Projects

Abstract

The research agenda focuses on an overarching theme – communication by the judiciary – and the relationship between this communication on the one hand and trust in the judiciary and compliance with the law on the other. This overarching theme will be examined from both a legal and a socio-legal perspective. The goal of this research agenda is to gain a better understanding of judicial communication and its effects. The research questions will be addressed through five research projects: 1) socio-legal theory development on judicial communication; 2) an interdisciplinary doctoral project on the role of press judges and spokespersons for the judiciary in Belgium; 3) a legal comparison of press judges and spokespersons in the European Union; 4) a quantitative study on the effects of judicial communication; and 5) a project on language use in the judiciary.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Bernaerts Jonathan
• Fellow: Bernaerts Jonathan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In various sectors experts call for the establishment of specialized courts, because court cases require special technical expertise and speedy procedures (e.g. environmental law, intellectual property (IP) law). Use of specialized court systems, compliance and cooperation with the courts will depend on the extent to which the stakeholders concerned trust the courts. The overall objective of this research project is to get a better understanding of trust dynamics in the context of specialized courts. The literature on trust in courts is generally focused on court systems in general, criminal justice, the Court of Justice of the EU or the European Court on Human Rights, and do not deal specifically with specialized courts. The start of the operations of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), a new highly specialized patent court in Europe, is a unique opportunity to contribute original insights to the trust literature. The creation of the UPC has happened in an environment characterized by political and legal controversy and is associated by challenges of its independence and impartiality. So the question is whether stakeholders will still trust the court. Using the UPC as a case study will allow us to better understand trust dynamics regarding specialized courts and to develop recommendations regarding trust-building mechanisms.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: Kleizen Bjorn
• Co-promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project essentially concerns the tension between effective protection of the rule of law, one of the EU's fundamental values, and the proper functioning of an "area of freedom, security and justice", one of the EU's fundamental objectives. Since 2018, the EU Court of Justice has developed a series of innovative and far-reaching judgments to ensure rule of law compliance by all EU Member States. While this case law has been the subject of extensive academic analysis, much less, if any, attention has been given to its effectiveness in the day-to-day judicial protection by Member State courts. This is nevertheless particularly important for judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, a core ingredient of the EU's area of freedom, security and justice. Effective judicial cooperation cannot function without effective rule of law guarantees… but not without effective mutual trust either. But how and to what extent can mutual trust, and hence judicial cooperation, be maintained when respect for the rule of law is under threat? This project aims to investigate whether and how Member State courts can effectively contribute to the horizontal enforcement of the rule of law standards that are vertically imposed by the CJEU, when they operate within the framework of EU judicial cooperation.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

An increasing number of cities in Europe are confronted with the phenomenon of 'overtourism'. This implies that the carrying capacity of a city is exceeded, which can manifest itself in various ways. Well-known examples that have often been the subject of media attention are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice. Academic research on urban overtourism has increased in recent years. This research is embedded in many different disciplines (social sciences, tourism studies, economics,…). Often, it results in policy recommendations, of which some have a legal nature as well, meaning that they qualify as regulation of an economic activity. This project firstly aims to map the most often proposed hard law measures to counter urban overtourism. For that purpose, inspiration is sought both in literature and in practice (aspired or implemented measures in cities that suffer from overtourism or run the risk of doing so). In a second step, the researcher assesses to what extent these measures are compatible with the economic freedoms as guaranteed by EU law, with a special focus on the freedom to provide services. A third and final goal is to assess if there is a need for intervention by the EU legislature, so that the regulation of tourism as an economic activity for sustainability purposes would be both effective and lawful.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Somer Stéphanie
• Fellow: Sami Rana Touseef

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The aging population, the acute (care) staff shortage, the administrative burden and high healthcare costs emphasize the urgent need for a different organization of healthcare. By organizing remote care based on continuous telemonitoring instead of snapshots, one can work towards more affordable, holistic and patient-centered care in dialogue with patients and caregivers. Despite the potential of telemonitoring, the implementation of the existing variety of solutions is complex and relatively limited. Different barriers to the implementation exist, such as legislation, problems with reimbursement, nomenclature, pricing, as well as lack of knowledge and experience among healthcare providers. Therefore, we argue that there is a need for synergy and coordination between companies active in digital health technology and healthcare organizations. This TETRA project aims to support technology companies and healthcare organizations in the implementation of telemonitoring in transmural care. The target group of the project consists of developers of digital health technology (IoT integrators, application developers, data science consultants, etc.), healthcare institutions (including home care and hospitals) and network partners.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: Van Assche Kristof

