How to limit damages? The duplum-rule of emperor Justinian
A recurring problem in the law of contract is the limitation of damages. How did emperor Justinian (6th century) solve this problem?
Category: Interdisciplinary Study of the Law
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Extraterritorial use of policeware in the United States?
Is the FBI allowed to remotely install spyware on computers? And what if the suspect lives outside the United States? What are the capabilities of such “policeware”? This blog post briefly analyzes a decision of a U.S. judge on this subject. -
Down with blasphemy and lèse-majesté? Some critical Spinozist marginal comments
In recent debates on the abolition of blasphemy and lèse-majesté, the idea of freedom of speech and expression seems to function as the ultimate criterion in pleas to abolish these regulations. What would free speech champion and philosopher Spinoza say? -
Should Grotius still be considered the founding father of international law?
For many Grotius is nearly synonymous with modern international law. But a close reading of the great jurist’s Law of War and Peace may call the consensus into question. -
Who owns the land?
The Dutch government has decided to sell some nature areas to private owners. Although the State might legally own them, its task really consists of managing them for all Dutch inhabitants. -
Giving a voice to kids online
Instead of talking about kids without them, we may learn much more about their worries concerning the internet when we give them a voice in expressing concerns. -
Do IP adresses fall under the scope of privacy law?
By expressing his inaugural lecture on 12 April 2013 Professor Gerrit-Jan Zwenne is accepting his appointment as professor of Law and the Information Society at the Leiden Law School of Leiden University. -
Your consent is overrated
Do we really need, or want, a cookielaw to protect our privacy? -
Monkey see, monkey do
Just as Michael Jackson and his pet monkey Bubbles, Justin Bieber and his little monkey friend, Mally, are inseparable. Last week, unfortunately, Mally was seized by German customs and put into quarantine. -
Us v. them or Europe for everybody
The national referendum on Europe smacks of “us versus them”, of Western Europe against less well-off countries. Anti-Europeanism thrives on conservative or even populist attitudes such as somebody’s fate is somebody’s own fault, so why help member states? -
Is the Future ‘open’ for Web video?
Over the last three years Google and MPEG-LA have been engaged in a patent battle over the future of Web video. The companies have now announced that the battle is over. This blog looks at what the battle was about, who won and the prospects for the future -
Food for thought
The meat scandal perfectly illustrates the irrational distinctions we make between species and how it influences the way we treat different kind of animals. But can we morally justify this different treatment? -
From quantity back to quality
The new law to limit the top salaries in the public sector that has come into force in January this year, will not achieve its goal as long as the people involved keep on attaching the value of their life to the amount of money they earn. -
Roman banking gone wrong. The case of Titianus Primus.
Who is liable when a banking business goes wrong? A Roman answer to a modern question. -
Remote searches and jurisdiction on the Internet
Due to the advent of technologies such as cloud computing, the traditional norms for establishing jurisdiction on the Internet may no longer suffice. -
Bitter fruits of secularisation?
Why we need to study the spiritual dimension of the foundations of law and state -
Some thoughts on the EU cybersecurity directive
The new EU cybersecurity directive aims to improve cybersecurity by establishing a central authority for network and information security. The question is whether this is the right approach to improve cybersecurity. -
Size matters: lessons learned at Oxford
Once upon a time Leiden was considered the best university in the world. What might it take to return Leiden to those heights? We should begin by asking the question: What is a university? -
About Facts, Legal Facts, and Beliefs: “It’s metaphors, all the way down”
Eijsbouts’ Philippic against institutional fact, and his plea for real facts, reminds me of the old lady, who couldn’t believe that the earth orbits around the sun, and stated that the world is, in fact, a flat plate on the back of a giant tortoise. -
Even stalkers and sex offenders have a right to use social media
A man is banned from social media to stop him from digitally stalking his ex-wife. The court had to take action, but went a bridge too far in curtailing the stalkers freedom of expression. -
Beware of ‘Institutional Fact’!
Another look at free will, institutional facts and law. -
Not all things present become past….
Would-be lawyer Ernst Louwes served a sentence for murder. So he’s got a clean slate again? Not when it comes to entering the bar. Criminal records like his are bad for trust in the bar, essential for legal practice. Why would anybody want to be a lawyer? -
The uneasy interface between patent law and competition policy
According to the EU Commission, Samsung’s exercise of some of its patents over 3G technology was anticompetitive. This blog explores the reasons behind that decision and the likely effect on the smartphone patent wars. -
To be or not to be profiled – is this (still) the question?
Date of birth, address, credit card number…the list goes on. When shopping online, we share this data on a regular basis. Yet what may happen to this data beyond a particular transaction, and what decisions could be made based on this data? -
Free Will: Brute Fact of Nature or Institutional Fact?
We like to think we have a free will. But are we really free to do as we will or is that an illusion? -
Pleading your own case. Famous lawyers on trial.
