Faculty of Law

Children's Rights Researcher from Maastricht becomes new 'Face of Science'

Legal philosopher Marieke Hopman, PhD candidate at Maastricht University (UM), was presented as one of the new 'Faces of Science', a platform providing an insight into the world of research for high school students. Hopman is the fourth UM researcher to be selected for this project.

Legislative change needed to prevent 'marital captivicty'

A legislative change is needed to prevent 'marital captivity', says attorney Pauline Kruiniger of Maastricht University (UM) in a final report published this week on the MARICAP study titled Niet langer geketend aan het huwelijk ('Breaking the chains of marriage').

Ana Ramalho wins WUN Research Mobility Programme grant

Ana Ramalho (Assistant Professor of Intellectual Property Law) has been awarded a grant within the framework of the WUN Research Mobility Programme. She will be conducting research in collaboration with the University of Auckland. The topic of the project is "Reconciliation of intellectual property policies in the framework of EU-New Zealand trade relations".

The project will be carried out next year, exact dates to be confirmed.

Find more information on Ana's background and research on our website.

New research project Um Faculty of Law Department Constitutional Law / Montesquieu Institute

This news item is only available in Dutch.

Bescherming van de liberale constitutie in een populistisch tijdperk: onderzoeksproject aan de Universiteit Maastricht, sectie staatsrecht /  Montesquieu Instituut, mogelijk gemaakt door een subsidie van het Fonds Staatsman Thorbecke van de KNAW.

Keuzegids Masters 2018

The ‘Keuzegids Masters 2018’, published today, shows that the master's programmes of the UM Law Faculty are valued again like in previous years. And despite the fact that none of our programmes reached the first place, the differences a small and the appreciation for the content of the various programmes and the quality of the teachers remains high.

Looted art in a moral twilight zone

When it comes to the restitution of looted art, things are never black and white. The procedures are often lengthy and complex, and the dividing line between law and morals is paper-thin. Moreover, emotions and national sensitivities quickly come into play. Peter van den Brink knows the game like no other. In recent years, he has gained a reputation as the director who was able to trace nine lost canvases and bring them back to his Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, where they had hung before the war. Van den Brink will be a keynote speaker at the annual MACCH conference at the TEFAF on 18 March.

Great performance UM team in ICC Mediation Competition

This year during the 13th annual ICC Mediation Competition week between 2nd – 7th of February a team of four students from the Faculty of Law, Sofia Paoletta, Elden Van Delft, Rebecca Kade and Albert Mhangami coached by Catalina Goanta, Kate O’Reilly and Paul Roos made it through to the quarter finals and placed in the top 8 out of 66 teams from over 32 countries.

Maastricht team participated in the regional final of the European Law Moot Court

On 15th-18th of February, the Maastricht team participated in the regional final of the European Law Moot Court held at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland. Other contenders came from all over the world, and included such illustrious participants as Aix-en-Marseille, Gent and the Autonomous University of Madrid.

The Faculty of Law's Anniversary Book is now available!

On the occasion of the 35^th anniversary of the Maastricht University Faculty of Law, the faculty has published an anniversary book. In this book, the foundation of and development into the current faculty is described, completed with many new and old photos. The book can be purchased at bookstore The Tribune in Maastricht (regular price: € 34.50, student price: € 29.50 for students with a valid UM student card).
 

Claudia Helmer wins debate tournament 2016-2017

This news item is only available in Dutch.

De titel ‘Beste debater 2016-2017’ is gewonnen door Claudia Helmer, alumna van de opleiding Fiscaal Recht. 
De heldere structuur in haar betogen, enkele fraaie drieslagen, een prachtige uitspraak als 'we werken niet voor de Quote 500, maar de Quote 18 miljoen' en de allitererende lofrede op haar ‘…leuke, liefdevolle Loyens & Loeff…’  wist de juryleden unaniem in haar voordeel doen beslissen.

