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Nieuw nummer Opportuun

Er is een nieuwe editie van Opportuun verschenen, het het personeels- en relatiemagazine van het Openbaar Ministerie. In dit nummer onder meer aandacht voor de volgende onderwerpen:

- Valse romantiek rondom criminelen
- Geslaagde incasso begint nog voor de opsporing
- Opbrengst van het beslag voor de slachtoffers
- Een taakstraf in de buurt is een goed signaal

en meer. (Bron: OM)

  • Opportuun januari 2012


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    New: Oxford Journal of Law and Religion

    The Oxford Journal of Law and Religion will have a range of articles drawn from various sectors of the law and religion field, including: social, legal and political issues involving the relationship between law and religion in society including: social, legal and political issues involving the relationship between law and religion in society; comparative law perspectives on the relationship between religion and state institutions; developments regarding human and constitutional rights to freedom of religion or belief; considerations of the relationship between religious and secular legal systems; empirical work on the place of religion in society; and other salient areas where law and religion interact (e.g., theology, legal and political theory, legal history, philosophy, etc.) Oxford Journal of Law and Religion will be freely available online in 2012. (Bron: Oxford Journals)

  • More information


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    Juridische aspecten van internetveiligheid

    Digitale spionage en digitale criminaliteit zijn de grootste digitale dreigingen waar Nederland nu mee wordt geconfronteerd. In 2011 is een toename van deze incidenten geconstateerd. Zowel overheden als private organisaties zijn regelmatig doelwit van digitale spionage geweest. Deze cyberaanvallen zijn gericht op het verkrijgen van vertrouwelijke informatie van economische of politieke waarde, of op direct geldelijk gewin.

    Dat staat in het eerste cybersecuritybeeld Nederland (CSBN) dat minister Opstelten van Veiligheid en Justitie – mede namens zijn collega’s van Economische Zaken Landbouw en Innovatie, Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties, Defensie en Buitenlandse Zaken - vandaag naar de Tweede Kamer heeft gestuurd. Het CSBN vloeit voort uit de Nationale Cyber Security Strategie die eerder dit jaar door het kabinet is vastgesteld. De Cyber Security Raad onderschrijft het geschetste beeld. (Bron: Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid)

  • Meer informatie
  • Rapport 'Juridisch kader Cyber Security'


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    SCP publicatie: Waar voor ons belastinggeld?

    In dit onderzoek neemt het Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau (SCP) zeven publieke diensten onder de loep: primair en voortgezet onderwijs, ziekenhuiszorg, extramurale en intramurale verpleging en verzorging, politie en rechtspraak. De kosten van deze diensten stegen in de periode 1995-2010 meestal veel sneller dan de hoeveelheid product, ook nadat rekening is gehouden met de invloed van de geldontwaarding. De kostprijs per eenheid product - een behandeling in het ziekenhuis, het onderwijs aan een leerling op de basisschool, enzovoort - nam dus voortdurend verder toe. Valt de hogere kostprijs te verklaren door een verbetering van de kwaliteit en door een grotere doeltreffendheid van de dienstverlening? Daarvan blijkt in het algemeen geen sprake te zijn. De waardering bij de gebruikers van de onderzochte diensten bleef constant of daalde zelfs in bepaalde gevallen. Aanbieders klagen regelmatig dat hun dienstverlening door gebrek aan middelen onder druk staat. Berichtgeving in de media heeft soms een uitgesproken negatieve teneur. Als dat allemaal zo is, rijst onvermijdelijk de vraag: waar is al dat in de afgelopen vijftien jaar beschikbaar gekomen extra geld dan gebleven? (Bron: SCP)

  • Waar voor ons belastinggeld


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    Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum (NCSC) bundelt kennis en expertise

    Minister Opstelten van Veiligheid en Justitie heeft de officiële opening verricht van het Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum (NCSC). Het centrum richt zich op het ontwikkelen en aanbieden van expertise en advies, het ondersteunen en uitvoeren van response bij dreigingen of incidenten en de versterking van crisisbeheersing.

    GOVCERT.NL, het voormalige Computer Emergency Response Team van de Nederlandse overheid gaat op in het nieuwe centrum. Op dat stevige fundament zal het NCSC bouwen aan uitbreiding van zijn dienstverlening. Op 1 januari jl. is het Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum (NCSC) al operationeel van start gegaan. (Bron: Justitie)

  • Meer informatie
  • Nationaal Cyber Security Centrum (NCSC)


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    WODC publicaties

  • Jongeren en vrijheidsbeneming, een studie naar de wijze waarop jongeren in Justitiële Jeugdinrichtingen omgaan met vrijheidsbeneming

    • Het WODC heeft op verzoek van DJJ in 2007-2008 een verkennend onderzoek uitgevoerd naar de verwerking van justitiële vrijheidsbeneming door jongeren (Van der Laan e.a., 2008). Die studie betrof een literatuurstudie en interviews met experts werkzaam in jeugdinrichtingen. Uit het onderzoek bleek dat er in Nederland nauwelijks empirische kennis is over de wijze waarop jongeren die worden gedetineerd verschillende aspecten van vrijheidsbeneming ervaren, welke relatie er is met gedrag in de inrichting en welke individuele verschillen er zijn tussen jongeren. In de brief aan de Tweede Kamer (TK 2007-2008 24 587 nr. 289) heeft de minister van Justitie toegezegd nader onderzoek te laten doen naar de wijze waarop jeugdigen hun vrijheidsbeneming ervaren en de individuele verschillen die daarbij optreden. Dit onderzoek betreft zowel een kwantitatief en kwalitatief onderzoek waarin naast de wijze waarop jeugdigen hun vrijheidsbeneming ervaren ook nader wordt ingegaan op de relatie tussen de ervaren vrijheidsbeneming, criminogene opvattingen en gedrag in de inrichting.

