Latest blog articles
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Comparative legal historians do not undertake pure legal history or pure comparative law. The product of their research experience is more than the mere addition of the two building blocks.
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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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When should the State intervene on ownership to guarantee the protection of the environment? When is social responsibility triggered when dealing with ownership? There is a need to predict the impact that the Ecological Function paradigm will have.
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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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Do the people still have power? Some might feel forgotten and turn to populism promising to give the country back to them. But popular sovereignty is not dead.
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In the 4th December referendum, Italy rejected the constitutional reforms promoted by the Renzi’s government. As a consequence of the “No” vote, the Prime Minister decided to resign. While the vote was influenced primarily by internal factors, the result may open a period of uncertainty for both...
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Published on LBM. Here is a fun word that you may have come across recently: Kakistocracy. Based on the Greek word kakistos (meaning “the worst”), kakistocracy is a system of governance run by the least qualified, most “deplorable” citizens that the State has to offer.
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Published on MLR blogs. What do documents about negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), oversight of the EU’s Food Safety Authority or Tax-Justice have in common? In order to access these documents, (selected) Members of the European Parliament are requested to...
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It was even featured on Dutch television: the State of the Union by Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission on 14 September 2016... This blog is only available in Dutch.
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The day after the “Brexit”-referendum, with a majority of 51.9% voting to leave the European Union, some speak of the success of democracy (“the people have spoken”). Already, there are calls for referenda in other countries to let the people speak there, too. This suggests that independently of our...