I am a Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University. I am also the chair of the Department of Foundations of Law and one of the co-directors of the Maastricht Research Centre for Law and Jurisprudence.
Publications
- In the media (in Dutch)
- Academic publications
- An overview of my publications in ORCID
- CV and Ph.D. supervision
Research interests
My research interests revolve around the question of how constitutional 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. I study fundamental rights, both as legal-philosophical concepts and as legally enforceable rights as they have been formalized in national constitutions and human rights conventions, especially the European Convention on Human Rights.
I have analyzed a myriad of such legal disputes and policy dilemmas:
- 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: article and book;
- 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.
Teaching obligations
At the Faculty of Law of Maastricht University, I am responsible for, or involved in the following courses:
- Legal Philosophy (Bachelor European Law School);
- Foundations of Global Law (Master Globalisation and Law);
- The Foundations of European Institutionalization (Master European Law School);
- Between public and private: a metajuridical analysis (Master Dutch Law)
- Tussen publiek en privaat: een metajuridische analyse (Master Nederlands recht);
- Foundations of Law (Bachelor European Law School).
Inaugural lecture: Convention Constitutionalism
On December 1st 2023, I gave my inaugural lecture as professor of philosopy of law in Maastricht, which nicely summarizes my current line of research. It was entitled Convention Constitutionalism. On the Necessity of Judicial Review by the European Court for European Democratic Governance.
The European Convention on Human Rights is set up as an attempt of Party States to collaborate with other states that pursue similar constitutional-democratic projects. This horizontalization of constitutional authority is the move from ‘constitution’ to ‘constitutionality.’ It 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. This research line investigates the emerging phenomenon of ‘convention constitutionalism’ among the State Parties of the European Convention. In particular, the project investigates the role of the European Court of Human Rights in the ongoing dialogue with Party States in cementing this convention constitutionalism through the further strengthening of a European consensus on the content and impact of Convention rights.
Main publications:
- (2023) “Convention Constitutionalism. On the Necessity of Judicial Review by the European Court for European Democratic Governance.” Inaugural lecture Maastricht University, 1 December 2023.
- (2022) “Is Symbolic Religious Establishment Permitted Within the European Convention? A Legal, Political, and Pragmatic Perspective.” Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 11(1), pp. 122–144.
The regulation of vaccination
Between 2013 and 2021, my research primarily concerned the legal regulation of vaccination against infectious diseases. Initially, I research primarily 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, I also analyzed the question of whether more mandatory vaccination programs for adults are morally allowed.
Main publications:
- (2024) Inducing Immunity: Justifying Immunization Policies in Times of Vaccine Hesitancy. Monograph, co-authored with Marcel Verweij, MIT Press, (Basic Bioethics series).
- (2020) “Vaccination Policies: Between Best and Basic Interests of the Child, Between Precaution and Proportionality.” Public Health Ethics, 13(2), pp. 201–214.
- (2018) “Mandatory Vaccination: an Unqualified Defence.” The Journal of Applied Philosophy, 35(2), pp. 381-398.
Inducing Immunity
In 2024, Marcel Verweij and have published our co-authored monograph, Inducing Immunity: Justifying Immunization Policies in Times of Vaccine Hesitancy (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. The book is also available in open access (CC-BY-NC-ND).
Health Council of the Netherlands
From 2017 to 2022, I was a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands, within which I 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).
Unequal treatment of MSM men in blood donation policies
Together with Marcel Verweij, I have conducted an ethical research project for Sanquin into the recruitment policy of donors. Stricter rules currently apply to men who have sex with men (MSM) than to other donors. Some see this as discriminatory and stigmatizing How can the safety of donor blood be guaranteed without discriminatory donor recruitment policies? Our report was presented to the Dutch House of Representatives by Minister Tamara van Ark on March 11, 2021, and has led to more inclusive donor selection. In May 2022, the next step was made in line with our advice, further relaxing the donor selection policy.
Main publication:
- (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.
Last modified: 6 april 2024