Thomas Biermeyer and Marcus Meyer publish first report on corporate mobility in the EU

The project leaders of the ITEM/ICGI project ‘Cross-border Corporate Mobility in the EU’ present empirical findings in their first report in the project. The report will provide a general and preliminary overview of empirical findings in the topic of cross-border corporate mobility within the EU.

Thesis prizes

Last Friday 26 January, we celebrated the 42nd Dies Natalis of the UM including presenting the thesis prizes. 

Louise Verboeket wins Jongbloed thesis prize

L.W. (Louise) Verboeket LL.M., PhD candidate at the Department of Public Law of the UM Faculty Law, has been awarded the Jongbloed thesis prize on January 12^th. Her master thesis “The public prize. A study of the allocation of public funds by way of competition” is the best legal thesis written at Leiden University during the academic year 2016-2017. In 2017 Louise Verboeket graduated cum laude from Leiden University with a master’s degree in Constitutional and Administrative Law. Her thesis (and PhD) supervisors are prof. mr. J.E. (Jacobine) van den Brink and prof. mr. drs. W. (Willemien) den Ouden.

Also read the interview with Louise in Mr. magazine (in Dutch) .

Comparative research into European arrest warrants

This news item is only available in Dutch.

Op 1 januari 2018 begint de Internationale Rechtshulpkamer (IRK) van de Rechtbank Amsterdam in samenwerking met de Universiteit Maastricht aan een rechtsvergelijkend onderzoek naar Europese aanhoudingsbevelen (EAB’s) die betrekking hebben op personen die niet aanwezig zijn geweest in de procedure die tot hun veroordeling heeft geleid (verstekveroordelingen).  In het Handvest van de grondrechten van de Europese Unie is gegarandeerd dat iedereen recht heeft op een eerlijk proces, waarvan het recht om bij de behandeling van de strafzaak aanwezig te zijn onderdeel uitmaakt.

Debate on the role of EU agencies in the Future Europe

On Thursday, 7 December 2017 a debate about the role of the European agencies in the future Europe will take place. This event will be organised within the framework of the Europe Calling programme. Hosted by the UM Faculty of Law, the debate will take place at the Bonbonnière in Maastricht. The event will be opened by Ms. Annemarie Penn-te Strake, Mayor of Maastricht. A number of prominent representatives of European Agencies will discuss and share their views with the public.

Keuzegids Hoger Onderwijs 2018: bachelor programmes Tax Law and European Law School in first place

The Keuzegids 2018 shows an excellent score for the Maastricht law programmes. Both the bachelor programmes in Tax Law and European Law School are in first place in this ranking. The bachelor programme in Dutch Law climbs to a very good third place.

Prof. Jan Eijsbouts project leader in Business and Human Rights International Arbitration Project

The Hague Institute for Global Justice is launching a project to resolve business and human rights disputes using international arbitration. The aim is to help provide access to remedy within the framework of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Winds of change for border areas

There is a growing interest in cross-border collaboration in the European Union , says Maastricht University's Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility (ITEM). ITEM's annual cross-border impact assessment generates scientific insights into themes involving cross-border mobility and cooperation.

Prof. Sjef van Erp elected as Secretary-General of the International Association of Legal Science (IALS)

The Executive Committee of the International Association of Legal Science (IALS) has unanimously chosen prof. Sjef van Erp as their Secretary-General.

Prof. Ferdinand Grapperhaus named Minister of Justice and Security

Prof. Ferdinand Grapperhaus, professor of (European) Labour Law at Maastricht University Faculty of Law, has been named Minister of Security and Justice in the third successive Dutch cabinet led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Dhruv Sanghavi wins 2017 IFA President YIN Scientific Award

Dhruv Sanghavi has been awarded the 2017 IFA President YIN Scientific Award for his work `The Proposed Tiebreaker Rule in OECD/G20 BEPS Action 6: A Critical Examination of the Possible Motives and Means, and a Potential Alternative´.