    De volgende drie probleemstellingen worden onderscheiden:

    1.Hoe ervaren jongeren die op basis van een voorlopige hechtenis of jeugddetentie in een justitiële jeugdinrichting zitten verschillende praktische, sociale en psychosociale aspecten van vrijheidsbeneming?
    2.Hoe zien de relaties tussen import- en deprivatiekenmerken enerzijds, en het omgaan met vrijheidsbeneming anderzijds eruit?
    3.Wat is de relatie tussen de houding jegens het plegen van delicten, het omgaan met vrijheidsbeneming en kenmerken van de vrijheidsbeneming?

    Jongeren en vrijheidsbeneming


  • De pakkans vergroot, evaluatie van de pilot gepercipieerde pakkans jongeren in Tilburg

    • Dit rapport bevat de resultaten van de evaluatie van de pilot Verhogen Pakkans zoals die in Tilburg vorm heeft gekregen. Het doel van dit onderzoek is te achterhalen hoe de in Tilburg ingezette maatregelen bijdragen aan een verhoging van de (gepercipieerde) pakkans onder overlastgevende en criminele jongeren en of dat is gelukt. Tevens beoogt het onderzoek waardevolle kennis op te leveren voor de jongerenaanpak in andere gemeenten.

    De pakkans vergroot


  • Vergroting van de slagvaardigheid van het strafrecht een rechtsvergelijkend perspectief

    • In dit rapport wordt verslag gedaan van een inventariserend onderzoek naar wettelijke voorzieningen om een snellere en effectievere reactie op een strafbaar feit mogelijk te maken en daarmee de slagvaardigheid van het strafrecht te vergroten. Het rapport bevat in de eerste plaats een inventarisatie van vrijheidsbenemende en vrijheidsbeperkende mogelijkheden gedurende het strafvorderlijk onderzoek. Daarnaast wordt ingegaan op vrijheidsbeperkende strafrechtelijke sancties. Ten slotte wordt aandacht besteed aan mogelijkheden van snelrecht en vormen van dadelijke uitvoerbaarheid van beslissingen van de strafrechter. De inventarisatie betreft het recht van Duitsland, Engeland en Wales, Frankrijk en Noorwegen. br>
    ergroting van de slagvaardigheid van het strafrecht


  • Screenen en signaleren in de jeugdstrafrechtketen, een onderzoek naar de validiteit van psychisch disfunctioneren van het Landelijk Instrumentarium Jeugdstrafrechtketen (LIJ)

    • Een verbetering van de diagnostiek in de jeugdstrafrechtketen is een essentieel onderdeel van het 'Programmaplan Jeugdcriminaliteit; de uitvoering maakt het verschil' dat de Minister van Justitie in februari 2008 heeft gelanceerd. In het programmaplan wordt gesproken over het verbeteren van een op de persoon toegesneden sanc­tie/interventieprogramma. In dit kader is het Landelijk Instrumentarium Jeugdstrafrechtketen (LIJ) in het leven geroepen. Met de delen 2A en 2B van het instrumentarium wordt een inschatting gemaakt van:
    recidiverisico en schaderisico’s van de jongere;
    dynamische risico- en protectieve factoren;
    signalen van een zorgwekkende psychosociale situatie (opgroei- en opvoedingssituatie);
    responsiviteit (motiveerbaarheid, leerstijl en veranderbaarheid van jongere en omgeving).
    De doelstelling van het onderzoek is het beoordelen van de betrouwbaarheid van het LIJ en de validiteit van de indicatoren voor psychisch disfunctioneren, zoals die aanwezig zijn in de selectie-instrumenten 2A en 2B uit het LIJ.

    Screenen en signaleren in de jeugdstrafrechtketen


  • Function creep en privacy

    • In het Nederlands bestaat er nog geen bevredigende vertaling van het fenomeen 'function creep'. De uit de bestuurskunde bekende term 'doelverschuiving' komt in de buurt, maar is niet 'creepy' genoeg. Het gaat hierbij om wetten, beleidsinstrumenten, maatregelen en programma's die een geheel andere uitwerking (soms ook op een totaal ander terrein) hebben dan oorspronkelijk bedoeld. In sommige gevallen zou je kunnen spreken van neveneffecten, die echter niet per se onvoorzien hoeven te zijn. Zo hebben de talloze veiligheidsmaatregelen na de aanslagen van 11 september 2001 onmiskenbaar de privacy van burgers aangetast, maar dat neveneffect is op de koop toe genomen, opgeofferd aan een verondersteld hoger belang. Ook tal van maatregelen ter handhaving van de openbare orde en bestrijding van criminaliteit zijn onderhevig aan 'function creep'.