Lawyers usually speak on behalf of others in the courts of law. But sometimes they have to defend their own interests. A wise thing to do? -
And it came to pass…
Roughly 20% of the Dutch population will visit a church this Christmas to hear the story of a birth that happened over 2,000 years ago. How much of it is history? -
Is the ‘decryption order’ a good idea?
A decryption order is an incredibly privacy intrusive governmental power. The announcement that the government wants to make the decryption order possible should not be taken lightly. -
Back to the Moon and on to Mars: how to engage the public, youth, and funding
Golden Spike announced plans to offer routine exploration missions to the Moon by 2020. Forty years after the Apollo program ended, private enterprise brings new hope. But it will require a predictable legal framework. -
Cultivating the virtue of contract
What role does contract law play in the formation and maintenance of flourishing human societies? -
WCIT 2012: Who controls the Internet?
During next week's WCIT12 conference the International Telecommunications Regulations will be reviewed. And it's more important than you probably realise. -
Private enforcement of State aid law? Don’t bother.
Blogs should be just a little provocative. So let’s provoke: the idea that breaches of State aid law can be solved by national courts is nice, but wrong. Enforcement by national judges, rather than the European Commission, is costly, clumsy and ineffective -
Public Arts and Sciences: Still Not Enough
Products of arts and sciences paid for by public means are ever proliferating, without anybody knowing what purpose they really serve. Still processes of artistic and intellectual creation leading to richer human existences may be worth it after all. -
Can cross-licensing end the smartphone patent wars?
Is the recent patent cross-licensing agreement between Apple and HTC a paradigm for a way out of the smartphone patent wars? This blog examines why this is unfortunately not the case. -
The Missionary Church of Kopimism
Religion gets a special protection in constitutions and human rights treaties. But what is “religion”? -
Direct agency in Roman law: fact or fiction?
Direct agency has always been considered a relatively modern legal construction. But is it? -
The power of the (false) image
In 2012 a few celebrities unwillingly revealed the ugly truth that they were able to keep hidden for years beneath their public mask. Behind this process we can witness the tremendous power images can have over our lives. -
Crossed limits and circumstantial evidence in the Armstrong case
As the Armstrong scandal lingers, questions regarding the legality of the procedure, including the use of circumstantial evidence, become more pressing. -
Made in China. Hong merchants, foreign debt and the rise of bank deposit insurance in the U.S.
Collective merchant responsibility for foreign debt failed in China and contributed to the Opium War. Yet it crossed to the West and bred bank deposit insurance in the U.S. The history of a legal transplant. -
What have the Greeks ever done for us?
Rome had all the good laws and Athens had all the good plays. So, a jurist may wonder what use the Greeks could be to him. But he would do well not to pass tragedy over: it is not only great fun but also a window into the history and nature of law. -
Space travel and crime reduction
Images of earth as seen from outer space have given rise to a new awareness which might contribute to the reduction and prevention of crime. -
Haren (Hair) – a new musical from the North
A Facebook-induced mass birthday in Haren which ended up in some disarray - caused in part by trauma psychologists - was a media hype at best, like defense lawyer Moszkowicz, who may still do some good by coming to the rescue of penniless perpetrators. -
A Hero of Our Time
The American diplomat Chris Stevens died for being an American. Not for something he had done. That makes him a “Hero of Our Time”. -
Death and taxes: the curious case of Mrs. Moschis
Litigants matter. Their social position speaks volumes about access to justice. This is as true now as it was in ancient Rome, except that the Romans are, put bluntly, long dead. But every now and then they can be brought back to life: meet Mrs. Moschis. -
Death without debtors
As a sequel to the Suriname state liability story outlined last time, it may be suggested that waiting for the conviction of the December 1982 killers does not make sense. Acquittal interpreted as innocence will harm surviving relatives still further. -
‘Please sir, I want some more’, Oliver Twist and denying rights on the basis of State aid law
Can a subsidizing party, on the basis of State aid law, deny an undertaking its right under national law? -
The Arab Spring
End game of a long tug of war between worldly rulers and revivalist orthodoxy. -
Our government should provide statistics about online data collection
Our ministry of Safety and Justice refuse to provide statistics about the use of ‘social media wiretaps’. In this blog post the investigatory technique is analyzed and it is contested that the statistics about the use of the technique should be released. -
So long after 1982: a way out for Suriname
What to do about seemingly unbridgeable division in Suriname on the 1982 killings? Criminal procedure now halted by a questionable amnesty law may lead to acquittal anyway. Let the state of Suriname accept liability and offer redress to victims instead. -
The Ethics of Olympic Missiles
With 117 East London residents losing their legal bid against the ‘Olympic missiles’, the missiles are now (legally) firmly in place, the next – and more important – question is: what to do with them? -
Male circumcision
The practice of male circumcision not only violates bodily integrity but the notion of freedom of religion as such. -
Law and Religion in Literature: Dostojewski’s Grand Inquisitor
In Dostojewski’s legend of the Grand Inquisitor, Christ returns to earth to witness the Inquisition’s burning of infidels in the town square. The Grand Inquisitor has Him thrown in the dungeons immediately, sentenced to be burned to death. -
Messaging and email - an ever closer integration… on Facebook
Facebook users can now not only message each other, but use the Facebook email, recently introduced by the social network. How can users benefit from this change, and to what extent does it affect their privacy? -
Match-fixing: a multi-level problem
Match-fixing has been high up the agendas of sports and betting organisations for years. Now, the issue has finally caught the attention of the Dutch government. But what is even the scope of this problem? -
Some more equal than others
The creation of European citizenship was not without parallel. In 212 AD, emperor Caracalla granted citizenship to all who lived in the Roman world. To all? Slaves were exempted, and that raises the question who else missed out on becoming a Roman citizen. -
Why don’t Dutch judges want to know about State aid law?
