Latest blog articles

  • international law

    Genocide in Gaza?

    A brief explainer about the ICJ case brought by South Africa against Israel

    On 29 December, almost three months after the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip, which had by then resulted in the deaths of more than 21,000 people and more than...

  • Today it has become impossible for one single person to master the whole field of environmental law, given its complexity and dynamic developments. Indeed, with the increasing manifestation of environmental crisis, law, being a powerful tool to address polluting behaviour, has become utterly complex...

  • Maastricht University is proud of its international character, and I am too. It is the most international university in (the small country) the Netherlands. Its teaching and research programs touch upon many European and global issues. Given this profile, travelling by staff and students was common...

  • Dear reader, welcome to the New Year 2021: a year with hopefully many opportunities and a less bizarre reality. However, while coping with Covid-19, there is already a need to take a long-term perspective: how to reach the aim of a climate neutral European Union in the year 2050. That is only 29...

  • Hugo Grotius

    To any international lawyer, Hugo de Groot (10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), usually referred to by his Latin name as Hugo Grotius, does not need any introduction. He is generally seen as the “father of public international law”, often together with Francisco De Vitoria (1483-1546) and Alberico...

  • law_jean_monnet_blog_bruno_de_witte

    Jean Monnet

    Jean Monnet (1888-1979) is, in some ways, an unlikely person to be honoured by having a university hall called after him. Indeed, Monnet left school at the age of sixteen, never obtained a university degree, and indeed never started university studies. He grew up in the city of Cognac as the son of...

  • All organizations and companies that make use of air travel face the same question: in what way will they take responsibility for the use of this type of transportation? This responsibility can take shape in different measures such as the use of electronic communication services that reduce the...

  • Today, on Human Rights Day, the Peace Palace in The Hague will be the venue of the somewhat ironic spectacle of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and global icon of human rights leading her country’s defence against allegations of genocide, the most serious violation of human rights possible.