    Function creep en privacy

    (Bron: WODC)

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    Elektronische publicaties

    Universiteit Leiden

  • Besten, M. den;

    • Partijwisseling, schorsing en hervatting tijdens het geding. Enkele beschouwingen naar aanleiding van HR 27 mei 2005, NJ 2006, 598, m.nt. HJS. (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Bruning, M.R.;

    • Let op recidiverende ouders! (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Idriz, N.F.;

    • Dutch Courts Safeguarding Rights under the EEC-Turkey Association Law.
 Case Note on District Court Rotterdam Judgments 
of 12 August 2010, and District Court Roermond Judgment of 15 October 2010 (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Slot, P.J.; Idriz, N.F.;

    • Ŕ LA RECHERCHE D’UN CADRE LÉGAL APPROPRIÉ POUR LES RELATIONS UE-RUSSIE (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Kunst, M.J.J.;

    • Posttraumatische stressstoornis en detentie: De strafrechter en het waarborgen van de strafdoelen speciale preventie en resocialisatie bij de vrijheidsbeneming van getraumatiseerde daders (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Wingerden, S.G.C. van;

    • Minimumstraffen en de dovemansoren van de wetgever (Universiteit Leiden)
    Minimum sentences: legislators turning a deaf ear Early this year, a bill was introduced proposing mandatory minimum sentences in the Netherlands. Despite harsh criticism from within the legal complex, the bill has not been withdrawn, instead its scope has been broadened. This article states that the reasons given for the introduction of mandatory minimum sentences have no empirical foundation and that the objectives of the bill will not be reached: mandatory minimum sentences will not contribute to the prevention of crime. The reason for the introduction of the bill is nothing less than a textbook example of penal populism.

  • Crijns, J.H.;

    • Rubriek Straf(proces)recht (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Hulle, van der R.;

    • Interbestuurlijk toezicht op de politieke en wetenschappelijke agenda: het wetsvoorstel 'Revitalisering generiek toezicht', het wetsvoorstel 'Naleving Europese regelgeving publieke entiteiten' en interbestuurlijk toezicht in Koninkrijksverband (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Voermans, W.J.M.; Gerards, J.H.; Napel, H.M.Th.D. ten; Emmerik, M.L. van;

    • Juridische betekenis en reikwijdte van het begrip 'rechtsstaat' in de jurisprudentie en legisprudentie van de Raad van State (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Huis, S.C. van;

    • No cure for non-payment? Alimony redress in Cianjur (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Vel, J.A.C.; Makambombu, S.;

    • Access in Land Disputes Arising in the Context of the Commercialization of Agriculture in Sumba (Nusa Tenggara Timur) (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Ubink, J.M.;

    • Customary Justice Sector Reform (Universiteit Leiden)
    Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Development, Leiden Law School, Leiden University

  • Cleiren, C.P.M.; Bakker, S.R.;

    • De kunstexceptie. Gemiste kansen voor de artistieke vrijheid? (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Goudswaard, K.P.;

    • Zet het pensioenakkoord de arbeidsverhoudingen op scherp? (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Wingerden, S.G.C. van;

    • De samenleving roept om zwaardere straffen. Is dat een oplossing? (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Louw, Rudolf Gerardus;

    • Het Nederlands hoger onderwijsrecht : een thematisch commentaar op de Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Uzman, J.; Barkhuysen, T.; Emmerik, M.L. van;

    • The Dutch Supreme Court: A Reluctant Positive Legislator (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Leen, A.R.;

    • De Oplossing van de Schuldencrisis. De markt en een constitutie. (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Reerink, G.;

    • Tenure Security for Indonesia’s Urban Poor : a socio-legal study on land, decentralisation, and the rule of law in Bandung (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Cleiren, C.P.M.;

    • Verschuivingen in de aandacht van de strafrechter. Verdeel en 'heers' (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Cleiren, C.P.M.;

    • Waakzaamheid geboden. Aandachtspunten bij ontwikkelingen in het Nederlandse strafprocesrecht (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Beunen, A.C.; Guibault, L.;

    • Brussels Memorandum of Understanding inzake digitalisering en online beschikbaarstelling van out-of-commerce boeken en tijdschriften (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Voermans, W.J.M.;

    • De jurist in het wild (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Voermans, W.J.M.;

    • De jurist van de toekomst: allemaal professor (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Voermans, W.J.M.;

    • Olivetti M24 (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Leen, A.R.;

    • In de economie valt veel te leren maar weinig te doen (Universiteit Leiden)

  • Blokker, N.M.;

    • 'De VN-Veiligheidsraad en de mogelijkheid van rechterlijke toetsing van besluiten van dit orgaan' (Universiteit Leiden)


    Universiteit Utrecht

  • Jeppesen, C.G.;

