In his research and teaching Jan Smits focuses on private law in a European and global context. He studies how the legal aspect of relations among private actors (individuals, consumers, firms, NGO’s) is and should be affected by internationalisation of markets and changing conceptions of justice. His academic work is thus situated at the intersection of the positive law and legal theory, which he sees as mutually beneficial for both fields. He typically makes use of a variety of research methods including doctrinal, comparative, historical and empirical approaches. In addition, he has an interest in methodology of legal scholarship. He is also committed to bridge the gap between academic research and policy and regularly provides advice to government agencies and acts as an independent voice in the public debate through blogs and columns.

Jan Smits’s academic contributions have appeared in many leading journals including the Common Market Law Review, Review of European Private Law and Zeitschrift für europäisches Privatrecht and (in Dutch) in RM Themis, Nederlands Juristenblad and Weekblad voor Privaatrecht, Notariaat en Registratie. Recent books include The Mind and Method of the Legal Academic (2012), Contract Law: A Comparative Introduction (2014) and Advanced Introduction to Private Law (2017). 

A complete list of publications is available through http://www.jansmits.eu or here (with links to the full text).