Latest blog articles

  • The fluke of international law that led to an accidental condominium

    Only a short drive from Maastricht, border stones still mark the borders of Neutral Moresnet, a small condominium that was the result of a very peculiar round of border negotiations and for over a hundred years was a tax haven, a gambling paradise and a would-be Esperanto state.

    aw_blog_aron_bosman_Moresnet
  • The EU’s race to the bottom on asylum seekers’ rights

    Throughout the EU, the rights of asylum seekers come under pressure. Overdue policy changes remain stuck in negotiations because of lacking political will. It is up to the European Commission to step up and protect the fundamental rights of asylum seekers.

    law_migration_blog_aron_bosman
  • Emergency for a wall?

    Is it legally possible for Trump to invoke an emergency in order to avoid Congress and obtain the necessary funds to build his wall? Or put differently: is it possible under US law to undo the refusal of Congress to appropriate the necessary funds?

    Trump wall - blog Maastricht University
  • European budget and the national constitutional state

    In May 2018 the European Commission presented the plan of a new financial framework for 2021-2027. In which is stated that the European Commission, among other things, aims to make the subsidies which are given to the countries, conditional upon the level at which a member state complies with EU...

    EU budget_EU begroting _blog
  • Street harassment and freedom of speech

    Yelling, offensive language, indecent sounds, and to a certain extent even behaviors are being protected as ‘speech’ or as ‘symbolic speech’ by Article 7 of the constitution. If we believe criminal justice is an appropriate instrument, an intervention is only allowed on the part of the national...

    edvard_munch_de schreeuw 1895_MLR