Bachelor’s programmes Tax Law and European Law School rank first in Elsevier Best Study Programmes 2017

The bachelor’s programmes in Tax Law and European Law School are in first place again in the Elsevier Best Study Programmes survey which was published last Friday. In this edition, the magazine presents its annual investigation into the best study programmes in the Netherlands.

Dag van de Limburgse commissaris

Ook dit jaar organiseren Thuis & Partners, Institute for Corporate Law, Governance and Innovation Policies van de Universiteit Maastricht en Delfin Executives de Dag van de Limburgse Commissaris. Een van de sprekers zal Maria van der Hoeven zijn, voormalig Minister van Economische Zaken en Toezichthouder bij o.a. RWE, het moederbedrijf van Essent.

About the European Law Moot Court Competition (ELMC)

Maastricht University teams have a long tradition of scoring very high in the European Law Moot Court Competition (ELMC). Organized annually since 1988, the ELMC is a bilingual moot court (French-English) focused on topical issues of European Law.

European Commission classifies ITEM as good practice

In an official document of the Commission’s Regional Policy titled Communication “Boosting Growth and Cohesion in EU Border Regions”, the Cross-border Impact Assessment of the ITEM Expertise centre of Maastricht University was put forward as a good practice by the European Commission in order to facilitate the improvement of the legislative process within the European Union.

Succesful Alumni Homecoming Day Faculty of Law

With pleasure, we look back on a very successful alumni day. After a short word of welcome of our dean prof. Hildegard Schneider, alumni of various graduation years met during a lively Meet & Greet session. This was followed by a very interesting lecture by prof. Bruno de Witte about “The Future of European Integration beyond Brexit”

Succesful second edition Master Kick-Off Staats- en bestuursrecht

On Thursday, 7 September, the annual Kick-Off meeting of the Master Staats- en bestuursrecht took place in the Feestzaal. Professor Aalt-Willem Heringa ((comparative) Constitutional and Administrative law) welcomed all students.

Reaction report ‘Cross-border workers in Europe’ by Ministry of the Interior to address the progress of cross-border cooperation

The Ministry of the Interior has written a response to the report ‘Cross-border workers in Europe’ (Grenswerkers in Europa) in a Letter to Parliament. Furthermore the minister addresses the progress of cross-border cooperation.

Action research – UM students win awards

The morning programme of the Opening of the academic year in short.

Dr Marjon Weerepas appointed to endowed chair of Taxation of Cross-Border Employment

Dr Marjon Weerepas has been appointed as professor occupying the new endowed chair of Taxation of Cross-Border Employment (0.2 FTE) with effect from 1 August.

Law students employed as neighbourhood mediators

Councillor Jack Gerats awarded the first certificates to 18 new youth neighbourhood mediators. Maastricht is the first city in the Netherlands where students go into neighbourhoods as youth neighbourhood mediators to bring students and local residents closer together. Two of them discuss their motivations.

Jean Monnet grant for ITEM/ICGI research project about cross-border corporate mobility in the EU

ITEM’s Marcus Meyer and Thomas Biermeyer have won a Jean Monnet grant on the topic of cross-border mobility of companies in the EU and EEA. This project supplements a tender won by Thomas and Marcus earlier this year from ETUI for a three-year project on the same topic. The Jean Monnet grant allows to extend the project’s monitoring timespan to 20 years, covering the period 2000-2020 and organizing a high-level conference on this topic in Brussels.

Professor Jan Smits new dean Faculty of Law

Professor Jan Smits will succeed Professor Dr. Hildegard Schneider as new dean of  the Faculty of Law on 1 December 2017.

Removing obstacles for cross-border workers. How do you do that?

Myth: Brussels imposes nothing but annoying measures

Law researcher and scientific coordinator at the ITEM Expertise centre Dr. Alexander Hoogenboom featured Observant Magazine on whether the EU only produces annoying regulation and why that misconception continues to exist.