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The aim of this project is to investigate federal dynam ics in a multilevel governance system. It is interested in the dynamics among all levels of a multi-level governance system, from the localto the international level,and all levels in between - regional and nationa l. From this angle, it will focus in particular on the relations between the nationa l,subnational, and EU level. To this end,the project will engage ·with the multi-tiered systems in the EU that have subnat ional entities with law-making powers: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain. It will examine the various national approaches to govern the involvement of these subnational entities in the EU decision-mak ing process,and compare the constitutional strategy w ith the law in practice, i.e., the extent to which these entities make use of the opportunities provided by the national system to impact on EU decision-making. Through Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and sem i­ structured interviews,the project also aims to find which contextual factors (help to) explain the variety in constitutional approaches, as well as high or low involvement of the constitutional subnational entities in practice.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Solidarity constitutes a highly-debated, yet under-conceptualized notion that has only been rendered substance in operational terms. Many solutions at EU level have been opted for to reduce the lack of solidarity in asylum matters among Member States, however, these have shown to be insufficient to tackle the absence of fair sharing of responsibility of asylum applications within the EU. Moreover, scholars to date mostly zoomed in on the correlation between solidarity and asylum, but have kept distance from its substance, legal value and obligations in broader migratory contexts, and especially at the EU's external borders. This project will, firstly, provide the elaboration and conceptualization of the principle of solidarity from a broad migratory angle, taking into account general principles of EU law, including the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality. Secondly, emphasis will be put on the new Pact on Asylum and Migration and how this coincides with the meaning linked to solidarity given by this project. Lastly, this research will analyze if and in what circumstances a lack of solidarity among Member States in migratory contexts and at the EU's external borders can result in the triggering of infringement procedures following Articles 258 to 260 TFEU and as a last resort Article 7 TEU.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk
• Fellow: Van der Smissen Jana

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Union directives cannot be invoked by a private individual against another private individual before a national court, thus stated the Court of Justice of the EU ('the Court') in Marshall (Case 152/84). About fourty years later, the confusion brought about by subsequent case law of the Court has made the determination of the contours of the effectiveness of directives in horizontal situations, as well as the consequences and underlying rationale thereof, "a task fit only for masochists" (Dougan 2007). The obscurity surrounding the effectiveness of directives in horizontal situations carries great practical consequences. Whether one can invoke a directive in a horizontal situation (i.e. against another private individual) directly determines the remedies one can rely on to mitigate violations of Union law before the national courts. The proposed research will employ i.a. novel, groundbreaking, case law by the Court in order to unravel precisely when directives can be effective in horizontal situations. Furthermore, it will develop original evaluation criteria to assess whether or not the conditions imposed by the Court on that effectiveness can be considered due limitations. Should the conditions on the effectiveness of directives in horizontal situations as derived from the Court's case law not meet the developed criteria, the proposed research will inquire how the undue restrictions can be mitigated.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Fellow: Van Reempts Fien

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Cases like the 20-year legal battle over the unauthorized sampling of two seconds from a song by the German band, Kraftwerk, show that resolution of copyright can be expensive and time-consuming. The picture has become even grimmer with the digital revolution and its trail of social media proliferation, e-commerce and globalized market for digital content, which have increased the means for content distribution, and consequently - infringement. This should necessarily lead to the question: if litigation encounters such significant challenges and if Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms are regarded as an appropriate alternative for dispute resolution by courts, why have ADR mechanisms not been better embraced for copyright dispute resolution, even in instances where they are statutorily recommended? The fear of blacklisting of authors and the fear of bias against copyright exploiters are regarded as reasons for the unpopularity of ADR methods in copyright disputes. Both reasons, and indeed the evidence of low usage, signal a design flaw in the system of copyright dispute resolution. This project seeks to integrate two bodies of literature in the field of dispute resolution – those relating to intellectual property (IP) law and those relating to Dispute Systems Design (DSD), to propose a model for copyright disputes resolution by integrating DSD strategies with the peculiarities of copyright-dense industries and disputes. This research shall combine legal doctrinal research methodology with empirical research to ultimately determine how the copyright dispute resolution system can be designed to enhance trust in ADR, boost stakeholders' use of ADR and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the copyright system. This project shall add to the field of research on IP enforcement and dispute resolution and contribute to preserving the value of IP rights in the face of relentless infringement. It will also inform and guide the discourse on the enforcement of IP rights towards an effective and sustainable digital age dispute resolution system for the enforcement of rights and the realization of the objectives of the copyright system.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: Rutten Stefan
• Fellow: Lari-Williams Seun

