Today, 189 out of 193 officially recognised nation-states have a written constitution, and 75% of these have been ratified since 1975. How did this worldwide diffusion of constitutions come about?

Jaroslaw Kantorowicz, assistant professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, isolated the reaction of the public to the potential breach of constitutional fiscal rules from the reaction of other players, such as the opposition, media and civil society organizations.

This book presents concrete solutions for managing the legal risks distorting the development of various areas of EU law. It pursues an innovative and effective approach to identify legal risks, their causes at the EU level and their impacts on the functioning of the Union and its Member States. It…

For a long time, in the United States ‘Schmoozes’ have been organized. These small-scale meetings offer the opportunity to informally discuss important themes. On 12 and 13 October, the first European Schmooze took place in Milan. The topic was ‘Economic Inequality as a Global Constitutional Challenge’.…

The Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden University has published a collection of research essays on the separation of powers. This collection addresses the main question of whether the historically developed combination of concepts of democratic legitimacy and the separation…

Professor Versteeg is currently Professor of Law at Virginia School of Law in the United States, where she has been working since 2011 as Miller Center Director and Human Rights Program Director at the Center for Comparative and International Law University of the Virginia School of Law.

On 8 October, an inspiring session was held at the KOG Building. The session focused on the award-winning book entitled 'The Story of Constitutions' by Professor Wim Voermans, recently published by Cambridge University Press. The event attracted a diverse audience comprising both colleagues and students…

The Global Summit on Constitutionalism took place from 16 to 18 March. Wim Voermans, Gert Jan Geertjes and Rowie Stolk, from the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, travelled to Austin where the conference was organised by the School of Law of the University of Texas at Austin.

The Netherlands has gained a third commentary on the Constitution – with Leiden as its home base. The first copy of Een nieuw commentaar op de Grondwet (A new commentary on the Constitution) (published by Boom Amsterdam) was presented to Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the Torentje last week.

This theme is central to the recently published book 'Onze Constitutie' by Wim Voermans, professor of constitutional and administrative law. The colossal book has no fewer than 911 pages, but Voermans has managed to turn it into one very readable book, with fluent pen, with an eloquent tone and, moreover,…

On 1-2 November, Professor Luuk van Middelaar spoke at the Academic Conference “EU Constitutional Imagination: Between ideology and utopia” at the University of Copenhagen.

'Een nieuw commentaar op de Grondwet' is the title of a book published this week. The book uses 35 essays to describe the importance of the Constitution to the Dutch democratic rule of law.

Workshop

Leiden law scholars prof. dr. Luc Verhey and Gert Jan Geertjes have edited a book about constitutional conventions and their added value for Dutch constitutional law. The book is published (in Dutch) by editor Boom in Amsterdam.

Students attending Richard Albert’s seminar on constitutional change asked Reijer critical questions about an article he recently wrote with Maarten Stremler.

On Monday 4 September, Professor Christopher Martinez, from the Universidad de Concepción (University of Concepción), Chile, was invited by the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law to introduce his forthcoming book at our university.

On 11 February 2022, the Urban Governance Research Network (Ugovern) organised a webinar ‘Understanding Recent Changes in Belgium and the Netherlands Planning Law’. Rogier Kegge was one of the panel members during the webinar.

In Dutch newspaper NRC, Pieter Omtzigt says he finds it 'unconstitutional' that he has no right to vote in committee meetings. Omtzigt believes he is as much a Member of Parliament as other MPs. However, since 2017, a breakaway group is no longer entitled to a proportional share of staff support and…

The Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies (ESHTE), in partnership with the World Association of Wine Tourism (AMETUR), the International Wine Law Association (AIDV) and the European Network of Wine Cities (RECEVIN) organised, in Portugal, from 22 to 25 October 2023, a very interesting…

On 4 March 2024, the Local Public Sector Alliance (LPSA) held a meeting of its Working Group on Local Democracy and Inclusive Governance, in which theoretical ideas and experiences about local governance and decentralisation were discussed. Esteban Szmulewicz, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional…

The tally now stands at a 19th no-confidence motion in the Rutte IV cabinet, though it is just one year old. All Rutte cabinets combined have faced more no-confidence motions in the past 12 years than the entire parliamentary history before it. The score is 1.5 per month, 87 in total as of 2010 which…

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) is to investigate whether comments made by 'Forum voor Democratie' MP Gideon van Meijeren about going to parliament to protest are punishable. How should the political centre in The Hague respond?

