Latest blog articles

May the US President appoint his son in law as advisor to the White House? For quite a lot formal appointments the President needs the advice and consent (permission) from the senate, but not here. Is it permissible? 

German Commissioner Guenther Oettinger is facing hearings in the European Parliament this week regarding his promotion to the budget and human resources portfolio.

Published on MLR blogs. Conflicts of interest of high-ranking civil servants that leave their EU post are currently again subject to critical discussion. This blog will examine how conflicts of interests are dealt with in selected European agencies.

It is often said that courts, when exercising judicial review or settling constitutional conflicts, may enter the political domain and take the seat of parliament or politics as the representative of the people and the body to which governments should be accountable. However, in light of quite a few...

In representative systems are not only about majority decisions, but also about comprimises to find majorities and maintain them. That's something we've seen in the Netherlands over the last couple of years... This blog is only available in Dutch. 

During the period of July to October 2016, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada was up for approval at the National States... This blog is only available in Dutch.

In his written answers to the European Parliament as well as orally during the hearing to establish his suitability to become first Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner Designate Frans Timmermans promises to ensure a common-sense test for all future legislation. I offer some legal...

It was even featured on Dutch television: the State of the Union by Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission on 14 September 2016... This blog is only available in Dutch. 

Is the Wilders trial a political process - like his attorney Geert-Jan Knoops argues? Is it an impossible task for the judge because, like he said, it is in fact about the party programme of the PVV - and therefore encroaches on the political decision-making process?... This blog is only available...

The public-private divide is one of the 21^st century’s flat earth theories. Its conceptions of private rights and obligations and limitations on state power are commonly used in corporate law, contract law and numerous other fields of legal, political, economic and other social scientific research...