Tracing and confiscating criminal assets is an essential part of the fight against organised crime, because it provides better insight into the financial logistics of criminal operations and "hits criminals where it really hurts: in their wallets." However, the challenges posed by cross-border...
These last few weeks, Minister Paul of Social Affairs and Employment of the outgoing cabinet has been in the news for unilaterally deciding no longer to gradually phase out the Dutch regulation that allows temporary employment agencies to deduct a quarter of the minimum wage from migrant workers...
On 12th November 2025, the Maastricht European Private Law Institute (M-EPLI), together with the Research Project “Revocable Properties”, organised a Roundtable on 'Novel and Recurrent Challenges in Ownership’, in which, next to more general-theoretical property questions, more in particular the...
Dear members of the UM Community,
As the year approaches its end, the University Council can look back on a busy period. Our new members are becoming more and more familiar with the work of the Council and are making excellent contributions. Over the past few months, we have focussed on a range of...
On 16 April 2025, M-EPLI hosted Professor Dr Bram Akkermans from Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law and Professor Dr Lorna Fox O’Mahony from the University of Essex, England, to discuss the evolving role of private property within liberal democratic systems. Their proposal centred on the idea...
On 27 November 2025, the tenth edition of the workshop series on Ius Commune in the Making took place within the 29th Ius Commune Conference organised by the University of Amsterdam. This blog entry reproduces a public address by one of the members of the organising committee of that workshop series...
Imagine two companies from different countries enter a business deal. They pick a neutral country’s law to govern their contract and agree to arbitrate any disputes, thinking they can sidestep each other’s national courts. But what if one country’s law absolutely prohibits something in the deal –...
According to classic economic thinking—and to common sense—if two parties agree to a deal, both are made better off, otherwise they would not have agreed. This idea is also reflected in contract law, at least in its basic form, treats consent as the cornerstone of a valid contract. If both sides say...
Dear members of the UM Community,
The new academic year is in full swing, and so are UM’s representative councils. The newly elected University and Faculty Councils, as well as the Service Councils, are busy considering policy proposals and having discussions with the Executive Board, Deans, and...
When we speak of corporations, we usually think of shareholders and managers: the former provide capital, the latter make decisions. Yet, without the contributions of its employees, no corporation can survive, let alone thrive. In my PhD thesis, I answered the question of how employee participation...