Interest amongst judges for State aid law seems to be limited. This is unfortunate, because State aid law is arguably fundamental to EU law. On the other hand… who can really blame them? -
Pioneers in space, work for lawyers
The conquest of outer space may soon move to the next level. Private entities have the funds, know-how and drive that most States nowadays seem to lack. Additional regulation is needed to complement the UN space treaties concluded in the cold war era. -
Weekly TV guides and the Football DataCo decision of the CJEU
Last week Dutch TV broadcasters won a case against a newspaper which published a weekly TV guide without their permission. The newspaper argued that the copyright claim of the broadcasters is contrary to the CJEU’s Football DataCo judgment. -
Ethnic Profiling: The Pot Calling the Kettle Black?
During the HRC’s Universal Periodic Review the Dutch Government questioned the UK about the discriminatory effects of counterterrorism measures. Remarkable, since the Dutch Government didn’t cover the topic in an evaluation of the counterterrorism practice -
Legal Research in Europe: Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 is the proposed EU research funding programme for 2014-2020. Although legal research is part of it, a more explicit reference is needed. -
Femmes for Freedom: fighting against marital captivity
Last Monday, Sheik Al-Haddad from the London Sharia Council advocated the establishment of a Sharia council in the Netherlands, in order to help Dutch women in Islamic divorce procedures. To follow this advice would be a grave mistake. -
Child-friendly health care
Children in health care are vulnerable. Participation is one of the key principles to ensure children’s rights in health care. How can children, parents and medical professionals contribute to involving children in their own health care? -
The Dutch cookie conundrum
This week, the new Dutch cookie law came into force, leading to confusion and chagrin among website owners. The cookie law is controversial, as it requires website owners to get consent from the user before placing cookies, which can be quite burdensome. -
The Future of Our Textbooks
Textbooks and course books for first-year law students have a tradition which goes back to the Greeks. But what makes a good textbook? And even more importantly: does it make sense to invest in traditional textbooks in the virtual communities we live in? -
Population of Holland also “marked for death”?
Does the publication of Wilders’ book Marked for Death make the Netherlands more vulnerable to terrorist attacks? And what to do about this? -
Wiretapping Internet Communications
The effectiveness of internet wiretaps deteriorated over the last decade, while at the same time the necessity of wiretapping internet communications has increased. This blog post is about the possibilities of wiretapping internet communications. -
Judging the Empire: the Emperor as Judge
Scattered in the Digests are the remains of a book by the famous jurist Julius Paulus, containing reports of cases judged by several Roman emperors. The Leiden Legal History Department has won an NWO grant to reconstruct this book and its social setting. -
What would the Commission do? A case of existing State aid.
When dealing with State aid matters, national judges and the European Commission have 'essential, but distinct, roles'. This distinction seems to be blurring, as recent Dutch case law shows. -
Dutch Pirate Party wants to sink BREIN… and the rule of law?
In January of this year Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN successfully sought an injunction against Internet providers Ziggo and XS4ALL, forcing them to block access to the Pirate Bay for their customers. -
Olympic qualification perils
In the quest for London 2012 Dutch gymnasts seek justice and successfully challenge premature Olympic selection in court. -
The Dutch ‘geschriftenbescherming’ after the ECJ’s Football DataCo decision
In March the European Court of Justice passed judgment in a database case on football schedules. This judgment could well affect the Dutch protection for non-original writings ('geschriftenbescherming'), which is a peculiarity in Dutch copyright law. -
EU Cybercrime Proposal
The new EU proposal for the directive on attacks on information systems criminalises the use of hacking tools. This created some concern among security professionals and ethical hackers. -
Human spaceflight: from Yuri, to André, to ‘Tom, Dick & Harry’?
Human space flight is as exciting today as it was 51 years ago when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the earth. With the marketing of private space trips by companies like Space Expedition Curacao, excitement and legal issues have amplified -
Rediscovering law school
Is law a true academic discipline? With some exceptions, law lacks an internationally accepted basis of scholarly communication and interaction. -
Dutch Legislature: On a Crusade for Security or a Populist Collision Course?
What happened to the country formerly internationally known as ‘a beacon of enlightenment’ a ‘nation not obsessed with crime’?