Abraham Keita: ‘I want to be a light for children in the darkness’ The Child Law Department has produced a KidsRights Report on justice for child victims of violence, to support the 2015 International Children’s Peace Prize. This year the International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded to Abraham Keita (17, Liberia) Apollonia Bolscher • November 12, 2015
HL Hart in South Sudan: the war-torn secondary rule of recognition To what extent does an authoritarian regime still need to justify its course by reference to law? Hart’s classic distinction between primary& secondary legal rules offers a useful tool for analyzing politico-legal contestations in (post-)conflict societies Bruno Braak • November 06, 2015
Family reunification for refugees is a human right The failure of the Dublin system seems to have led to a race to the bottom among Member States in reception conditions for refugees, to the detriment of human rights protection. Mark Klaassen • November 03, 2015
Sharing responsibility in times of crisis: Challenges at Europe's external borders In the wake of the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, the dysfunctionality of European immigration & asylum policy is more evident than ever. Europe’s responses jeopardise its cherished border-free area & its self-image as a beacon of civilisation. Melanie Fink • October 19, 2015
Respecting the Rights of Mother Earth While various problems threaten us these days, we might forget that the worldwide ecological issue remains. It is only by taking the Rights of Mother Earth seriously that this problem can be structurally solved. Wim Bonis • October 14, 2015
Towards legal access for asylum seekers People drowning in the Mediterranean reach the headlines of the news, but the problem that there is no legal way of access for asylum seekers is hardly discussed. In this post the underlying problem of border deaths is discussed. Mark Klaassen • October 01, 2015
The Rule of Law and the World of Myth According to law philosophers Western civilisation, reigned by law and reason, has always differed profoundly from the ‘savage’ world guided by myth. Yet by making the creation of order out of chaos central to the concept of law, myth has lived on. Wim Bonis • August 19, 2015 • 4 comments
Freedom – finding a home for us all When Leiden University was founded, freedom meant non-interference by authorities. In the 1960s it was expanded inwardly to living authentic lives. And amidst a mass immigration of boat refugees, the West is still struggling to fully realize its freedom. Wim Bonis • June 10, 2015 • 1 comment
The amoral mentality of bankers Joris Luyendijk, who has thoroughly analysed the world of bankers in London, argues that bankers can behave amorally because they only check whether their behaviour is permitted by law. Yet they definitely do violate the moral basis of law. Wim Bonis • May 13, 2015