    • Joint Parental Authority : A comparative legal study on the continuation of joint parental authority after divorce and the breakup of a relationship in Dutch and Danish law and the CEFL principles (Universiteit Utrecht 2008)
    This book provides a comparative legal study on the continuation of joint parental authority after divorce and the breakup of a relationship in Dutch and Danish law. In addition, the Principles regarding Parental Responsibilities which have been drafted by the Commission on European Family Law are taken into account. The book is divided into three Sections. In the first Section, Dutch and Danish law is compared and discussed in the context of the historic development in the relevant law and the influence of human rights upon this development. Furthermore the law is reviewed in the context of recent socio-legal data. Thereafter follows the second Section containing a comparison between Dutch and Danish law and the CEFL principles. This comparison takes account of the allocation of parental authority, the establishment of residence and relocation, the exercise of parental authority and finally the exercise of contact rights and related procedural perspectives. The law is then analysed and reviewed in a critical perspective in the third Section. In the analysis it is considered that the regulation of parental authority after divorce or after the breakup of a relationship may be viewed to involve a choice between different types of regulation each providing both advantages and disadvantages. This choice may concern a regulation which is deemed at securing a proper exercise of parental authority, for example, by requiring that parents agree upon joint exercise or a regulation that is aimed at securing the legal norm joint parental au thority. The current discourse in both Dutch and Danish law underpinning the law on parental authority and contact is the understanding that parent-child relationships should not be affected by divorce or the breakup of a relationship. The ideal of the amicable post-divorce family and the “child’s right to two parents” have provided the main rule favouring the continuation of parental authority and a narrow exception, which point in the direction that an allocation of sole parental authority is associated with the level of the parent’s misbehaviour rather than with an assessment of the risks or benefits involved for the individual child. It is considered that the law tends to work relying upon more concrete facts such as a joint request or ascertainable misbehaviour on the part of one parent as an individual assessment of the risks involved for the individual child. The bottom-line is that the choice of a regulation form will determine the lev el of processes involving children in post divorce families. The price for the present type of regulation will be borne by children who come from families where the aim of promoting the amicable post-divorce family is unattainable. According to this authors view, a feasible approach which will limit the amount of processes involving children is to base the allocation of joint parental authority after divorce and after the breakup of a relationship upon the parents’ (continued) willingness to hold joint parental authority implying a return to the joint request procedure.

  • Takei, Y.;

    • Filling regulatory gaps in high seas fisheries: discrete high seas fish stocks, deep-sea fisheries and vulnerable marine ecosystems (Universiteit Utrecht 2008)
    The present study examines the legal regime of high seas fisheries with a view to identifying regulatory gaps. The main research questions are as follows: 1. What general principles are applicable to high seas fisheries?; 2. What implications do these general principles have for new challenges in the conservation and management of the living resources of the high seas, including deep-sea fisheries?; 3. How have states, collectively or individually, addressed alleged regulatory gaps in the regime of high seas fisheries at the global, regional and national levels? Part I deals with the development of the general principles of high seas fisheries in two chapters: the evolution of the general principles up to the adoption of the LOSC (Chapter 1), and the general principles in the LOSC in the light of subsequent developments (Chapter 2). Part II consists of Chapters 3-5. This Part first examines the practice within international organizations at the global level (Chapter 3). The next chapter of this Part focuses on the practice of RFMO/As (Chapter 4). The final substantive chapter examine s other practices at the regional and national levels (Chapter 5). The study is concluded with a synthesis of the analysis of the substantive chapters and some suggestions on action for the international community to address regulatory gaps in high seas fisheries (Chapter 6).

  • Krans, A. van der;

    • De virtuele aandeelhoudersvergadering (Universiteit Utrecht 2009)
    At a virtual shareholders meeting there is no physical gathering of shareholders, but they will be able to assemble and vote via the internet. Together with the notice of the meeting a person can be sent a personal login code. With this code shareholders can access a heavily secured VGM platform where the AGM will take place. At this platform shareholders can find all relevant AGM information, assembly papers and a discussion forum. At the discussion forum shareholders can take cognizance of the disc ussion and participate therein by asking questions to the board or by reacting to the contributions of other shareholders. Members of the board can answer questions and react to the input of shareholders. Consequently, a constructive dialogue can originate between all participating parties which can contribute to the understanding of shareholders concerning the proposed decision-making. When shareholders have taken a voting decision, they can cast their votes at a separate part of the platform. All participants within the corporation, wherever they reside, are able to join the assembly at a relatively low cost. Since a VGM may last for several days, it is not required that the shareholders are all in front of their computers at the same time. The VGM has three clear advantages: 1. Savings in costs and time. Shareholders can save travelling time while corporations can save on organisation and location costs. Although establishing and using a VGM platform will be costly, a sur plus will remain. It is no longer necessary for shareholders and members of the board to reserve a specific day in their diary. In order to follow and participate in the discussion, they only need to log on to the VGM platform on a regular basis. This will most likely result in time savings, but allows shareholders in any event to use their assembly time more flexibly. 2. The second advantage is an improvement in corporate democracy. Shareholders, wherever they reside, are able to join the meeting at relatively low costs. The thresholds for joining the assembly are lowered which may lead to an increase in the representation and participation of shareholders in the decision-making process. Due to the low costs of information distribution, the supply of information may increase and the information asymmetry will diminish. Moreover, the discussion forum offers shareholders new possibilities to provide each other with information and to unite. Shareholders will not receive addit ional rights, but will be able to exercise their existing rights in a more informed and balanced way. As a result of the more informed and balanced exercise of rights, the antagonism may diminish and the VGM may be, next to face-to-face contact at investor relation meetings, a platform for constructive dialogue between shareholders and members of the board. 3. The third advantage is an improvement in corporate governance. The consequence of a VGM is an improved corporate democracy which enables AGMs to play the role which the legislator and Code intended them to play. If the AGM will indeed fulfil this role, corporate governance will improve.

