Latest blog articles

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...

My message is, however, that next to the main lines of law’s contents, law students should learn about the ways in which law affects society and its participants. In this connection, they should study selected topics from sociology, but also – and that is the main message here – the cognitive...

A 83-year-old man suffered severe brain damage due to a fall in a bank. The man was brought to a hospital where he died one week later. A medical report then showed that the lack of assistance did not (even partly) contribute to the man’s unfortunate death. Still, the refusal to help had certain...

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...

A little bit of provocation sharpens the mind. Let me therefore start with a provocative thesis: Most lawyers have no idea what law is.

Is there such a thing as ‘European private law’? In my opinion there is not, just as there is no Dutch, French, English, or Chinese private law. Let me explain. Legal rules, including rules of private law, have many characteristics.