Prof. Liesbeth Lijnzaad the first Dutch judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Lijnzaad is a extraordinary professor Practice of International Law at Maastricht University. She has worked for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1994, where she provides the government with advice on matters related to international law.

Bram Akkermans Appointed TPR Visiting Chair

M-EPLI associate director and Associate Professor of European Private Law Bram Akkermans has been appointed to the TPR Visiting Chair for the academic year 2017-2018 at the Catholic University of Leuven. During the upcoming academic year Bram will hold several lectures and plan other activities at KU Leuven.

Standing in defence of cultural heritage in armed conflicts

The destruction of cultural property by the Islamic State in Mosul and Palmyra: is International Law the answer?’, is the title of Alessandra Silva’s bachelor’s thesis. During the Dies celebration last February, the 23-year-old Italian received the thesis prize, as one of seventeen winners, for the best bachelor's thesis in 2016.

National Student Survey (NSE) 2017: Tax Law and European Law School in first place

The results of the annual National Student Survey (NSE) held in January 2017 are again very satisfactory. Like in previous years, we requested our students to make their voices heard by participating in this survey. We are very pleased that so many of them responded to our appeal again.

Team Maastricht wins national VAR Moot Court Competition (again)!

The student team representing Maastricht University has won the prestigious VAR Moot Court Competition in administrative law for the second year in a row.

ITEM's Alexander Hoogenboom awarded with ELFA Award 2016

ITEM’s scientific coordinator, dr. Alexander Hoogenboom, has been awarded ‘first place’ in the ELFA 2016 doctoral thesis competition on European law for his thesis 'Balancing Student Mobility Rights and National Higher Education Autonomy in the European Union'.  The award was presented at ELFA's Annual General Meeting and Conference 2017 in Brno, Czech Republic.

UM Law Faculty student teams show well in Moot Court competition

Maastricht students score high in national and international moot courts and moot competitions.

‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’

In a recent article published in the prestigious Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Gijs van Dijck, professor of Private Law at Maastricht University, examined whether court-ordered apologies serve a purpose.

Bo te Baerts wint Nationale Requireerwedstrijd

Op 14 april 2017 vond de finale plaats van de Nationale Requireerwedstrijd voor studenten. De finale, die plaatsvond in het Paleis van Justitie in Amsterdam, was een strijd tussen 12 finalisten van universiteiten uit het hele land. Bo te Baerts, derdejaars studente Rechtsgeleerdheid kwam als winnaar uit de bus.

Maastricht team in quarter-final rounds Willem C. Vis Moot Court Competition

The team representing Maastricht University this year reached the quarter-final rounds of the competition! This places our university in the top 8 out of 342 participating teams from all corners of the world.

Maastricht team in final European Law Moot Court in Luxemburg again

From 23-25 February, Maastricht’s European Law Moot Court team took part in the regional finals held in Gothenburg, Sweden. The team, composed of Dina Grego, Jihane Mirode, Christine Recker and Ilja Terwinghe won the final battle and will go to the all-European finals in Luxemburg which will be held on 31 March 2017. The team was coached by Pauline Melin and Alexander Hoogenboom.

Team Maastricht University through to international rounds of the Philip C. Jessup moot court competition

On 23 and 24 February, Maastricht University participated in the Dutch Qualifying Rounds of the 2017 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Amsterdam. The UM team, composed of Céline Fäh, Caitlin MacMillan, Hanna Moller and Diya Dilan reached the international qualification rounds which will take place in Washinton D.C. from 9-16 April 2017. The team is coached by Laura Visser, Jure Vidmar & Jennifer Sellin.