  • Luginbühl, S.P.;

    • Uniform interpretation of european patent law with a special view on the creation of a common patent court (Universiteit Utrecht 2009)
    The European Patent Convention (EPC) provides for a common application and examination procedure for European patents. Therefore, European patents are granted on the basis of uniform European law which is applied and interpreted by the EPO, as well as by a great number of national judges and members of other authorities who are bound by national case law. The fact that the EPC and corresponding national patent law is "uniform law" requires that it is construed in an international spirit based on its ratio and with a view to create cross-border legal uniformity. This is not least underscored by the fact that the extent of protection conferred by a European patent should be determined according to Article 69 EPC and the Protocol on the Interpretation of Article 69 EPC and that a large part of national patent laws of EPC Contracting states have been unified with the Strasbourg Convention on the Unification of Certain Points of Substantive Law on Patents for Invention and the 1975 Community Patent Convention - as agr eed in a resolution on the adjustment of national patent law - in order to achieve legal uniformity. However, diverging decisions with regard to the corresponding parts of a European patent remain an issue to date. Furthermore, under current law the patent holder must initiate several parallel infringement actions, based on the same European patent and directed against the same alleged infringer before the national courts in the states where the infringing acts have taken place. This situation gives rise to many difficulties for the parties and has several undesirable effects which weaken the patent system in Europe. The PhD thesis deals with different legal measures which would promote the uniform interpretation of European patent law and which would help to ease the difficulties related to multiple litigation. This includes in particular, - the creation of specialised courts at national level and the influence of cross-border forum shopping in this regard, including the problems and possible solutions related to forum shopping, - the judicial cooperation among judges, including the exchange of judges and scientific support from scholars and practitioners, - the establishment of an international referral body, - Alternative Dispute Resolution (Arbitration, Mediation, and other instruments), - harmonisation of the court proceedings and the substantive patent law, - cross-border injunctions, or - the establishment of a common court of appeal. The author concludes that specialisation at the level of first instance courts in combination with several other of the above mentioned measures could ensure a uniform interpretation of European patent law. Finally, the author outlines past and current attempts for the establishment of a common patent court in Europe with a clear focus on the proposed court architecture and the elaboration of specific conditions regarding the organisation of the court in order to safeguard a uniform interpretation of European patent law and to avoid multiple litigation. The Ph.D. thesis was completed under the supervision of Prof. dr. Jan J. Brinkhof and Prof. dr. F. Willem Grosheide.

  • Walker, S.M.;

    • The future of human rights impact assessments of trade agreements (Universiteit Utrecht 2009)
    The Future of Human Rights Impact Assessments of Trade Agreements develops a methodology for human rights impact assessments of trade agreements and considers whether there is any value in using the methodology on a sustained basis to ensure that the human dimensions of international trade are taken into account when negotiating trade agreements. The thesis sets out the various ways that trade can benefit people, but also ways where trade can threaten people’s rights – to access food, medicines and education or to protect cultural heritage. A step-by-step process is identified as a way to identify likely impacts of trade agreements before the agreement is implemented. The objective of the methodology is to find a way to ensure that free trade works for people, as well as the economy and corporations. A case study in Costa Rica illustrates the methodology in practice, and identifies some of the benefits and risks of relying on human rights law as a means of analyzing trade agreements. The benefits lie in the strong analytical framework of human rights law and the strength provided by identifying people’s basic needs as freedoms and legal entitlements. The human rights framework also brings with it risks, particularly the potential to po liticize trade negotiation processes and to distance governments who might not be willing to subject trade policies to the accountability framework proposed by human rights law. Weighing the benefits of such assessments with the risks, there is a future for human rights impact assessments. Most likely, human rights non-governmental organizations and academics as well as national human rights institutions will proceed further with the methodology to test it and to move towards undertaking assessments as a typical step in trade negotiations.

