well as a European legal perspective. The position of parliaments towards other government powers is an important focal point. This part of the research can deal with parliamentary scrutiny of the executive, the oversight of independent agencies, as well as the (national) parliaments’ role regarding European decision-making.
A second pillar of the Maastricht constitutional law research is the study of both national and European human rights.
3. Social Law
Coördinator: Prof. S. Klosse
Research in the social law domain focuses on the impact of European Directives and Regulations on the regulation of labour relations, terms of employment and social security rights at the national level. The research deals with the legal implications of, for example, labour migration, (collective) redundancy and the transfer of undertakings, thereby seeking to gain a better understanding of the ways in which increased flexibility in the labour market may be combined with adequate employment and social security for workers. The research also deals with the question of whether the legal framework for the regulation of labour relations, terms of employment and social security rights is in need of a fundamental revision.
