Latest blog articles

  • On the 9th of February, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that forcing suspects to provide access to their smartphone with a fingerprint is not a breach of the privilege against self-incrimination. The case originated from an ex officio appeal ‘in the interest of the law’ in a case of the Court of North...

  • The very recent ruling of the CJEU in DK (C-653/19 PPU, 28 November 2019) came to verify two quite depressing suspicions about the current status of European criminal law. First, Directive 2016/343 on the presumption of innocence remains an instrument with staggeringly limited applicability...

  • National laws or ‘legal traditions’ are not the main obstacle to realising the ideal of ‘effective legal assistance’ embedded in the EU procedural rights’ Directives. The resistance to realising this ideal originates mainly from the professional cultures of relevant actors, including criminal...

  • Those of you who were old enough to follow news headlines in the 90’s will probably remember this quote. For those of you who don’t: it is a famous phrase used by the defence team of O.J. Simpson in an – as would later turn out: successful – attempt to convince the jury of O.J.’s innocence.

  • brexit_LBM

    Getting serious

    The dreaded “No Deal” is becoming ever-more plausible

    With the summer holidays about to end, Brexit negotiations between the European Union and United Kingdom will resume in earnest. The question on everyone’s mind is simple: Will there be a deal or will the United Kingdom leave the European Union...

  • Roland Moerland spoke at Docfest about the bystander effect, empathy and agency, self-sacrifice and other remarkable features of the documentary City of Ghosts.

  • Football for sale: what is the problem, and what are the solutions? Read our previous reports (Spain, England, Germany and the Netherlands) to find out.

  • Researched and written by Marije AriënsFor the clubs, accepting foreign investments means more possible room for improvement of the club and more successful transfers. However, it also means there will be less insight into where the money that finances these improvements comes from and through...

  • Researched and written by Hanna HarnischThe German league is the 2nd largest in Europe according to revenue and thus does play an important role in terms of foreign investments saturating the league.

  • Researched and written by Aurelie Wertz. Twenty-eight clubs in the English top four divisions are now substantially owned by overseas investors! Overall, we see a general culture of acceptance or perhaps that of wilful ignorance by the fans regarding the mysterious and multiple complex aspects of...