Preventive Law chair links fundamental and practice-based research

This chair is funded by Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and is part of the Maastricht University Department of Foundations and Methods of Law. Eric van de Luytgaarden will develop and provide education in fields that contribute to the academic development of preventive law, in addition to conducting and stimulating research in this field.

Preventive law is a new area of science that is developing rapidly. The focus is in line with preventive medicine, where the central theme is that prevention is better than cure. Just as people prefer to be physically healthy rather than needing to consult a doctor, they would also prefer to be legally healthy rather than needing to consult a lawyer.

Traditional legal practice focuses on dispute resolution and dispute containment. In preventive law, however, it is argued that legal health maintenance and dispute avoidance should be promoted in the administration of justice and in the training of lawyers. This is in line with the comprehensive law movement, which champions value-driven justice and humanisation of the law. It is better to make citizens aware of what they can expect in the form of legal protection, so that they have the power to make choices to maintain their legal health and avoid legal hassles or potential lawsuits.

Preventive law trains lawyers in normative professionalisation. This involves a reflexive learning process, in which they debate, invent, innovate and reflect on what they can contribute to the prevention of legal problems. They learn to promote legal health and thereby create a positive experience of law among the public.

 Examples can be found at preventivelaw.nl