Punitive Damages in Civil Law: are they really doing their job?
The US judiciary grants multimillion dollar awards on punitive damages. This remedy was enacted in Argentina and China a decade ago in the hope of protecting consumers as done in the US. But, does the remedy really work as intended?
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Are Symbolic Laws Good Laws?
Earlier this year, the Austrian government announced a proposed law which entails a ban on wearing the hijab for kindergarten-age girls. Is this a response to an acute problem which necessitates action — or a symbolic law with a more nefarious mission?Read more » -
Challenging the European Commission’s magic wand
A new EU conflict of laws rule for third-party effects of cross-border assignments of claims.Read more » -
UNCITRAL Model Law on insolvency-related judgments: new chapter in international insolvency law
In summer 2018 UNCITRAL adopted a new model law on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgments. Filling a gap in international insolvency law, it should make cross-border insolvency resolution more expedient, predictable and efficient.Read more » -
Viewing (Local) Housing Issues as Human Rights Issues
What do the Grenfell Tower drama and policies regulating caravan sites have in common? Both, in essence, concern the human right to housing. Luckily, this link is increasingly being emphasized.Read more » -
A court’s competence to decide on a religious group deciding to ‘disfellowship’ a member
On 31 May 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that ‘courts should not decide matters of religious dogma’.Read more » -
From Theory to Practice: Working with Refugees on the Island of Leros, Greece
In this blog the author sheds light on several practical consequences for the asylum procedure as a result of the conclusion of the EU-Turkey agreement encountered while working as a legal volunteer on the island of Leros, Greece.Read more » -
The stab-in-the-back myth: a powerful weapon to attack Weimar’s legitimacy
The foundation of the Weimar Republic was a direct consequence of Germany’s loss in the First World War. How did the war’s ending contribute to the stab-in-the-back myth and, consequently, affect Weimar’s legitimacy?Read more » -
A solution to a problem or a problem to a solution: The extraordinary Chinese debt problem
China has potentially found a solution to its extraordinary debt problem: regulating the shadow banking sector. However, one consequence of this is the ability of the shadow banking sector to migrate its activities back into the shadows.Read more » -
The Agreement between the Netherlands and The Ocean Cleanup
A recent covenant between the Netherlands and The Ocean Cleanup will allow the latter to carry out its activities on the high seas under the Dutch flag. Research conducted by the Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic may have contributed to this agreement.Read more »