Zoekresultaten
![Scale](/sites/default/files/2023-03/scale-40635_1.png)
… of contracts, interpretation, gap filling, remedies for breach of contract, withdrawal, damages, unfair terms and prescription, but also, not directly in the current proposal, retention of title, transfer of ownership and digital content. Moreover, a group of student examined the fundamental rights dimension of the proposal. The day was a great success and everyone exceeded everyone’s expectations. Everyone realised that the theoretical knowledge they have – for example on EU law, legislation and …
![Legal](/sites/default/files/2023-03/scale-40635.png)
… trusting empirical research in legal analysis. My rebuttable assumption about the utility of empirical research in legal scholarship – especially in a field so vast and diverse as private law – has always been that one particular study about a certain group cannot be broadly applied to the general legal community as a whole. In other words, in my humble opinion, it is almost impossible for legal empirical study to rid itself of the external validity problem, unless the sample size of the research is …
![Placeholder](/sites/default/files/2023-03/Placeholder%20default.png)
… day here, there are students that make me go ‘wow’. Recently, I was impressed with the mass clean-up project ‘ Precious plastic' because one of the things that I do in my spare time on Sunday mornings is clean up the streets in our little city with a group of volunteers. And the fact that they are first-year students makes it even more impressive. There are many ‘wow’ moments throughout the day. For instance, when a student gets a 10 for maths, I go ‘wow’. And when a student comes in on the 5 th of …
![MSP - Blog - Gideon Koekoek](/sites/default/files/2023-03/msp-blog-gideon-art.jpg)
… booklets of the library of my primary school, looking for a nice topic to have a presentation on. Foxes, airplanes, sharks, or submarines didn’t do it for me, but then I stumbled upon a book on planets. Mesmerized, I took in the beautiful drawings of stars and planets, and learned that there were still so many mysteries to be solved in astrophysics. I decided there and then I wanted to become a scientist. A life changing moment if there ever was one. For many physicists (and on a much bigger scale … out of the reach of our prying telescopes. Using gravitational waves, we can expect to have many mysteries solved in the next following decades, from extreme space time-stretching of eerie black holes, to the quantum mechanics of ultra-dense neutron stars, and even to the origin of the universe itself. It is no wonder the Nobel Prize, went straight to three of the main contributors of this scientific endeavour, making the detection of gravitational waves certainly a moment that changed their life as well. The discovery of gravitational waves lead directly to another life changing moment for me. The discovery sparked the interest of Maastricht University to start a research group in gravitational wave physics, which I am to set up in the next few years. So, almost thirty years after my fortunate day in the school library, here I am: moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht, a part of the solving of mysteries that that book on …
![Burundi children_MLR](/sites/default/files/2023-03/burundi-children_mlr.jpg)
… Shoot the messenger On the 25th of October 2017, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), authorised an investigation into the situation in Burundi because of alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by state agents and associated groups against political opponents and the civilian population. Two days after this investigation had been authorised, on the 27 th of October 2017, Burundi became the first country to leave the ICC. The decision to withdraw had already been made in … people to commit more crimes.” A country in turmoil According to the prosecutor of the ICC there is a reasonable basis to believe that state actors engaged in a widespread and systematic attack against the Burundian civilian population. The violence targeted those opposing the ruling party of President Pierre Nkurunziza (CNDD-FDD). Nkurunziza is in office for a third term since 2015, an arrangement which according to his opponents violates the constitution and the peace agreement that ended the …
![Banken](/sites/default/files/2023-03/banken_mlr.jpg)
… of providing an effective remedy to affected parties can never be underestimated. The remedy of damages is traditionally linked with civil law litigation and when it comes to conduct affecting a considerable number of people in a similar way, group actions are seen as the way ahead. However, the British experience with the powers of the Financial Conduct Authority (powers that are now also cautiously and hesitantly introduced on the European continent) gives food for thought. It shows that …
![law_blog_for_kalpana_comip_latin_digital_markets](/sites/default/files/2023-03/law_blog_for_kalpana_comip_latin_digital_markets.jpg)
… conducts and merger control, but the majority of the publications were advocacy reports and opinions on bills and regulation proposals. In this area, LAC is not falling behind other regions of the World. According to the Markets and Competition Policy group of the World Bank, Europe has the highest number of cases regarding digital markets with 38%, followed by Asia (24%), Latin America (14%), North America (12%), Africa (8%) and Oceania (4%). However, most of the enforcement and non-enforcement …
![](/sites/default/files/2023-03/um_covid_blog_mpaul_5.jpg)
… it is probably difficult to relieve us from all the measures overnight. Reopening society can best be compared to an engine that has to be brought back to speed slowly and carefully. In Denmark, for example, schools are opening consecutively, starting with preschool, followed by primary and secondary schools. In Austria, only small shops are allowed to open; others will have to follow. Whatever these measures are, it is also to be expected that maintaing physical distance from others will … to be granted more rights and more access to public life. And at the same time, high-risk populations such as the elderly would have to remain more isolated. I’m not only concerned that such labelling would lead to the stigmatisation of certain groups but that it would also affect the basic equality of citizens in a democratic society. When we implement such measures, we need to look at a much broader picture than just the infectious disease, since COVID-19 is not only a medical challenge but …
![](/sites/default/files/2023-03/um_covid_blog_mpaul_4.jpg)
… against the novel coronavirus and 2) find a pharmacological therapy that effectively treats the severe symptoms of the disease The good news is that medical research and the tools that scientists can use today are lightyears ahead of the rudimentary laboratory methods available in Ehrlich’s time, where top-level research on infectious diseases was restricted to a few laboratories worldwide. But this does not mean that we will have a COVID-19 cure tomorrow. Potential vaccine candidates need to … well as drugs that have long been on the market to treat other diseases. Clinical studies are currently underway to test these candidates. It is clear that this is still a trial-and-error approach, but it narrows down the search to drugs that affect a group of molecules relevant to COVID-19, That gives us a somewhat higher chance of finding a successful ‘hit’ against the disease or its symptoms. Nevertheless, there will also be disappointments. For instance, a controlled trial of one of the candidates, a substance that has been used to target human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1, which causes AIDS, has just found the substance to be ineffective against COVID-19. Other substances such as chloroquine, which has long been available for malaria prophylaxis and the treatment of certain …
![WOE](/sites/default/files/2023-03/foto_working_on_europe_0.jpg)
… ITEM stands for and how it is working on the “European idea” and improving Euregional cohesion. Who knows what’s gonna come of it! One link towards one of ITEM’s on-going projects could already be identified: youRegion.eu . The local initiative of starting a Euregional job conference (UM Team Student en stad, MATCH) easily coincides with the project’s dual aim of fostering a 360° cross-border labour market as a breeding ground for a Euregional welcome culture. As an (EU) INTERREG-funded project, … or cross-pollinate their opinions by hopping from session to session, from topic to topic. A downside (maybe from too much butterflying?) was that I did not manage to attend all the interesting sessions (e.g. Involve Liège) or join/lead the fruitful group discussions potentially desired based on personal interest. This Workplace Europe gathering was to provide a working platform to learn from each other, share best practices, and find common solutions or collaboration partners to make Europe …