Latest blog articles

  • The technique of academic research: on research lines and second brains

    An important part of becoming a fully-fledged academic is the development and curation of a research line. A research line is the main research topic and the thread throughout (large parts of) a career. It could be law and technology in private law, globalisation in public law, human rights in...

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  • State aid and export credits: which law applies?

    Officially supported export credits are instruments that governments can use to boost or support their exports, either through insurances, loans or guarantees. Most governments provide this support through Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), the first of which were founded in the 1920s (Stephens, 1999).

  • Should we worry about sovereign debt?

    In her recent book “The Deficit Myth” star economist Stephanie Kelton tells us why economists should not worry too much about sovereign debt and deficits. But is that the same for lawyers? And are all countries truly treated equally?

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  • Sustainability and private law?

    The biggest challenge of the 21st century is undoubtedly the question of how to tackle the effects of a rising population, expanding industrialisation and growing environmental degradation. Apart from an ever complex world, there are externalities that are the result of the way humankind has been...

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  • An update on the situation in Ecognomia

    Things aren't going so well on Earth. We are suffering from systemic problems. Resource wastage, ecosystem collapse and climate change make it impossible to claim that things on Earth are working efficiently. But the Gnomes have solved all of these problems. 

    An update on the situation in Ecognomia
  • Reservations over the Netherlands Commercial Court

    On 18 July 2017 the Government submitted a proposal for the establishment of the Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC). In brief, the proposal provides for the establishment of a court (and appellate court) before which parties can litigate in the English language. According to the proposal, the NCC...

    Netherlands Commercial Court
  • Is taxation illegal as it infringes your ownership?

    At the hearing of the parliamentary interrogation commission, investigating tax evasion,Toine Manders claimed at June 16th, that the government infringes people’s property rights by taxing. (Dutch only)

    John Locke memorial stone
  • Introducing: Commissioner Designate Timmerman’s common-sense test

    In his written answers to the European Parliament as well as orally during the hearing to establish his suitability to become first Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner Designate Frans Timmermans promises to ensure a common-sense test for all future legislation. I offer some legal...

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  • The end of the public-private divide

    The public-private divide is one of the 21st century’s flat earth theories. Its conceptions of private rights and obligations and limitations on state power are commonly used in corporate law, contract law and numerous other fields of legal, political, economic and other social scientific research...

    The end of the public-private divide