  • Rusu, C.S.;

    • Mergers, acquisitions and takeovers : The challenges raised within the European context : 20 Years of Experience (Universiteit Utrecht 2009)
    This contribution aims at studying the fundamental challenges that shape the very essence of the European Merger Control System. In this respect, the core of the thesis relates to the rationale behind enacting a merger control mechanism in the European legal system and the goals that it is meant to achieve. While investigating these issues, the contribution’s recurrent theme gravitates around concepts such as legal certainty, effectiveness and welfare enhancement, principles which are acknowledged to be essential to the generic functioning and development of the European construction and, more particularly, to the appropriate operation of the competition and merger control policies. We have argued that the European Merger Control System embodies a dual purpose: attaining consumer and societal welfare. One has to go beyond assessing the anti-competitive effects that a merger might induce and investigate the different economy-wide effects that concentration transactions and policy approaches may have. Still, the Commission’s practice to date reveals no clear inclination to take societal welfare considerations into account whi le appraising concentration transactions, thus emphasizing certain conflicts between the goals set by the Treaties and the means used to achieve them. We have debated on which of the two possible methods of assessment, ex-ante or ex-post merger control serves the purpose of attaining consumer and societal welfare best. We concluded that the ex-ante method of control seems more appropriate for fulfilling the societal welfare goal and the ex-post method of control does better when talking about consumer welfare. In the current setup, the ex-ante method may be flawed, due to the limited capacity of grasping the future outlook of essential elements of the market dynamics, the uncertainty which surrounds the concept of standard of proof, the limited possibility of predicting corporate and competitive strategies, the use of assumptions and template test which base their findings on previous market behavioural patterns. The ex-ante method is designed to attain societal welfare; how ever, we may suggest that it may miss certain essential elements necessary for fulfilling the consumer welfare goal. These elements and features may be provided under an ex-post scheme. We proposed that a reconstruction of the merger control system would seem necessary. On conceptual grounds, we suggested a clear acknowledgment of the societal welfare goal in the Merger Control Regulation’s text and in the Commission’s appraisal process. We proposed a departure from the current approach of sole hard core (a priori) prevention towards a more complex construction entailing lighter ex-ante scrutiny combined with consistent ex-post monitoring. We consider that by contemplating the proposed reforms aimed at a better use of the direct effect concept, private enforcement and consistent efficiency review in an ex-post judiciary setting, the system would be more susceptible to appropriately test the attainment of its goals. Also, a proper concentration transaction fol low-up procedure would alleviate the ‘legal certainty realization’ critique and the current system’s inherent prediction shortcomings would be resolved. Thus, the merger control would contribute in a more active and effective manner to the expansion of the European construction.

  • Liem, M.C.A.;

    • Homicide followed by Suicide : An empirical analysis (Universiteit Utrecht 2010)
    Homicide followed by suicide constitutes a severe form of lethal violence that mainly occurs within the family. These events lead to shock and incomprehension. In spite of the turmoil that homicide-suicide causes, so far this topic has been neglected within the scientific realm. This study aims to increase our knowledge of homicide-suicide in at least four ways. First, it provides an empirical and theoretical review of the homicide-suicide phenomenon. Secondly, th is study seeks to empirically assess the nature and incidence of homicide-suicide in the Netherlands and provides a comparison with homicide-suicide in both Switzerland and the United States. Thirdly, this study empirically compares homicide-suicides to both homicides and suicides in order to come to an understanding which characteristics explain the occurrence of homicide-suicide relative to other types of lethal violence. Finally, this study assesses existing theoretical assumptions on homicide-suicide and, based on empirical findings, presents a new theoretical framework. The findings of this study suggest that homicide-suicide constitutes a specific type of lethal violence.

  • Beijen, B.A.;

    • De kwaliteit van milieurichtlijnen (Universiteit Utrecht 2010)
    This research concerns the implementation of European environmental directives in national law, with a focus on transposition. The research question is what role the directives themselves have in the occurrence of implementation problems in the Member States. This is based on the hypothesis that implementation problems are not always the fault of the Member States (as is suggested by the infringement procedure of Article 258 TFEU / Article 226 EC Treaty), but may also be caused by flaws in the directives themselves, such as unclear or impossible obligations, bad coherence between directives etc. Ten environmental directives are selected for further research concerning problems with their implementation. These problems are tested in three different Member States: Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. This test confirmed the role of these problems in practice. A major problem is the directives’ lack of clarity where it concerns the scope of the directive. Member States tend to opt for a limited interpretation, whereas the Commission usually holds a broader view. Most of the time, the ECJ follows the Commission in her broad interpretation. However, the interpretation of the Member States is not always unreasonable. The ECJ sometimes seems to overstretch the meaning of a directive a bit. Other problems are a lack of coherence between directives in the use of definitions and in the applicability of multiple directives to the same situation and lack of clarity concerning definitions. Different instruments such as area protection, emission standards, environmental quality standards, procedural requirements and the obligation to set up plans or programmes each have their own problems to which attention should be paid when prescribing such instruments. Soft law can be helpful for Member States, especially when filling in technical standards or vague norms, but interpretative documents should be handled with care. They usually reflect the opinion of the European Commission or other stakeholders and are not legally binding. Member States should con sider their own preferences on whether or not to follow these documents. However, Member States need not take all the blame for problems with the transposition of directives but they do have their own responsibility as co legislator. Not all problems concerning transposition can be blamed on flaws in directives. Member States are obliged to loyally execute directives, even if this requires amendments of perfectly functioning national legislation or the designation of vulnerable but economically important areas. Better impact assessments with a focus on legal and environmental effects of new legislation, both on the European and the national level, would help to prevent this situation. If the effects of a directive are known beforehand, Member States will be better able to consider whether they wish to commit themselves to these obligations.

