Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence

Research Institute

Faculty of Law

The Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence (MCLJ) promotes excellence in research in the areas of legal philosophy, legal theory, (international) legal history and the intersection of these fields by holding colloquia, workshops, conferences, and other academic exchanges with a view to serving the scholarly community and society at large.

Fast facts

focus on the aspects of law that relate to philosophy, history and theory
international group of scholars with strong emphasis on interdisciplinarity
analysis of global themes
understanding the relationship between law, morality and society
Led by: prof. Roland Pierik, dr. Lukasz Dziedzic and dr. Monica Garcia-Salmones

Upcoming MCLJ events

Call for Abstracts: The MCLJ Annual Conference 2027 on "Future Normativities:
The Foundations of Law and Political Community" will take place on Friday, 29 January 2027, at the Faculty of
Law of Maastricht University. Interested researchers should submit abstracts (500-1000 words) and a short bio (150 words) to e.couperus@maastrichtuniversity.nl by Friday 16 October
2026. Please put ‘Abstract Conference 2027’ in the subject line of your email. For the conference description and the full call for abstracts, please see here.

Call for Abstracts:
ECtHR jurisprudence: an incremental and progressive
development or time to take a breather?
A two-day conference at the Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence (MCLJ),
Thursday 14 and Friday 15 January 2027. Interested researchers submit submit abstracts of max. 500 words on one of the conference themes, clearly outlining
the contribution’s main argument, methodology, and relevance. Please also include your
name, institutional affiliation, and a short biography (max. 150 words). Participants are
welcome but not required to develop full papers for the conference. Abstracts should be
submitted to law-mclj@maastrichtuniversity.nl by Friday, 16 October 2026. Please put
‘Abstract ECtHR Conference’ in the subject line of your email. For the conference description and the full call for abstracts, please see here.

Upcoming activities of MCLJ members

Between 27 July and 01 August 2026, Antonia Waltermann will participate in the workshop ‘How Does Law Exist and Hold Validity?’. https://www.villavigoni.eu/en/event/how-does-law-exist-and-hold-validity/

Past events and activities of MCLJ members

On 1 July 2026, Manon Moerman defended her PhD dissertation entitled ‘Normative Hybridity in Private Partnerships. An Exploration into the Rules of Conduct for Business Partners in Early Modern Amsterdam (1601 – 1791)'. Congratulations to Manon for this impressive achievement!

Massimo Fichera co-organised the two-day annual RECONNET conference entitled:Constitutionalism: toward a jurisprudence for the future, organised at The University of Surrey Law School (25-26 June).

Roland Pierik presented a keynote lecture at the two-day annual RECONNET conference, organised at The University of Surrey Law School (25-26 June), entitled: Convention Constitutionalism: Paving the Way for a European Constitutional Future.

Massimo Fichera presented a paper at the two-day RECONNET conference on "Constitutionalism: toward a jurisprudence for the future, organised at The University of Surrey Law School (25-26 June). The paper is entitled Communal Constitutionalism and the Notion of Legitimate Authority."

Roland Pierik presented a paper at the 2026 ICON·S Annual Conference in Dublin (29 June- 1 July) on "Reimagining Public for a Fractured World- Technology, Identity and Truth". The paper is entitled: Defending Convention Constitutionalism.

Massimo Fichera presented a paper at the 2026 ICON·S Annual Conference in Dublin (29 June- 1 July) on "Reimagining Public for a Fractured World- Technology, Identity and Truth". The paper is entitled Originalism, Traditionalism and Common Good Constitutionalism: Three Versions of Identitarian Constitutionalism

On 20-21 June 2026 Monica Garcia-Salmones organized an author workshop on "The Common Good and the Common Goods".

Antonia Waltermann gave a talk on ‘Reasoning or Simulation?’ at the Lisbon summer school of Legal Reasoning and AI on 19 June, 2026.
https://lisbonpubliclaw.pt/en/eventos/summer-school26-on-legal-reasoning-artificial-intelligence/

Roland Pierik presented a paper entitled: Should the ECtHR change its course? A legal-philosophical perspective at “Revisiting the ECHR: A Closer Look at Calls for Change”, Faculty of Law, Leuven University, 22.05.2026. https://www.law.kuleuven.be/apps/activiteiten/calendar/revisiting-the-echr-a-closer-look-at-calls-for-change-6669

Monica Garcia-Salmoes presented a paper entitled ‘Nature and Law’ at the Departmental Seminars, Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, on the 14 May, https://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/news-events/seminars-reading-groups/departmental

On 12 May 2026 the Law, Authority Normativity and authority research stream at the Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence (MCLJ) organized a meeting to discuss the implications of the recent CJEU judgment on Hungary's controversial "child protection" laws, titled: Commission v Hungary: a reappraisal of European values?

