Research

Public law involves the study of the relationship between individuals and the state, focusing on the structure and regulation of public institutions to uphold the rule of law, democracy, and fundamental rights. As a Dutch University, the jumping off point for our research is informed by our national context and goal of advancing high-quality research on Public Law which will benefit Dutch society. In line with the Faculty of Law’s commitment to research that is both societally relevant and interdisciplinary, we explore the evolution and resilience of public legal institutions through the lens of real-world challenges and broader social transformations. Equally, our location in a small city at the heart of Europe — where the European Union was born in 1992 via the Maastricht Treaty — offers a unique position at the crossroads of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, which we use to explore the interplay of Dutch, European, and International Law from a Comparative Law perspective. 

With approximately 45 staff, our Department enjoys a strong international reputation owing to its high research output and extensive networks within the Netherlands, the Benelux region, Europe, and internationally. Known for its interdisciplinary and comparative approach, the Department consistently produces impactful research on Constitutional, Administrative, and Social Law, with a focus on Dutch, European, and International Law and Governance. Its scholars are active contributors to leading international journals, collaborative research projects, and policy-relevant initiatives.

 Our approach is comparative, critical, and grounded in a desire to study real-world problems. Methodologically, the Department is diverse; scholars engage with doctrinal, comparative, normative, critical, and empirical research approaches, often drawing on insights from other disciplines beyond legal studies. This interdisciplinary orientation reflects the Faculty’s broader research mission to connect legal scholarship with insights from political science, sociology, economics, and other disciplines. In particular, our research explores the following areas of Public Law: Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Social Law, European Law, Comparative Law, Human Rights, and Environmental Law. 

Research Networks

The Department’s research is embedded in several research centres and institutes of Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law. These include:

The Maastricht Research Centre for the Dutch Legal System (MOSaR) supports innovative, interdisciplinary research on the development and resilience of the Dutch legal system within its European context.

The Maastricht Centre for European Law (MCEL), which explores European law in its broader constitutional and political dimensions, with particular attention to the balance between uniformity and differentiation in the Union’s legal order.

The Globalisation and Law Network, which examines how legal systems respond to globalisation and the implications for sovereignty, legitimacy, and institutional reform.

The Ius Commune Research School, a collaborative interuniversity initiative in which our researchers engage with colleagues across the Netherlands and Belgium to study the interaction of legal traditions in Europe.    

 In addition, researchers from the Department contribute to initiatives in the Montesquieu Institute and CERiM, further strengthening our interdisciplinary and cross-border outlook. These institutional connections reinforce the Faculty’s ambition to foster excellence in legal research that transcends disciplinary and national boundaries and engages with the most pressing normative and institutional questions of our time.