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research focuses on the health effects of PFAS and associated costs, such as medical costs, loss of labour productivity and loss of quality of life. The relevant costs are mapped and the ways in which extra-contractual liability law allows to compensate such costs are examined. Taking into account the obstacles the application of liability law may entail in this context, the study also examines how compensation funds can compensate claimants in an alternative way. In the light of all these findings, ideas are formulated on how to organise the compensation of health damage caused by PFAS in Flanders.This research is part of an inter-university project in which epidemiologists, health economists and legal experts together examine how to tackle PFAS exposure in Flanders.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Louckx Freek
• Co-promoter: Weyts Britt

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In order to enable citizens to benefit from technological advances and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is essential to overcome the technological divide between countries. Technology transfer (TT) is the cornerstone of this project and is a standard component in trade and environmental agreements. Yet, no consensus exists as to how TT should be defined, which obligations are comprised in TT and what the role of intellectual property (IP) rights in the promotion of TT should be. The wide variety of legal provisions referring to TT in different legal regimes has only increased the ambiguity of the term TT. Parallel to that, there is a proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) containing both IP law as well as environmental law chapters. However, limited systematic research exists regarding TT provisions in FTAs and on how both areas can be connected. The hypothesis of this project is that TT provisions in FTAs may provide alternative solutions to the ineffective application of TT provisions in multilateral trade agreements. This research will conduct an empirical qualitative legal analysis of the FTAs and develop a taxonomy of TT provisions, which will later be compared with TT obligations in international agreements. This research will contribute to the literature by mapping current approaches and providing clarity to the concept of TT and outlining a possible international TT framework.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: De Feyter Koen
• Fellow: De Andrade Felipe

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Within the EU, civil status still is a Member State competence and the pertinent national legislation is marked by divergences rooted in national traditions and values, sometimes even with a constitutional character. This may disturb the continuity of the civil status of mobile Union citizens, who move between the Member States and, as a result of the applicable choice-of-law rules, may become subject to different substantive rules in the respective home and host States. Discontinuity of status threatens the Union's objective of intra-Union freedom of movement for all Union citizens and the protection of their fundamental rights. Yet, the EU is also obliged to respect the Member States' competences and national identities. The research project aims to examine whether and, if so, how continuity of civil status can be ensured through EU law for mobile Union citizens without encroaching upon the competences of the Member States and with due respect for their national identities as well as the Union citizens' fundamental rights. The research project is scientifcally innovative and responds to an important societal concern as well.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Fellow: Luku Helga

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

LEGITIMULT assesses the impact of the measures taken by various international, national and subnational governments on multilevel institutions and intergovernmental relations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project analyzes the effect of these measures on democratic governance, highlighting to what extent multilevel governance influences their impact on democracy, favoring a model of legitimate crisis management. It assesses all measures taken by 31 European countries in relation to their impact on multilevel governance through the creation of a new dataset highlighting how these procedures link to multiple orders of governance – WHO and EU above the states, and regional and local governments below the national level. The impact of these measures is analyzed through the lens of a variety of dimensions that characterize functional democratic governance (Rule of Law and Democratic Participation; Human and Minority Rights; Trust; Economic Sustainability). LEGITIMULT qualifies the different trade-offs required within and across these dimensions in order to effectively and quickly deal with a crisis such as Covid-19, while at the same time maintaining a level of democratic governance and ensuring that any limitations to democratic standards are limited. These final trade-offs within and between the different dimensions of democratic governance in crisis management are gathered in a set of policy recommendations, tailored to different recipients, and developed through extensive consultation with stakeholder groups throughout the project. Citizens, policy makers and practitioners are involved in the experimental phase of the project, where interactive learning and practical tools are tested but also co-designed and co refined with relevant stakeholders in a participatory way. Policy recommendations and practical tools merge into a toolkit for legitimate crisis management, ready for use in possible future crises.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Bursens Peter