Antonia Waltermann travelled to Oslo (Norway) as a fellow of the research project ‘Authentic Reasoning: Rethinking Legal Doctrine in the Era of Artificial Agents’ funded by the Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (CAS) and participated in the first workshop of the project between May 11 – 14, 2026.
https://cas-nor.no/yc-project/authentic-reasoning

Lukasz Dziedzic presented the paper "Legal representation of natural entities" at the Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy seminar series at Tilburg Law School on Thursday, 30 April from 10.45-12.30, in room M534 (Montesquieu building, 5th floor).

Research

MCLJ studies law by adopting a multidisciplinary and (methodologically) pluralistic approach. Moving beyond traditional doctrinal legal research, we start from the presumption that a correct understanding of (positive) law, its meaning and its institutions, requires comprehension of the different contexts where law operates. These are the contingent historical circumstances where the legal system emerged, how positive law is embedded in broader normative-philosophical and societal debates on customary law, constitutionalism, democracy, human rights and the rule of law or the functioning of law (or not) as a coherent system of norms.

MCLJ's research mainly takes place in the following research streams:

1.    Law beyond the human
2.    Law, normativity and, authority
3.    Law and mind
4.    Global markets, nature and the common good

News

BlueLab: preparing law students for responsible AI use

Researchers

Dr. Rohan Nanda and Dr. Henrique Marcos received a Comenius Teaching Fellows ho 2026 grant for their project ‘AI Due Diligence lab for the Blue Economy (BlueLab)’.

combined portrait photos of rohan nanda (left) and henrique marcos (right)

Paula Lozada named Face of Science

As one of the Faces of Science, Paula will communicate her research and her work as a scientist to society in various ways.

MCLJ Annual Conference 2026: “Law in a changing world”

Legal ordering is changing, both globally and domestically. Some talk about a post-American order, others about a new order of Great Powers such as China, Russia or the United States. A power-based concept of law is being put forward, one more characteristic of other centuries. Ecological and techno

Populism, the principle of primacy and the values of the EU

As part of the Globalisation & Law Network Seminar Series, MCLJ and GLAWnet jointly organise a seminar by Giuseppe Martinico.

Symposium VWR-VSR: Vulnerability and the Law – Multidisciplinary Perspectives

On 14 November 2025, the symposium "Vulnerability and the Law: Multidisciplinary Perspectives" will take place in Maastricht.

Events

1 Nov

31 Dec

Globalisation & Law Network Seminar Series 2026 - 2027

31 Dec

1 Jun

Jean Monnet EU Migration Law and Governance Lecture Series

14 Jan

15 Jan

ECtHR jurisprudence: an incremental and progressive development or time to take a breather?

Blogs

Workshop The Common Good and the Common Good (Authors: Maya Herrlett and Luisa Reichwein)

General
Law

On 21 and 22 June 2026, the Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence (MCLJ), organised a workshop on the theme ‘The Common Good and the Common Good.’ This workshop was organized around Monica Garcia-Salmones Rovira’s Starter Grant. The workshop, in which we were involved as Student Assistants, provided a forum for the invited international legal scholars to discuss the notion of the common good and its role in contemporary (international) law. The research presented at the workshop will be further developed and eventually published in an edited volume, bringing together the lively debates that took place.

The Common Good and the Common Good workshop

Law in a Changing World – the 2026 Annual Conference of the Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence

On 27 and 28 January 2026, the Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence (MCLJ) organised its second annual conference with a theme inspired by these issues: Law in a Changing World. The conference’s purpose was to tackle key aspects of this changing reality, investigate its causes, and study novel legal methods and moral and political goals.

A New Place for Jurisprudence: Launching the Maastricht Centre of Law & Jurisprudence

The Maastricht Centre for Law & Jurisprudence (MCLJ), a new research institute created at the Maastricht Law Faculty in spring 2024, held its launching event on 23 January 2025. The MCLJ brings together, facilitates, and supports research in jurisprudence – widely conceived. Research conducted at the Centre is multidisciplinary with a focus on philosophy of law, legal history, and legal theory.