On 18 June 2019, Peter Kempees defended his thesis 'Hard power and the European Convention on Human Rights'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. R.A. Lawson and Prof. H. Duffy.

While self-driving cars and autonomous weapon systems have received a great deal of attention in media and research, the general requirements of ethical life in today’s digitalizing reality have not been made sufficiently visible and evaluable.

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The right to strike is regulated by the European Social Charter, but employers also have the right to take collective action. Employers actually resorting to this in reality hardly ever happens, however. Instead, we constantly hear about workers going on strike.

By far the majority of users of child sexual abuse networks (or child porn forums as they are sometimes called) on the dark web do not actively communicate there but download illegal material, therefore committing a criminal offence. But they often stay under the police and judiciary’s radar. PhD candidate…

In 2007, a number of countries signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In collaboration with academics and activists in the field, Leiden researchers help to bring these agreements to life. They are mapping indigenous languages for educational purposes and defending the rights…

On Tuesday 23 May 2017, Jasmina Mackic defended her doctoral thesis ‘Proving discriminatory violence at the European Court of Human Rights’. The supervisor of the research is Vice Dean and Professor of Public International Law Larissa van den Herik. A brief summary of her thesis is provided below.

In this paper, Sibgatullina and Abbas aim to illuminate the complex connections between the European right-wing movements and Islam and discusses how the adoption of Muslim identity may function as a politically strategic opportunity for European conservative forces.

Humanities, Institute for Area Studies

Previous research has shown that extreme shyness is hereditary, but because shyness is such a broad concept it is difficult to identify specific genes. Anita Harrewijn has discovered particular brain measurements that can help. PhD defence 18 January.

This report highlights the huge potential of public inquiries to ensure that lessons are learned from COVID-19 to help the UK prepare for a future pandemic.

Are you thinking about studying European and International Human Rights Law? Learn more and watch the videos.

The abundance of images in our everyday lives-and the speed at which they are consumed-seems to have left us unable to critique them. To rectify this situation, artists such as Daniel Richter, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Artur Zmijewski have demonstrated that painting is brilliantly equipped to produce…

Peter Rodrigues contributed a chapter 'Human Rights and the Best Interests of the Child in European Family Reunification Law' in the book by Bergamini E., Ragni C. (Eds.), Fundamental Rights and Best Interests of the Child in Transnational Families.

On Thursday 11 January 2018, Xiang Li defended her doctoral thesis: “Collective Labour Rights and Collective Labour Relations of China”. The supervisors are Professor Guus Heerma van Voss and Professor Barend Barentsen.

On the 6th of December, Céril van Leeuwen has won the Jaap Doek Children’s rights thesis award for her thesis ‘The right to be heard restricted: is this desirable in the civil law proceedings?’ This award, for the best master thesis in the area of Children’s Rights, is annually granted by Defence for…

Intelligence of the crowd, or in other words, intelligence of a large, random collective, exists mostly in social media platforms such as twitter. The collective does not comprise (at least not necessarily) experts on crises, just regular people mostly. Nevertheless, there is valuable intelligence to…

During the Summer School, held at Leiden Law School in Leiden and the Hague, the participants were offered a wealth of lectures and workshops on international and regional children’s rights issues affecting children, families and communities.

In early January, Joanne van der Leun (Dean of the Leiden Law School), Ton Liefaard (Program Director of the Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights, LL.M), and Anette van Sandwijk (Head Bureau International Education) visited China.

On 26 June 2018 Claire Achmad will defend her PhD thesis Children’s Rights in International Commercial Surrogacy.

Ton Liefaard, Stephanie Rap and Peter Rodrigues have edited the book 'Monitoring Children’s Rights in the Netherlands. 30 Years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child' (Leiden University Press).

In Women and Property Rights in Indonesian Islamic Contexts, eight scholars of Indonesian Islam examine women’s access to property in law courts and in village settings.

On 6 September 2019, the Governor of Murang'a County, Mwangi wa Iria, signed a declaration at Leiden University to protect the rights of children.

On 9 May 2018, Roy van Keulen defended his doctoral thesis 'Digital Force: Life, Liberty & Livelihood in the Information Age'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A. Ellian.

Leiden University’s Executive Board has appointed South African Professor Ann Skelton as the new Chair of Children’s Rights in a Sustainable World as of 1 October 2022.

The latest newsletter of the Master of Laws Programme: Advanced Studies in International Children's Rights and the UNICEF Chair in Children's Rights of Leiden Law School, Department of Child Law has been published.

Via expedited proceedings at Leeuwarden Court of Appeal, a mother is trying to impose a relatively new treatment for her 15-year-old daughter’s eating disorder. The girl is suffering from anorexia nervosa and if she does not receive urgent treatment which the girl herself supports, there is a chance…

All children have rights, and so foster children also have rights. But when these rights are not observed, there are not many options available to foster children to assert their rights. PhD defence on 8 October 2020.

The Child Law Department of Leiden University and Defence for Children kindly invites you to the fourth Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award Ceremony and the official launch of the book ‘The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Taking Stock after 25 Years and Looking Ahead’ (Brill…

On Thursday the 3rd of March 2016, Professor Bruning welcomed a delegation from the government of the Republic of Kosovo, within the framework of the Matra-project ‘Protecting Children in Kosovo: from Policy to Practice’.

From 23 to 27 January 2017, the Child Law Department and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden Law School organized the first regional edition of the Leiden University Frontiers of Children’s Rights Summer School. The Frontiers of Children’s Rights in the ASEAN Region was set…

The case note examines the recent views adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on a communication against Belgium.

The Jaap Doek Children’s rights thesis award is an annual award for the best thesis in the field of Children’s Rights granted by Defence for Children and the Department of Child Law of the Leiden Law School. This year the thesis award will be presented for the fifth time.

PhD defence

On Friday 23 November 2018 the Institute of Immigration Law and the Department of Child Law (both Leiden University) will organize an international conference on ‘Safeguarding children’s rights in immigration law’ at Leiden Law School.

Children’s brains react in the same way to social feedback as adults’ brains. But handling frustration or aggression after being rejected is a different matter, developmental psychologist Michelle Achterberg has discovered. Using fMRI techniques, the development of the child brain has now been studied…

The research project addresses the question how complaints in the voluntary youth care system are dealt with on the municipal level and what role (municipal) Children’s Ombudspersons play in this context, through qualitative research methods.

A new website has been designed to make the Leiden Children’s Rights Observatory, which started in 2018, more accessible.

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 13 December Marit Buddenbaum won the Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Prize for her thesis on the right of the child to contact with brothers and sisters. The prize for the best master’s thesis in the field of children’s rights is awarded each year by Defence for Children together with the Department…

In early January, the Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights released its January Newsletter to its friends and partner networks.