The International Air Law Moot Court Competition is a unique opportunity for students seeking to gain experience in the development of arguments in the field of international law and international air law, while also establishing contacts around the world.

The main objective of the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition is to challenge students to excel in international law, consequently testing their creativity and powers of persuasion in a friendly competition. Students and academic staff throughout Europe consider participation to be a great…

On 19 juni 2018 Matthew Gillett defended his doctoral thesis ‘Prosecuting environmental harm before the international criminal court’. His supervisor is prof. dr. L.J. van den Herik.

What Determines Perceptions of Bias toward the International Criminal Court? Evidence from Kenya. In this article, published on the website SAGE Journals in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, the authors Geoff Dancy, Yvonne Marie Dutton, Tessa Alleblas, Eamon Aloyo examine the attitude towards international…

On 9 January 2019, Marieke Wierda defended her thesis 'The Local Impact of a Global Court: Assessing the Impact of the International Criminal Court in Situation Countries'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. C. Stahn en Prof. dr. L.J. van den Herik.

On September 20 and 21, a conference on the governance of international courts and tribunals took place at Leiden Law School.

Since its inception, a central preoccupation of and for the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been the nature of its relationship to national jurisdictions. Complementarity—the idea that the Court is intended to supplement, not supplant, national jurisdictions—has been the dominant juridical logic…

Plead

On April 19, Pax Initiative, a youth led NGO, held its first ever event at the Museon in the Hague. The event, “International Court of Justice Idealab: The Future of the ICJ” was a productive and inspiring discussion among students and young professionals on how the Court can reach the 16th Sustainable…

Each year the Grotius Centre in The Hague organises a number of internationally renowned moot court competitions. These competitions, also referred to as ‘moots’, offer international law students a unique opportunity to learn more about international (criminal) law in the City of Peace and Justice…

Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law

President Zelensky of Ukraine has asked the UN International Court of Justice to issue an urgent order to stop Russian military activity in his country. According to Zelensky, Russia has twisted the concept of genocide to justify aggression.

A group of Chinese law students currently study this semester at the Leiden Law Faculty with a special focus on public international law. These top talents have been selected by the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs to be China’s future diplomats, if they successfully finish their semester in Leiden…

24 October was UN Day. To mark the 75th anniversary of the organization the Chair of UN Studies in Peace and Justice and partners hosted a UN75 Dialogue in the Hague at the International Court of Justice with the President of the International Court of Justice, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf and Minister…

The effect of the pilot Teen courts will be evaluated by means of a programme, process and effect study based on qualitative research methods.

Maria Pichou is selected to act as a judge for the 2019 International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition (ICCMCC). Dr. Maria Pichou is Assistant Professor at Leiden University College The Hague.

Tom Buitelaar is an Assistant Professor in the War, Peace & Justice program of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs. This paper suggests a number of important avenues for states, the UN, and the ICC to improve the likelihood that the ICC receives assistance from UN peace operations.

How should the international community of states respond to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity? How can the perpetrators of international crimes be brought to justice? How can international crimes be prevented? How can the international community of states promote international consensus…

On 18 December 2019, Marianne Lochs defended her thesis 'Contempt of court'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C.P.M. Cleiren and Prof. J.H. Crijns.

The bi-annual Children’s Rights Moot Court (CRM), organized by the Department of Child Law in partnership with Baker McKenzie, was initiated by Leiden Law School in 2014 at the occasion of the twenty-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, with the aim to offer…

On 8 July 2020, Andres Sarmiento Lamus defended his thesis 'The Proliferation of Dissenting Opinions in International Law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. L.J. van den Herik and Prof. Y.A.A.S. Radi (UCLouvain).

The International Institute of Air and Space Law is very proud to announce that Judge Peter Tomka has accepted the position of chairman of its International Advisory Board. During the Board meeting on 15 November 2017, Judge Tomka officially succeeded Professor Laurens Jan Brinkhorst as chairman of…

Leiden Law School’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies is pleased to announce its first massive open online course (MOOC). On 18 January 2016, International Law in Action: A Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague will go live on Coursera, an education platform that…

We would all like to live in a world in which individuals feel safe, conflicts are resolved peacefully and the interests of future generations are taken into consideration. At Leiden University legal scholars investigate to what extent public international law meets the needs of a globalised society.…

The International Institute of Air and Space Law is one of the leading international academic research and teaching institutes in the world, specialising in legal and policy issues regarding aviation and space activities in the broadest sense of the word.

Too big to jail?

The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice. This year more than 570 law schools from across the world participated.

On 30 October 2017, the current class of students of the advanced LL.M. programme International Children’s Rights visited the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

This PhD dissertation examines international responsibility for the crime of aggression from a public international law perspective. Under customary international law, as well as the amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted in the Review Conference in Kampala in 2010,…

Leiden University won the awards for Best Oral Argumentation for both the Applicant and the Respondent and Best Oralist. In addition, Leiden University ranked second overall in the competition.

On 23 February 2022, Cale Davis defended the thesis 'Prosecutorial Discretion in International Criminal Justice'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C. Stahn en Dr. J.C. Powderly.

The Private International Law Department provides academic education and performs research in the field of private international law.

Public International Law is a one-year Master’s specialisation at the internationally acclaimed Leiden Law School at Leiden University. The programme focuses on the legal framework that governs international relations in an increasingly complex global society.

Miriam Cohen defended her PhD dissertation entitled “Reparations for International Crimes and the development of a Civil Dimension of International Criminal Justice” on 28 June 2017. She wrote her thesis under the supervision of Professor L.J. van den Herik and Professor C. Stahn.

Book Launch & Discussion

Congres/symposium

Who should try the fallen Sudanese president Bashir? The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague wants to put the former dictator on trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, but the Sudanese military is refusing to hand him over and wants to try him in their own…

Organized by the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, this programme enables students and professionals from all over the world to engage in discussions on the prospects and challenges of international criminal justice. Information about the next edition will be published in January 2023.

Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) is the international Honours College of Leiden University and offers an innovative Liberal Arts & Sciences undergraduate programme to highly talented and motivated students from all over the world.

Like many moot court competitions around the world, the Leiden-Sarin International Air Law Moot Court Competition was conducted fully online this year. The International Air Law Moot Court is an unparalleled forum for bringing together students and aviation professionals who share a passion for air…