Institute of Public Law

We co-organise our society through law and public institutions. As society evolves, these institutions continually face new dilemmas. Legislators must regulate AI while also fostering competitiveness. Judges are tasked with protecting a healthy environment while respecting democratic decisions. States must cooperate effectively at the European and international levels while safeguarding national identity and sovereignty.

The Institute of Public Law examines how public institutions can best address these challenges through law at the national, European, and international levels. How can national and international institutions support and steer our society? And how can we ensure that, in times of technological revolutions, climate change, and geopolitical threats, the law will continue to meet the requirements of legitimacy, effectiveness, and the rule of law?

To answer these questions, we combine in-depth and frequently interdisciplinary research with a keen eye for the practical functioning of law. We attach great importance to collaboration with other disciplines as well as societal actors, as we believe complex issues can only be tackled collectively.

The Institute comprises the departments of Constitutional and Administrative Law, Social law, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, the Europa Institute and hosts the International Institute of Air and Space Law - one of only a few specialized centres in this area worldwide.

Members of the board of the Institute:

• Prof. Y.E. Schuurmans, chair
• M. Hoeber, board secretary/IC
• Prof. A.C.M. Meuwese, member
• Prof. A. Cuyvers, member
• Prof. S.J. Truxal, member
• Prof. D.A. Dam-de Jong, member
• Dr M.Y.H.G. Erkens, member