Prof. Dr. Jan Smits
Interim Rector Magnificus Maastricht University
Prof. dr. Jan Smits (1967) is Professor of Private Law at Maastricht University. He was appointed as rector magnificus ad interim on 1 March 2026. From 2017 until 2026 he was dean of the Faculty of Law.
Jan studied law at Leiden University, where he also defended his PhD (1995). He taught Dutch, European and comparative private law at, among others, Tilburg University, Leuven University, the University of Helsinki and Penn State University. Hij was appointed as professor of Private law at Maastricht University in 1999.
Jan Smits is an elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010) and a titular member of the International Academy of Comparative Law (2015). He is the Dutch correspondent for UNCITRAL. Hij was previously chair of the law section of the KNAW, chair of the Dutch Council of Law Deans and member of the Dutch Council of Social Sciences and Humanities. He is vice-chair of the Sociaal-Wetenschappelijke Raad.
Jan publishes in the fields of Dutch, European and comparative private law and legal theory.
Rector's Office
Debby Hewitt
+31 43 3885470
rectoraat@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Nevenfuncties:
- Project manager at ITEM
- Member Advisory Board at Dutch Journal of Legal Philosophy and Legal Theory
- Member editorial board at Studies in the History of Private Law
- Member Advisory Board at Recht en Methode in onderzoek en onderwijs
- Member Scientific Council at Comparative Law Review
- Member editorial board at Journal of Civil Law Studies
- Member editorial board Collegebundel at Wolters Kluwer
- Honorary editor at Chonnam National University Law Review
- Member Advisory Board at SSRN Journal European Private Law
- Co-editor at Biblioteca Estudios de Derecho Civil
- Member editorial board at Acta Juridica Hungarica
- Member Advisory Board at Tijdschrift voor Privaatrecht
- Deputy councillor - since 2004 (not active) at Gerechtshof Amsterdam
- Member Advisory Board Adv. Master International Civil and Commercial Law at Universiteit Leiden
- Adviser on the promotion of the social sciences at Lid Sociaal-Wetenschappelijke Raad
Research publications
Prof. dr. Jan Smits