Master International and European Tax Law ‘Topopleiding’ (top study programme) and master Dutch Law first place in ‘Keuzegids Masters 2017’

 “The main exception is the tax law master in Maastricht: the interesting programme is presented in a stimulating way, a great deal of attention is paid to analytical and critical thinking and the problem solving abilities of students”

The ‘Keuzegids Masters 2017’, published on Tuesday, 28 February 2017, shows that the law masters of the Maastricht University Faculty of Law are highly valued again. Like in previous years, this is – among other things- apparent from the appreciation for the content of the various programmes and the teachers.

Minister Ploumen visits ITEM

On Tuesday 20 February, minister Ploumen visited expertise centre ITEM, located in the UM Faculty of Law.

Restorative justice should be further integrated into criminal law

Stichting Restorative Justice Nederland (Netherlands Restorative Justice Foundation, RJN) and Maastricht University (UM) will submit a joint bill proposal to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Security and Justice this Tuesday.

Prize winners during 41st Dies Natalis celebration at Maastricht University

As per tradition, the Wynand Wijnen Education Prize, the Dissertation Prize, and the Student Awards for the best master's and bachelor's theses were awarded during this year's Dies Natalis celebration.

Maastricht University and Europe

Leading up to the celebrations of the 25^th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty, UM organised three 'Europe events'. A photo report of these events can be found at the bottom of this page.

Postacademisch Onderwijs (PAO)

Ben je op zoek naar een uitdagende cursus om je kennis op te frissen of aan te vullen? Het bureau postacademisch onderwijs van de Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid biedt hoogwaardig onderwijs voor praktijkjuristen met veel oog voor kwaliteit, actualiteit en praktijkgerichtheid. 

Professor Pieter Jan Kuijper wins first Maastricht Prize for International Law

Professor Kuiper will be awarded the first Maastricht Prize for International Law on Thursday, 8 December 2016. The ceremony will take place at 13.30 hours at the Municipality of Maastricht (Raadzaal, Mosae Forum 10, Maastricht).

Maastricht Law Faculty team shortlisted twice for prestigious Re-Imagine Education Awards

Catalina Goanta, Gwen Noteborn and Bram Akkermans have, like last year, been shortlisted for the Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education Awards 2016 (www.reimagineeducation.com). Last year Goanta, Noteborn and Akkermans where nominated for their efforts implementing wearables in the legal classroom,This year, two of their projects made the prestigious awards shortlist: "Implementing Wearables in the Classroom: Making IT Real” and “The SkillsChannel”.

ITEM starts feasibility study ‘cross-border professional recognition card’.

One of the obstacles is the recognition of professional qualifications. Therefore, ITEM is announcing its intention to carry out a feasibility study about creating a “cross-border professional recognition card”.  The final “cross-border professional recognition card” would be a tool developed to speed up and facilitate recognition procedures, especially for border regions.

ITEM publishes effects for border regions in first cross-border impact assessment

The Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility / ITEM, established in 2015, has the important objective to identify the effects of laws and regulations for border regions. Therefore ITEM launched its Cross-border impact assessment in 2016. The results of this assessment are now published in the Cross-border impact assessment 2016 and make it clear that there are still many obstacles in the area of cross-border mobility.

'Suspected terrorism is no reason to revoke citizenship'

Valedictory lecture by Prof. Gerard-René de Groot

Elsevier Best Study Programmes 2016: bachelor’s programmes Tax Law and European Law School rank first, master’s programme Dutch Law shares first place with Nijmegen

And again, the Elsevier Best Study Programmes edition, in which the magazine presents its annual investigation into the best study programmes in the Netherlands has been published.

Our bachelor’s programmes in Tax Law and European Law School are on the top of the list of the student judgements. Our master’s programme in Dutch Law shares the first place with the Radboud University Nijmegen.

Jacobine van den Brink appointed member of the Electoral Council as of 1 January 2017

The Cabinet has agreed to submit the nomination of J.E. (Jacobine) van den Brink as a member of the Electoral Council to King Willem-Alexander for approval. She has been appointed professor of European and National Administrative Law at Maastricht University as of 1 July 2016.