Prime Minister Rutte has broken the Archiefwet (Dutch Public Records Act) for years by deleting his text messages. That was the conclusion of the Information and Heritage Inspectorate in a scathing report. On Monday, Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives Vera Bergkamp also filed charges after…

The jubilee conference for the centenary of the Vereniging van Drentse Gemeenten (the association of municipalities in the province of Drenthe) took place on 23 September. The conference focussed on the collaboration between the municipalities, the province and the water boards in Drenthe past, present,…

Chances that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will become Secretary General of NATO are becoming increasingly likely now that the US and most western countries have expressed their support. The question now is how to appoint someone to the position of Prime Minister, who to appoint and when the situation…

'Bestaanszekerheid' (socio-economic security) is the buzzword in the Netherlands and the magic word in the current election campaign. The King also dropped the word in his Speech from the Throne on Budget Day.

Last week, the Dutch Council of Ministers adopted the decision to modernise the process of prosecuting politicians. This action was taken following the Russian bribery scandal involving Dutch politicians. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, discusses this in Dutch daily newspaper ‘NRC’.

Three professors, including Leiden Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law Wim Voermans, sent an urgent letter to the Dutch Senate on 29 May 2023 concerning the new pension system. The criticism focuses not so much on the content of the new pension system, but on the fact that, according…

In the aftermath of the child care benefits scandal in the Netherlands, politicians in The Hague turned to self-reflection and, as a result, the call for the introduction of a constitutional court is growing louder. Pieter Omtzigt, a popular conservative politician and leader of the new party New Social…

Esteban Szmulewicz, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law of Leiden University and expert on decentralisation issues, gave an online presentation of his research before the subcommittee on Political System, Constitutional Reform and Form of State in Chile and reported…

Negatieve ambtelijke adviezen lieten eerder zien dat het uitroepen van een asielcrisis op grond van het vreemdelingennoodrecht vanuit democratisch en rechtsstatelijk oogpunt niet aanvaardbaar is. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar staatsrecht, licht in Nieuwsuur toe welke hordes bij zowel bij de inzet van het…

Almost two weeks after the general elections in the Netherlands, negotiations between the leaders of the four parties who were expected to form a new coalition government are still not going smoothly. Ronald Plasterk, appointed as ‘scout’ to explore possible alliances, has said he will need one more…

The past decade, against the backdrop of a fragmented political landscape, has witnessed the greatest changes to the Netherlands since the aftermath of the Second World War. The labour market, the housing market, the energy market, the bank system, the pension system, the healthcare system, to name…

In 1970, compulsory voting was abolished in the Netherlands. It wasn’t functioning at the time, and it was abolished for practical and ideological reasons, says Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, on a BNNVARA podcast.

During the coronavirus years 2020 and 2021, Dutch citizens became poorer, more anxious, less free and more rebellious. The State gained more power and entered the lives of citizens in all manner of ways to protect their health. Only recently did the State give citizens their freedom back – in part.

During her time as Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives, Arib was, among other things, accused of creating an 'unsafe working environment'. To prevent disclosure of the case, she is taking legal action to demand access to all documents and their subsequent destruction. In addition, she is demanding…

Het boek met de titel ‘the story of constitutions’ probeert interdisciplinair te begrijpen waar de grondwet vandaan komt en waarom het juist nu in korte tijd viral is gegaan. Waarom is dit oeroude fenomeen de laatste jaren zo in populariteit toegenomen en ook nog eens in een tijd, waarin democratieën…

Now that the new Dutch government's plans are set out on paper, the chess game begins for cabinet formation leader Richard van Zwol. He has to make the next move and put together the ministerial team. But how do you know if you’ve made the right move with the right chess piece? And who is a suitable…

The Municipality of Veere wants to limit accommodation for tourists. However, this puts a number of council members in a dilemma. Are they allowed to debate the future of tourism in the area while being landlords themselves? Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, comments…

A clear, unambiguous definition of an extraparliamentary cabinet still seems to be missing in the political arena of The Hague. Caroline van der Plas, Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) party leader, wants to discuss this issue with the party chairs of the Dutch coalition parties. Wim Voermans, Professor…