Sjoerd Claessens is a senior lecturer in European Law at the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University. He studied at the European Law School (1994-1998) of Maastricht University which he completed cum laude. He obtained an LL.M. in international law from the Univeristy of Nottingham. In 2008 he succesfully defended his PhD on the free movement of lawyers in the European Union at Maastricht University. 

His  position does not contain a research component. Ocasionally he co-authors and assists in research projects. His primary research interest includes the free movement of persons in the European Union.

From 2010 to 2013 Sjoerd was a member of the Faculty Board as the Associate Dean for English-taught programmes. Up until August 2017 he was a member of the Board of the combined Law Curriculum of Hasselt University, the Catholic University of Leuven and Maastricht University, and Hasselt coordinator at the Faculty of Law in Maastricht. Between september 2015 and August 2017 he chaired the Faculty Council.

Sjoerd is a member of the Maastricht Center of European Law (M-Cel) and a member of the Ius Commune Research School.

Sjoerd teaches and coordinates International and European Law and EU Substantive Law at the Maastricht University Faculty of Law.

Sjoerd coordinates the Bachelor Dutch Law. As of September 2017 he is  also the Director of Studies for the Law Faculty.