Latest blog articles

  • It is really amazing to see the things that students have done together

    When you look at the amount of choice that students have at the Maastricht Science Programme to build their own curriculum, coupled with the advising and the academic resources, the potential is limitless. It is a bit daring to give that high degree of freedom to students. But the students here...

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  • Who is a spouse for the purpose of EU free movement law?

    Union citizens have the right to be accompanied by their ‘spouse’ when exercising their mobility rights. But what if your spouse is denied right of residence because the destination Member State does not recognise your marriage?

    Flickr - © Robert Couse-Baker - Let freedom ring
  • For the law, cognitive sciences should not change everything, but still a lot

    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...

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  • Do we know what law is?

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

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  • Is there such a thing as ‘European Private Law’?

    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. 

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  • Defending the Central European University: options for invoking EU law

    The Central European University is facing severe restrictions after a modification to the Hungarian Higher Education Act. This blog article argues that EU free movement law could be relied upon to challenge that amendment and that, considering the particularly egregious violation of Union law at...

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  • Quota system for 'risk countries': is Saxion crossing the line?

    To counter misuse of student visas the Saxion University of Applied Sciences applies a so called ‘quota system’ for students from ‘risk countries’. The question is whether a quota is an appropriate instrument and if it is not in conflict with (European) law. This blog is only available in Dutch.

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  • Trump, Clinton and the essence of a representative democracy

    Legitimacy in the political sense can be defined as an inquiry into the justification for the exercise of public authority. Or put differently: it is the reason why I, being part of society, should accept laws and regulations that bind me.

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