On Tuesday 14 June, the Europa Institute welcomed Martijn Stronks, Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam Centre of Migration and Refugee Law of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, for its third ‘Meet the Author’ event.

In an interview with Sveriges Radio, Sweden’s national radio station, Jorrit Rijpma, Professor of European Law, spoke about European legislation concerning migration.

One week ago a group of Dutch men were attacked out of the blue by another group of Dutch tourists on the Spanish island of Mallorca. One of the victims later died as a result of his injuries. The Spanish police know who the suspects are, but those men are in the Netherlands.

If the Netherlands wants to change its reputation as a tax haven, it must do more according to Professor of Tax Law Jan van de Streek on American news site Bloomberg.

The suspects of the fatal assault on Mallorca will be investigated in the Netherlands. If the Dutch Public Prosecution Service sees sufficient reason to prosecute the suspects, then a Dutch court will consider the case.

Tech company Uber uses various tricks via the Netherlands to avoid paying tax on its profits. A $16 billion inter-company loan from Singapore has prompted questions with experts claiming the loan is not under arm’s length terms. MEP Paul Tang wants Brussels to investigate.

Russia recently blew up a defect satellite. As a result, the amount of space debris in Earth orbit has increased.

At the end of June 2021, The Dutch Ministry of Finance made a policy document public that dates back to 2016. In it, civil servants acknowledge that the Netherlands risked providing unauthorized State aid to American multinationals by allowing them to use a controversial, but favourable, fiscal construction:…

More than 130 countries, including the Netherlands, have decided to introduce a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent. The plan would lead to 125 billion euro in extra tax revenue globally.

The European Space Agency (ESA) introduces the members of the European Center for Space Law (ECSL) on its website through interviews with its members. One of those members is Tanja Masson-Zwaan.

Space travel has long since progressed from being just about rockets, travelling to the moon, and Russia and America. The Netherlands has its own Space Agency and one of its important tasks is collecting and making available increasingly advanced satellite data.

Every year in the Netherlands, thousands of children are placed in out-of-home care because their parents are unable to look after them properly or because the children are at risk.

Recently, Jaap van den Herik, professor emeritus Law and IT, was interviewed by the BNVKI (Benelux Association for Artificial Intelligence).

Insurers determine for themselves whether someone has committed fraud, impose sanctions immediately and hardly ever report it. As a result, police, prosecutors, and criminal courts are side-lined. And policyholders are sometimes left out in the cold. Bart Custers, professor of Law & Data Science at…

Het faillissement van zorgonderneming Co-Med stelt de curatoren voor dilemma’s. Want wie krijgen voorrang: patiënten, personeel of de schuldeisers? Universitair docent Jessie Pool, gespecialiseerd in het ondernemings- en insolventierecht, pleit voor insolventieprocedures die beter zijn toegespitst op…

The numbers of asylum seekers and the direct family members hoping to join them were not the problem, says Mark Klaassen. The stumbling block was the housing market. He says the asylum crisis is being used for electoral gain.

Associate Professor Mirjam Sombroek has been asked for advice on account of her expertise in the area of health law and children’s rights.

In the podcast Het Geldspoor, Professor of Tax Law Jan van de Streek speaks about the profession of tax advisers. 'Tax consultants should take a firmer stance more often’, says Van de Streek.

The EU is aiming to deter economic coercion with a new legal instrument. Freya Baetens will elucidate this in her inaugural lecture on October 27th.

Too often, tax scholars have a dual role: advising the government on legislation, while at the same time helping companies to pay as little tax as possible. This needs to change according to Bart Snels, a member of parliament for Dutch GreenLeft party.

VVI Research Talks

In July 2021 the Leiden Empowerment Fonds (LEF) awarded a research grant of €13,500 for research into the history of maritime law in early modern times.

The Dutch Government would like to allow QR checks at work. Legal experts expect that employees who refuse could be dismissed.

Conference

Mees Vergouwen heeft op 18 juni de dissertatieprijs van De Vereniging voor Belastingwetenschap gewonnen. Hij promoveerde in 2023 op een proefschrift over ‘botsende belastingregels’. De fiscalist kreeg de prijs voor het beste proefschrift van de afgelopen twee jaar.

Now the number of people with COVID-19 is increasing and we are faced with stricter measures once again, the question arises whether compulsory vaccination could be allowed.

Three directors of PostNL have been arrested in Belgium, suspected of human trafficking among other things. Abuses also exist in the Dutch parcel delivery sector. Why does the Netherlands act less firmly?

The Earth-Space Symposium is set to take place on 12 and 13 November. This year’s symposium will be hosted by Utrecht University and its theme will be 'Sustainability, Governance, Futures'.

During a working visit to a company that cleans up space debris, the British Prince Charles suggested that a climate agreement specifically for space might be a good idea. Experts, including Leiden Law School’s Tanja Masson-Zwaan, say the idea is wishful thinking.

Toogdag

Course

PhD defence

When Professor of Tax Law Jan Vleggeert delivered his inaugural lecture in Leiden University’s Academy Building on 30 October 2020, only 30 people were allowed to attend due to coronavirus measures. On 10 June 2022, Vleggeert was therefore given the opportunity to deliver a lecture to a much larger…

Children aged between 12 and 17 years can decide themselves whether they want to be vaccinated or not. Experts say that children are capable of taking a well-considered decision.

The legal protection of parents and children in cases involving placement in care must improve. That is the opinion of Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law.

Space is becoming increasingly busier due to the launching of satellites and tourists. But no binding international agreements have been made since 1979. This is problematic, warns space lawyer Tanja Masson-Zwaan. ‘Everyone’s putting their own interests first.’

No, the Netherlands is not a tax haven, the new State Secretary for Tax Affairs Marnix van Rij said shortly after his introductory meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte. Yet there are numerous reports that describe the Netherlands' role as a tax haven.

At the request of the Dutch Parliament, Professor Marielle Bruning, Dr Kartica van der Zon (Dept. of Child Law), Professor Lenneke Alink and Dr Sabine van der Asdonk (Education and Child Studies) have produced a fact sheet on the placement of children in care in the Netherlands.

The Health Council of the Netherlands has published an advisory report entitled ‘Ethische en juridische overwegingen Covid-19’ (Covid-19: ethical and legal considerations). According to the Council, businesses and organisations may request a vaccination certificate, but can only do so under strict c…

Due to an exception in the law, domestic workers employed by private persons cannot automatially benefit from social security schemes. Home help Carol Kollmann did not agree with this and took her case to court.

Research

Research

Debate, Lunch

On 6 December 2022, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents around 260 airlines in the world, released its Economic Outlook & State of the Industry, projecting that globally airlines would return to profit in 2023.

Ontwikkelingshulp- en migratiedeskundigen zien dat er lessen zijn geleerd in het nieuwe regeerakkoord op het gebied van asielbeleid. Maar aan veel toezeggingen kleven cynische voorwaarden.

Due to the absence of a finalised ‘corona act’, the Dutch Government will only be able to make use of emergency regulations should there be a new coronavirus wave. In May 2020, the Dutch Council of State wrote that, strictly speaking, the emergency regulations did not meet the constitutional requirements…

Various countries are planning new missions to the Moon. Not just for prestige and science, but also to extract raw materials.

Assistant Professor Space Law Tanja Masson-Zwaan appeared as a guest on the Radio Weetlust programme of local Leiden radio station Sleutelstad FM. She talked about, among other things, who does the moon actually belong to and why we all would like to go there so badly.