  • Vermeulen, F.;

    • Imitation (Universiteit Utrecht 2010)
    This dissertation examines mimetic behavior by organizations: imitation. It consists of 5 chapters: an introduction, 3 research chapters, and an epilogue. In paper 2, we use data from two different samples – the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and the Taiwanese computer hardware industry – to examine how competition between a firm’s rivals influences its inclination to follow these rivals into a new market. We theorize that the likelihood that a firm emulates its competitors depends on the extent of rivalry between them because it alters expectations of market attractiveness and the legitimacy of entry. In both samples, we find strong evidence that a firm’s propensity to mimetically enter a new market depends on the structural features of the pattern of market encounters between the firm’s competitors. We discuss how research into the implications of such wider structures of competitive interactio ns can be extended. Chapter 3 advances a social comparison view of firm imitation. Where previous studies have addressed only mimetic tendencies among firms, it develops the insight that, as a result of social comparison, organizations may sometimes also make choices that are opposite to what certain others are doing. Predictions derived from this perspective are tested examining intra-industry product diversification, that is, a firm’s choice of the breadth of its product portfolio. The theory received strong support from tests on the population of firms in the Chinese pharmaceutical industry for the period 1998–2001. Furthermore, post-hoc analysis revealed that, in line with the theory developed in the paper, these influences are moderated by firm performance, showing that firms may be disinclined to imitate better performing competitors. Thus, this perspective enables insights into not only which groups of firm's organizations choose to imitate but also wh ich groups they seek to distance themselves from. The fourth chapter deals with the imitation of harmful management practices. Received wisdom, in both management theory and practice, suggests that if a practice has been present in a particular industry for a long time, it must be beneficial to the organizations in some way; otherwise it would have vanished. In this paper, I challenge this view. I present a conceptual model that details how a practice that lowers the survival chances of adopting organizations may still spread and persist across a population of firms. I propose that a combination of three conditions is sufficient to bring about this phenomenon. If the practice is somehow associated with success, there exists causal ambiguity in the industry, and the rate of its diffusion is high compared to the rate at which it terminates firms, the practice may continue to thrive and become a wide-spread and permanent feature in the industry. The analysis is used to develop a set of propositions regarding the interplay between a practice’s “incubation time” and the element of causal ambiguity. Overall, the paper suggests that it is feasible that some of the persistent organizational practices that can be observed in various industries may be harmful rather than beneficial for the firms that chose to adopt them.

  • Cloďn, J.C.M.;

    • Het werken waard : het arbeidsaanbod van laagopgeleide vrouwen vanuit een economisch en sociologisch perspectief (Universiteit Utrecht 2010)
    As in most Western countries, women’s employment in the Netherlands varies considerably with their education level: the lower that education level, the lower their labour participation and the fewer hours they work per week. But there is also wide variation in employment among lower educated women. This raises some quest ions: why do lower educated women work outside the home less often than higher educated women? Why do some lower educated women work while others do not? What causes the variation in the working hours, both between lower and higher educated women and within the group of lower educated women? The central question in this dissertation is to what extent the above differences in women’s labour market involvement can be explained by financial-economic or socio-cultural factors. This means the focus is on topics such as how much a woman can earn on the labour market, the cost of childcare, the woman’s partner income, and also on how much importance women attach to paid work, how they see their role in the home, how they feel about the division of tasks between women and men and how accepted is it in their social setting for women to work outside the home. To answer the questions, data on almost 2,000 mothers with a low and high education level were analysed, along with a further group of almost 1,200 lower educated women. The results show that although lower educated women earn less and have more traditional views, in practice financial-economic and socio-cultural factors have a comparable influence on the labour supply of lower and higher educated women. In general, it seems that social norms, views and preferences are of more importance when it comes to decisions on paid work compared to financial-economic factors, though this influence is more pronounced in the decision on labour participation than it is on the decision on working hours. Overall, however, there do not seem to be large differences between lower and higher educated mothers: given the lower average net-wage and other income of lower educated mothers and their more traditional views, the relative importance of both factors is the same for lower educated and high-educated mothers. Also, among low-educated women there appears to be no convincing stronger influence from f inancial-economic or socio-cultural factors on their employment decisions. The findings suggest that it is not very easy to narrow the gap in employment rates between lower and higher educated women. The same goes for the ratio between active and inactive women within the group of low-educated women. Financial incentives seem to have little effect when it comes to stimulating women’s labour market involvement. Another way of stimulating women’s employment is to engage socio-cultural factors, but these are more difficult to influence than financial policy measures.

