The Department of Child Law is a knowledge centre dedicated to academic research and education for both students and professionals in the field of child law and children's rights.

The master’s programme 'Jeugdrecht' considers topics like child abuse, child refugees, bullying via social media, adoption and divorce and aims to make a difference in the lives of the youngest members of our society.

In the summer of 2021, Lucy Opoka was awarded one of the coveted Meijers PhD positions. In October, she arrived back in Leiden, where she obtained her LLM degree Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights in 2019. Professor Liefaard interviewed Lucy upon arrival.

On 18 October 2017, Leiden Law School was honored to welcome a group of experts upon invitation of Prof. M.R. Bruning, professor of Child Law and head of the Child Law Department of Leiden University, to discuss current and future research projects in the field of international child abduction law and…

Y.N. (Yannick) van den Brink (LL.M, MA) will be appointed Assistant Professor at the Child Law Department of the Leiden Law School as of 1 August 2016.

On the evening of 11 September 2017, the first five-yearly anniversary of the master’s programme Child Law (Jeugdrecht) was celebrated.

On 14 December 2017 Charlotte Mol was awarded the fifth Jaap Doek Child Law Thesis Prize for her thesis: ‘The Child's Right to Representation of Article 12 UNCRC in Family Law Proceedings: A comparison and evaluation of the legal frameworks in Australia, France, the Netherlands and South Africa’. This…

On Thursday 17 November 2016 a delegation from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Social affairs and UNICEF Tunisia paid a visit to Leiden Law School, organised by the International Juvenile Justice Observatory.

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Researchers of the department of Child Law have submitted an advice to the Committee on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations, which monitors the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, on 7 January 2019.

The drafting of a handbook that serves as the first guide to European law in the area of children's rights, taking into account the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as well as the decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights…

On Wednesday, September 27th the mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, gave a lecture to the master's-degree students of Child Law, Criminal Law and Constitutional and administrative law.

On 11 June 2020, Sabine Witting defended her thesis 'Child Sexual Abuse in the Digital Era: Rethinking Legal Frameworks and Transnational Law Enforcement Collaboration'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. J.J. Sloth-Nielsen and Prof. S. van der Hof.

The parents of Romy, Savannah and Nick have launched a petition for tougher punishments in Dutch juvenile criminal law. Their children were killed by minors.

Parental divorce or separation is for many children an adverse experience in itself. Particularly the transitional period just before and after the separation between parents, during which parents and children have to adapt to the disruptions in family life is stressful. Previous studies showed that…

On Tuesday 10 January 2023, former master’s students in Child Law – Fien Bouwmeester, Renee Muller, Imaani Stegeman, Demi Onclin and Rosa Passchier – held presentations on their master’s theses at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security.

On Wednesday 12 December 2018, the department of Child Law, on the initiative of dr. Yannick van den Brink, dr. Stephanie Rap en prof. dr. Ton Liefaard), organized an expert meeting on ‘Equality, children’s rights and digital technologies’. The objective of the meeting was an in-depth exchange of ideas…

On Friday 13 April 2018, the Department of Child Law of Leiden University was proud to host the international symposium 'Deprivation of Liberty of Children in The Justice System – Towards A Global Research Agenda', organised by Prof. Dr. Ton Liefaard and Dr. Yannick van den Brink.

This month we interview alumna Dominique Mars who made an interesting career choice: she tells us how she chose to be a teacher at a primary school whilst having obtained her Master in Child Law.

On Wednesday 7 December 2016 the Government Commission for Reassessment of parenthood (Staatscommissie Herijking ouderschap) presented the report ‘Child and Parents in the 21st century’ to Minister Van der Steur of Security and Justice. Prof. dr. Ton Liefaard, UNICEF Professor of Children’s Rights at…

From 9-12 April 2018, the Department of Child and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies have organised in cooperation with the Asia-Europe Foundation a training programme on Human Rights and Children.

On 20 May 2019, Dr Yannick van den Brink, Assistant Professor at the Department of Child Law, participated in a live webinar titled ‘Child Pre-trial Detention. A Global Movement to Reduce Length of Stay’, together with colleagues from the United States and Mexico.

How do people develop and how do they learn? How does their environment affect them? How do we ensure that they develop in optimal fashion? And what can we do if problems occur? These are questions that the researchers at the Institute of Education and Child Studies try to answer.

The Leiden Institute of Education and Child Studies aims to conduct high-quality research that addresses major social issues. This inspires its BSc, MSc and PhD programmes.

We are very happy to welcome you to spend the spring semester or year studying with us at the Institute of Education and Child Studies. Here you will find practical information on studying Education and Child Studies in Leiden as an exchange student.

Are you thinking about studying Child and Adolescent Psychology? Learn more and watch the videos.

The Institute of Private Law was closely involved in the development of Nieuw Burgerlijk Wetboek (the Civil Code of the Netherlands, which came about between 1948 and 1992). It has continued to fulfil this socially engaged role over the years. It also made a significant contribution to the development…

In the programme group Parenting, Child Care and Development we examine in what way parents (mothers and fathers) and allo-parents (e.g., professional caregivers) influence children’s development, wellbeing and health. The main focus is on children’s social-emotional development and the prevention of…

How do we incorporate and embed rules and principles that enter the private law system?

Do you want to learn how to prevent child problems by optimising caregiving? Would you like to advise parents, professional caregivers and policy makers on caregiving-issues? In that case the master’s specialisation Parenting and Child Development is the ideal choice for you!

As children learn, develop and acquire more skills, their legal position also changes. Professor of Children’s Rights Ton Liefaard works closely together with Leiden social sciences researchers to shed light on these growing capacities and their implications for our legal system. ‘Our ideas about children’s…

The master's programme in Education and Child Studies is an academic programme that focuses on the link between theory, research and practice.

The judge as a problem-solver in domestic violence cases involving child victims.

On 18 March 2020, Hoko Horii defended her thesis ‘Child Marriage as a Choice. Rethinking agency in international human rights’. The doctoral research was supervised by prof. A.W. Bedner and prof. G.A. van Klinken.

Several studies into the prevalence of child abuse in the Netherlands were conducted on behalf of the Ministries of Security and Justice and of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Samson Committee and the WODC.

On 3 November 2022, Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, spoke as an expert on child protection at a roundtable discussion with Dutch Lower House members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Security.

In its broadcast of 28 April 2019, TV programme Medialogica (Human) looked at television programme Ontvoerd (Abducted). Leiden professors Mariëlle Bruning and Jannemieke Ouwerkerk contributed to the broadcast.

In the specialisation Child and Adolescent Psychology , part of the Master in Psychology, you develop practical skills in assessing and managing developmental psychopathology.

Delineating psychophysiological endophenotypes of social anxiety disorder

How can child participation be defined, what is the importance of child participation and how can it be promoted?

This book examines the impact of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on national and international jurisprudence, since its adoption in 1989.

The programme group Parenting, Child Care and Development carries out general courses within the field of Education and Child Studies and specialised courses within the field of Child and Family Science.

Central elements in the research activities of all programme group members are: attachment, sensitive caregiving, and prevention and intervention.

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