Research

The Research and Data Centre (WODC) has published a research report on femicide in Dutch legal practice.

A group of legal experts from the Faculty of Law has provided advice on the exercise of the right to demonstrate at Maastricht University (UM).

As one of the Faces of Science, Paula will communicate her research and her work as a scientist to society in various ways.

Donna Yates (Associate Professor in the Criminal Law and Criminology department) has been appointed UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage and Emerging Crime.

The Executive Board has appointed Dr Frank Nellen as Professor of Value Added Taxes and Supply Chain Levies as of 1 March 2026. He succeeds Ad van Doesum, who was appointed Justice in the Tax Chamber of the Dutch Supreme Court as of 1 January 2026.

Copyright lawsuits in the US brought by groups of writers, artists, and musicians against AI developers have mainly focused on the AI training stage rather than the output stage. One of the reasons for this focus is that claimants often struggle to demonstrate that AI outputs are copies of original works. Architecture is different: where general-purpose AI models like GhatGPT reproduce copyright-protected architectural designs, the similarity is remarkable and therefore it becomes easier to demonstrate copying. While we have not seen lawsuits from architects yet, they are likely to be unsuccessful nevertheless. Why?

Can we trust AI with our financial integrity? With financial crime, the stakes aren't just monetary—they involve the rule of law and the health of our democracy. But in the COMCRIM AI PhD project, we are facing a unique challenge: How do you train a machine to find a needle in a haystack when that 'needle' is constantly changing its position? Trying to answer this question, we provide an overview of how AI can support the detection of financial crimes that threaten the rule of law and democracy.

On Thursday, January 22, 2026, the Research and Data Centre (WODC) and the Trimbos Institute jointly organised the annual symposium of the National Drug Monitor (NDM). During the meeting, the latest figures and trends were presented: who uses drugs, and what developments are visible? What stood out? The rise of the new psychoactive substance (NPS) 3MMC, best known by the name MIAUW.

Nobody likes a conflict, especially not about being good enough to belong to a certain profession. All the same, nobody wants to receive medical treatment from a doctor, without sufficient professional performance. So, after graduation, a medical specialist should be competent to provide the level of care sufficient to the norms of the specialty, regardless of any disputes or obstacles during training.

On 24 March, a long-negotiated trade deal between the European Union and Australia finally became a reality. This is a welcome development in light of the current geopolitical and economic uncertainties. The agreement follows a series of recently concluded EU trade deals with important partners such as Indonesia and India, reflecting the EU’s broader strategy to expand its economic presence in key markets and to help European businesses diversify their trade relationships. Given the scale of the economies involved, these agreements are expected to have a significant economic impact.