Maastricht University’s cross-syllabus approach could point the way forward, say Herco Fonteijn and Teun Dekker.

Read the full blog on Times Higher Education.

As I step out of the station, a drizzle is falling from the grey and cloudy sky. I wrap the thick black woollen scarf slightly tighter around my head. Having to cross the Sint Servaasbridge means being subject to the whims of winter winds which travel over the river Maas. How often have I there not almost lost my umbrella to the strong air? 

Dr. Aletta Jacobs is, in ieder geval voor de meeste Nederlanders, de belichaming van vrouwenrechten en gelijkheid. Maar hoeveel weet je nou écht van deze beroemde feministe? En waarom hebben we een onderwijsruimte naar deze vrouw vernoemd?

The Law and Literature (L&L) movement gained momentum in Europe during the past decades, having had so far more exposure on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. L&L offers an open laboratory to create and test knowledge, and the teaching of law should benefit from the genius and creativity of seminal writers. An interplay of L&L and Problem Based Learning (PBL) can be only beneficial and should be encouraged.

Jean Monnet (1888-1979) is, in some ways, an unlikely person to be honoured by having a university hall called after him. Indeed, Monnet left school at the age of sixteen, never obtained a university degree, and indeed never started university studies. He grew up in the city of Cognac as the son of a négociant, a trader in the famous local fortified wines. From the age of 19, the young Jean started to travel across the world to sell the ‘cognac Monnet’ (a brand that still exists today). He had no time to undertake university studies. So, if he was not a ‘great jurist’, why can a law faculty such as that of Maastricht justifiably honour him?

To get photos of celebrities, paparazzi photographers wait for their targets to end up in the frame. They believe that the minute they released the shutter, the pictures are copyright protected. They don’t know that they might (un)knowingly or (un)intentionally breach someone’s right to privacy.

Sometimes cases come along in which several unusual suspects come together. JF v EUCAP Somalia (T-194/20), for which the notification was published last Monday in the Official Journal, is one of them. In this case, a British national’s contract with the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) mission, EUCAP Somalia, was terminated in January 2020 by the Head of Mission citing the UK’s imminent withdrawal from the EU. JF, the British national, challenges that decision arguing that, at least during the transition period, he should be treated like all other nationals of EU Member States. In contrast, CSDP missions other than EUCAP Somalia seem to have retained their contract staff of British nationality during the transition period.

Simone Veil passed away on 30 June 2017, just two weeks shy of her 90^th birthday. The fact that her funeral was a national ceremony at the Hȏtel des Invalides, and that her remains have been interred in the Panthéon - as one of the four women who have been bestowed with this honour because of their merits - is an indication of her importance for France, but also for Europe.

How do we guarantee access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, and secure health-related human rights for all? We’ve heard a string of promises in the race for new vaccines and therapies.

It feels sometimes as if the whole world of science is working exclusively on finding a cure for COVID-19. If you are looking at the search for an effective vaccine, it was recently published in The New York Times that more than 130 vaccine candidates are currently in the pipeline, which is still growing.