  • Momberg Uribe, R.A.;

    • The effect of a change of circumstances on the binding force of contracts : comparative perspectives (Universiteit Utrecht 2011)
    The aim of the research is the study of the situation on which unexpected circumstances render the performance of the contract muc h more difficult or onerous and those which frustrate the purpose of the transaction. The research includes the comparative analysis of European Civil Law Jurisdictions (France and Italy), English and American Common Law, and Latin American Civil Law Jurisdictions (Chile and Argentina). In addition to national jurisdictions, it is also examined how modern model codes or restatements of international contract law deal with the problem. Accordingly, the research includes the analysis of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC), the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). As a general conclusion of the study, the recognition of a change of circumstances as a remedy for the affected party may be considered as another aspect of the renovated importance of justice and fairness as a counterbalance to the general princi ple of freedom of contract. Thus, the contract is considered to be a union of balanced interests, an instrument of loyal cooperation and a result of the mutual confidence of the parties. The complexity of modern contractual relationships and, in general, of the social and economic environment, requires similar weight to be given to values other than the classical values of freedom, security and certainty, such as cooperation, solidarity and flexibility. In particular, the affected party is entitled to rely on a proper set of remedies directed at the restoration of the agreement until the limit of an adequate sacrifice for the debtor, which include the duty to renegotiate and in case of failure of the renegotiations, the revision of the contract by the court. Additionally, it is supported that the best approach of a legal system to the subject is through an express legal regulation by means of a flexible but exceptional rule that contains the scope, conditions and effects of changed circumstances affecting the parties’ obligations; as is generally the case with the issues of impossibility or force majeure in civil law systems.

  • Vervaele, J.A.E.;

    • Terrorismo e intercambio de informaciĂłn entre los servicios de intelligencia y las autoridades de investigaciĂłn judicial en los Estados Unidos y en los PaĂ­ses Bajos: derecho penal del emergencia? (Universiteit Utrecht 2009)
    Los ataques del 11-S en Nueva York y del Il -M en Madrid y el asesinato de THEO VAN GoGH en Amsterdam han planteado muchas cuestiones relativas a la informacion de la que disponen los servicios de inteligencia y al posible uso por ellos de medidas coercitivas para la prevencion y represion de los delitos de terrorismo. En muchos paises los acontecimientos han provocado una marea de legislacion penal para reprimir el terrorismo. No solo es este el caso de los EE.UU., con su USA Patriot Act, sino tambien de los Paises Bajos. En el ano 2004 fue modificado el Derecho penal sustantivo de los Paises Bajos por medio de la Ley sobre delitos terroristas [Wet Terroristische Misdrijven], para incorporar en parte la Decision marco UE sobre lucha contra el terrorismo. A finales de 2004, se presento una propuesta legislativa para ampliar las posibilidades de investigacion y enjuiciamiento de los delitos terroristas.

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    Agenda


    26 januari 2012

  • Lustrumcongres Immigratierecht "Het kind in het immigratierecht"

    • Begin volgend jaar bestaat het Instituut voor Immigratierecht van de Universiteit Leiden vijftien jaar. Het lustrum zal gevierd worden door middel van een congres.
    Nadere informatie.


    27 januari 2012

  • Seminar: Imagery of transitional justice

    • Legal analyses of international criminal process or attempts to evaluate the effects of different forms of transitional justice abound. This conference, however, aims at something that has not been done before: a critical and multidisciplinary appraisal of the different dimensions of the imagery of transnational justice that contribute to tensions and discrepancies between experience, perceptions and expectations. What are the various narratives of the persons and groups involved, how contradictory are they? What processes determine how, and by whom, victims, perpetrators, bystanders, institutions, but also judges, witnesses and prosecutors, are defined? What roles do portrayal of the conflict (a ?just war? and for whom?) in the media and in literature and the arts play, and to what extent does the imagery of past conflicts and its definitions of perpetrators and victims continue to influence the present? What are the codes of behavior, rituals, memories and policies that are involved in the process of making justice all around the world?

    More information. Utrecht University ? Raadzaal ? Achter Sint Pieter 200 ? 3512 HT Utrecht
    Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology
    NVK Dutch Criminological Society


    30 januari 2012

  • Pensioenseminar: ?Pensioen: Haalt u het nog, en zo ja, krijgt u nog wat?? Het pensioenakkoord: de gevolgen, de risico?s en de kansen

    • Het Maastricht Centre for Taxation organiseert op 30 januari 2012 een pensioenseminar waarbij de verhoging van de pensioenleeftijd centraal staat. In het seminar wordt enerzijds aandacht besteed aan de duurzame inzetbaarheid van oudere werknemers en anderzijds aan het optimaliseren van het pensioen. De problematiek wordt vanuit economisch, financieel en fiscaal-juridische invalshoek benaderd. Het seminar vindt plaats in de Statenzaal van de Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerheid.
    Nadere informatie is te vinden op www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/taxation onder events.


    March 13-14, 2012

  • International Conference on Social Protection and Migration: Access Denied. Working on a New Paradigm

    • Irregular immigrants and persons with weak immigration status are often excluded from the formal social security arrangements in their countries of work and residence. This raises a growing number of legal, practical and political issues. As someone who is committed to exploring and dealing with these issues, you are invited to attend the conference.
    More information

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    (c) Portill: zonder toestemming van de redactie mag deze brief niet worden vermenigvuldigd.
    Disclaimer: de redactie tracht de berichten zo zorgvuldig mogelijk samen te stellen. Eventuele fouten zijn voorbehouden.