Law Blogs Maastricht

The administrative approach to organised crime has redefined local governance in the Netherlands, where mayors wield powerful tools to disrupt illicit networks. As Germany begins to experiment with similar strategies, comparative insights become essential.

On 17 April, many of us had the pleasure of attending an IGIR Expert Lecture by John Clarke, former Chief Agriculture Negotiator of the European Union and former Head of the EU Delegation to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations in Geneva. He is currently a fellow at the Maastricht University Institute for Globalisation and International Regulation (IGIR). During his talk, John offered valuable insights into the escalating trade war sparked by the sweeping tariffs recently introduced by US President Donald Trump.

This explainer provides essential context on the ICJ’s advisory opinion request on Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The hearings, scheduled from Monday, 28 April 2025 to 2 May 2025, will be live-streamed at the Law Café of the Faculty of Law, Maastricht University.

As part of the ‘AI & Marine Environmental Policy: What Role for Automated Systems?’ research project, a sensemaking workshop took place at Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law on March 28, 2025.

Law increasingly addresses complex scientific and technological developments, and Science and Technology Studies (STS) is gradually making its way into legal scholarship. The strength of STS lies in its capacity to debunk abstract regulatory constructions and force law to confront questions of (in)equality and (in)justice. At its core, STS approaches share a commitment to understanding science and technology not merely as technoscientific phenomena but as socially embedded, interrelated, and constructed.