Prof Dr Roland Pierik (R.)
Roland Pierik is a professor of Philosophy of Law and chair of the Department of Foundations of Law.
His research interests revolve around the question of how liberal democracies should deal with cases of colliding fundamental rights or conflicts between fundamental rights and other central ideals within constitutional democracies: the rule of law or democracy.
Prof. Pierik studies fundamental rights as legal-philosophical concepts and legally enforceable rights as they have been formalized in human rights conventions, especially the European Convention on Human Rights.
On 1 December 2023, Prof. Pierik gave his inaugural lecture, as professor of philosophy of law at Maastricht University, entitled: "Convention Constitutionalism. On the Necessity of Judicial Review for Democratic Governance."
Abstract
The European Court of Human Rights has been criticized for unduly interfering in democratic decision processes. Some argue that the unelected Strasbourg activists in robes should not interfere with democratic policy decisions that were made nationally. This inaugural lecture analyses this practice of rights-based judicial review by the Strasbourg Court.
The first part presents a general legal-philosophical background. It explains that republicans, who emphasize the importance of the democratic way of self-governance, are in favour of weak forms of judicial review. Liberals, who prioritise the constitutionally protected fundamental rights, are in favour of strong judicial review.
The second part employs this conceptual toolbox to describe and analyse judicial review as exercised by the Strasbourg Court since its inception in 1959. Should we understand it as strong, weak, or as something in between? I conclude that it is best understood as a weakened form of strong judicial review.
The third part provides a normative discussion of the Strasbourg Court in the context of the emerging European constitutional landscape. It starts from the observation that the European Convention on Human Rights is first and foremost a collaboration of Party States that pursue congruent constitutional-democratic projects. It investigates the role of judicial review by the European Court in the ongoing dialogue with Party States in cementing a convention constitutionalism through the further strengthening of a European consensus on the content and impact of Convention rights.
This horizontalization of constitutional authority – the move from ‘constitution’ to ‘constitutionality’ – broadens the authority of constitutional values and fundamental rights because they are no longer merely dependent on endorsement by an independent people but are also collectively endorsed by like-minded peoples in the shared enterprise of the Convention system.
Recent publications:
- (2024) Inducing Immunity: Justifying Immunization Policies in Times of Vaccine Hesitancy. Monograph, co-authored with Marcel Verweij, MIT-Press, (Basic Bioethics series). Available in open access (CC-BY-NC-ND)
- (2022) “Is Symbolic Religious Establishment Permitted Within the European Convention? A Legal, Political, and Pragmatic Perspective.” Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp. 122–144. DOI 10.1093/ojlr/rwac016.
- (2022) “Facing Difficult but Unavoidable Choices: Donor Blood Safety and Deferral of Men Who Have Sex with Men.” Bioethics, vol. 36, no. 1 pp. 840-848, co-authored with Marcel Verweij, Thijs van de Laar, and Hans Zaaijer, https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13063.
Research topics
In his work, he has analyzed a myriad of legal disputes and policy dilemmas from a legal-philosophical perspective:
- the role of the European Court of Human Rights in regulating the symbolic establishment of religion by the Convention States in their public sphere;
- the unjustified unequal treatment of MSM men in blood donation policies;
- the regulation of vaccination;
- the discussion of the crucifix in classrooms of Italian public schools before the European Court;
- The justification for mandatory vaccination;
- The role of human rights in the regulation of transnational clinical trials;
- The role of human rights in countering child labor;
- the shared responsibility of nation-states;
- The shared responsibility of nation-states to protect fundamental human rights for all world citizens.
Vaccination
Between 2013 and 2021, Dr Pierik's research was primarily oriented toward the legal regulation of vaccination against infectious diseases. Initially, he focused on childhood vaccination. Several (conflicting) fundamental rights are pivotal in these discussions: the freedom of religion and conscience of non-vaccinating parents, the right to bodily integrity, and the right to health of unvaccinated children – particularly Art. 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, stating that in all actions concerning children, their best interests must be a primary consideration of state agencies. Other relevant considerations are the responsibility of the state to protect public health and vulnerable citizens.
In the context of the Covid-19 outbreak, he also analyzed the question of whether more mandatory vaccination programs for adults were morally allowed.
Inducing Immunity
In January 2022, he finished a co-authored monograph with Marcel Verweij, entitled Inducing Immunity? Justifying Immunization Policies in Times of Vaccine Hesitancy (under contract with MIT Press, Basic Bioethics series). This book analyzes the conditions under which a liberal-democratic government should make vaccination against infectious diseases mandatory. We analyze the case of childhood diseases such as measles, polio, and whooping cough, but also the case of vaccination for adults in the Covid-19 context.
Health Council of the Netherlands
From 2017 to 2022, Dr. Pierik was a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands, within which he served on the Standing Committee on Vaccinations (2017-2022), the Temporary Committee on Medical Aspects Covid-19 (2020-2021), and the Temporary Committee on HPV (2017-2019).
August 2022–
Professor of Philosophy of law at the Faculty of Law and head of the Department of Foundations and methods of Law.
September 2009–August 2022
Associate professor of Legal Philosophy, Department of General Jurisprudence of the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam and Director of the Paul Scholten Centre for Jurisprudence, in the Faculty of Law, University of Amsterdam.
2006–2009
Assistant Professor of Political Theory, Department of Political Science, Radboud University Nijmegen.
2003–2006
Assistant professor of legal theory, Faculty of Law, Tilburg University.
2001–2005
Post-doc fellow (on an NWO grant), Faculty of Law, Tilburg University.
2000–2002
Research fellow and member of the management team, Pioneer Research Group The Importance of Ideals in Law, Morality, and Politics (P.I. Wibren van der Burg), Faculty of Law, Tilburg University.
Prof Dr Roland Pierik (R.)
Full professor of Philosophy of law and chair of the Department of Foundations of Law.