Decolonization and Human Rights: The Dutch Case
Human rights and decolonization have a complicated relationship. From their inception in the mid-20th century as normative features of the nation-state, human rights co-existed with imperial colonial...
View ArticleThe Grotian Myth and Dutch Modern Imperialism
This symposium on ‘Decolonization and Human Rights in the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ is long overdue. It has been a distinct pleasure to contribute some opening remarks to the workshop organised by...
View ArticleAggression, War Crimes, and the Indonesian Revolution
When on 17 August 1945, the Indonesian nationalist Sukarno declared the independence of the Republic of Indonesia, he reshaped not just the history of the archipelago, but also that of international...
View ArticleThe European Convention of Human Rights’ Colonial Clause and the End of Empire
The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is arguably the foremost human rights legal instrument applicable in the Netherlands and in Europe. In the last 20 years, the extra-territorial...
View ArticleRights for Others, Firing Back?
Colonialism and decolonization have importantly shaped the constitutional trajectories of not only the colonized states, but also those of the colonizers. For the Netherlands, decolonization did not...
View ArticlePostcolonial Migration and Citizenship in the Netherlands
Can formerly colonized subjects and their descendants be full and equal citizens of the former metropoles – and if so, what would that look like? In this blogpost, we explore these politics of...
View ArticleThe Racialized Borders of the Netherlands
The principal function of borders in immigration law is to distinguish between persons and goods which are permitted to enter a territory and those which are not. I call this the filtering function of...
View ArticleThe Dutch Family Reunification Procedure
Being able to reunite with family from abroad falls under the right to family life, one of the fundamental rights every individual is entitled to. Despite this, some Dutch family reunification...
View ArticleShifts in Historiography
Whether it is appropriate for a historian to integrate notions of human rights and humanitarian law when writing about the Dutch/Indonesian re-/de-colonisation war (1945-1949) has repeatedly been a...
View ArticlePicking Primacy over Procedural Autonomy
On 8 November, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘the Court’) decided that national courts are required to ascertain of their own motion whether detention of an illegally...
View ArticleInequality of Harms, Inequality of Arms
On November 8th 2022 Channa Samkalden, lawyer for Esther Kiobel and three other widows of executed Nigerian community leaders, announced that her clients would be ending their lawsuit against Shell....
View ArticleThe Dutch Asylum Policy for Russian Draft Evaders
In a one page letter of 13 December, the Dutch state secretary for immigration Eric van der Burg (of the right-wing liberal VVD party) explained to Dutch parliament how asylum claims made by Russian...
View ArticleAchmea Goes to Washington
When enforcing so-called intra-EU investor-State arbitral awards (investment award), investors frequently turn to the United States (US) and other non-EU jurisdictions. This is a deliberate attempt to...
View ArticleA Scandal on AI in Administration, Again
After the infamous Dutch benefits scandal – that started in the 2000s and for which compensation of the wronged parties has still to be achieved –, the Netherlands are yet again the scene of wrongful...
View ArticleDutch Rule of Law Alert
It is never a good sign when Viktor Orbán celebrates the election results of another country. Last Wednesday was one of those days. On X, formerly Twitter, Orbán stressed: ‘The winds of change are...
View ArticleMilieudefensie v ING: Climate Breakdown and Banks’ Duty of Care
There is a trend towards climate lawsuits against companies based on their alleged duty of care not to emit more than a certain amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Currently, there are four such cases...
View ArticleDutch Court Halts F-35 Aircraft Deliveries for Israel
In a landmark decision, the Hague Court of Appeal ordered the Dutch government on 12 February 2024 to stop supplying Israel with F-35 fighter jet parts because there was a “clear risk” that serious...
View ArticleA Collision Foretold
On 16 May, four Dutch parties presented a new governing agreement (Agreement). The four parties PVV (ID), VVD (RENEW), NSC, and BBB (both aspiring EPP) will form one of the most right-wing governments...
View ArticleRethinking EU Law Beyond the Liberal Feminist Paradigm
Can a belief in the value of gender equality associated with the lifestyle of the westernized woman be regarded as a reason for persecution and thus lead to the granting of refugee status under the...
View ArticleThe Strictest Asylum Policy Ever?
On 13 September 2024, ahead of the presentation of the State Budget, the new Dutch coalition presented their finalized plan to implement what it has labelled as the strictest admission regime ever in...
View ArticleTackling Israel’s Interference with the International Criminal Court
On 8 October 2024, The Guardian reported that a criminal complaint had been filed in the Netherlands in connection with the shocking (yet unsurprising) revelations published by The Guardian, +972...
View ArticleGetting a Grip on Migration but Mind European Law!
On September 13, the new Dutch government led by Dick Schoof outlined its programme (Regeerprogramma) for the next years. Unsurprisingly, a major point of this programme regards asylum and migration,...
View ArticleMemory Laws and Colonial Reckoning in France and the Netherlands
The colonial empires of France and the Netherlands once spanned vast territories across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, driven mainly by economic ambition. French possessions that extended from Algeria...
View ArticleThe Habitats Directive as a Tool for Systemic Biodiversity Litigation
On 22 January 2025, the District Court of The Hague found the Netherlands in breach of the Habitats Directive and the Dutch nitrogen targets by failing to stop the deterioration of protected habitats...
View ArticleGrüße aus den Niederlanden
Am 29. Januar 2025 stimmte der Bundestag über Anträge der Union zur Verschärfung der Migrationspolitik ab. Die von Kanzlerkandidat Friedrich Merz initiierten Vorstöße forderten unter anderem mehr...
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