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Yearly, billions of tangible movable goods (e.g. cargo) are sold and transported between businesses in the EU. According to the national legislation of each EU Member State (MS), the proprietary ects (e.g. transfer of ownership) of these business-to-business (B2B) transactions are determined by the law of the country of the goods' current location. Hence, the applicable law changes each time these goods are moved from one MS to another. Since each MS autonomously regulates how transfer of ownership takes place, it is possible that the buyer can be regarded as the rightful owner of certain goods under the law of MS A, but not under the law of MS B. In addition, goods are often sold under a 'retention of title clause' (ROTC), meaning that the seller remains owner of the goods until the buyer has honoured his obligations (usually paying the purchase price after the right to withhold payment has expired). Since here, again, each EU MS regulates for itself which variants of a ROTC it recognises, it often occurs that a MS refuses to give effect to a foreign ROTC. For decades, legal experts and studies have suggested that the above-mentioned legal framework has had a severe negative effect on the well-functioning of the EU's internal market. To tackle this, I will study the possibility to adopt a uniform rule at EU level, for the purpose of improving cross-border trade, trust and legal certainty between businesses within the EU.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Co-promoter: Carette Nicolas
• Fellow: Schenk Jonathan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The intra-EU transfer of a company's seat is impacted by the freedom of establishment. In that domain, Art.49 TFEU equates companies with natural persons, who enjoy cross-border mobility rights. Still, this equivalence risked remaining a mere declaration of intent since the meaning of freedom of establishment was unclear. Besides, cautious national lawmakers took recourse to the real seat theory and/or to substantive corporate law rules able to discourage cross-border seat transfer. As a result, it was often impossible for companies to move their seat abroad with continuity of the legal person and without too many practical problems. Directive 2019/2121, aimed at overcoming these issues, is the last outcome of the interaction in this field between the EU legislature, which is cautious as regards private international law (PIL), and a dynamic but not always consistent EU Court of Justice. Eureka? Is this the end of the 30-year cross-border corporate mobility debate? Despite enthusiastic comments, the Directive requires a critical evaluation from an EU and PIL perspective. In fact, the Directive will manifest its effect in a context where, even if many instruments at EU level have been adopted, the corporate laws of the Member States are not fully harmonized and where these still are competent to determine the lex societatis and the recognition of the legal personality of companies. The Directive doesn't explicitly provide uniform PIL criteria but rather introduces harmonized procedures regarding some of the operations through which a company can transfer the seat abroad and introduces harmonized substantial provisions for the protection of third parties. Hence, on one side it is not granted that the Directive's solutions will deter States from adopting protectionist norms inhibiting transfers nor, on the other side, that the procedures of the Directive will not cause further problems. The main research questions of the project are whether and how the Directive will guarantee the transfer of the legal or administrative seat abroad without excessive obstacles in practice and if and how, in doing so, it affects PIL rules currently in force and which role remains for the latter after the adoption of the Directive. To do so, the project will respond to the following questions: 1) What provisions of EU Treaties are relevant regarding corporate mobility and why? 2) What interests and policy concerns of the Member States have impeded corporate mobility? 3) With what kind of norms and in which fields of law States have adopted legislation on corporate mobility? 4) What role has the CJEU assumed in this field? What are the outcomes of its case-law? 5) What role has the EU legislature assumed? What are the outcomes of its interventions? 6) What are the novelties and the gaps of the Directive in light of the freedom of establishment as interpreted by the CJEU? 7) What is the impact of the Directive on domestic PIL provisions on the lex societatis? 8) What is the relation of the Directive with other PIL instruments that use the seat as criterion for the applicable law or jurisdiction? 9) In light of the answer to the previous questions, does the Directive guarantee corporate mobility and a proper exercise of the freedom of establishment while balancing it correctly with the other interests at stake? 10) If not, what are the options to resolve this issue? 11) Is this, in light of the options available and the effects of the Directive, still the case and is it practically possible and desirable to introduce a EU criterion concerning the lex societatis? How, of what content and to what extent?

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Fellow: Ricifari Rebecca

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The study is an evaluation study of the Flemish decree of 7 May 2004 on the material organisation and functioning of recognised religions. The project includes several research topics: the design, functioning and the embedding of councils of religion (eredienstbesturen); the financing model; and the administrative supervision of these council of religion; and possible alternative legal forms, other than the current public status of councils of religion. The study will include a legal analysis of the hurdles already identified, complemented by an internal and external legal comparison. Furthermore, key stakeholders will be heard and consulted.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Bernaerts Jonathan
• Co-promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The provided research discusses the constitutional feasibility of further autonomizing the management of the judicial system while maintaining a balance between constitutional principles. It explores both traditional and modern perspectives on the separation of powers, emphasizing the need for cooperation between branches of government. The delegation theory is introduced as a means to transfer administrative powers to non-politically accountable actors with specific conditions, including judicial and political oversight. It serves as a general guideline for adhering to constitutional principles when outsourcing managerial powers while considering the extent of autonomy in budget and personnel.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Jenart Cedric

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Burundi's constitution guarantees a set of fundamental rights to its citizens, but in practice awareness and protection of these rights are often lacking. To close this gap, this project seeks to promote a constitutional culture among legal professionals, students, civil society, public institutions, and Burundi's citizenry. The focus is on women's rights. The project strategy is based on 3 pillars. (1) The research component intends to valorize the partner promoter's PhD (Dr. Pacifique Niyonizigiye, PhD Univ of Antwerp, October 2021; funded by VLIRUOS) and to conduct follow-up research on the role of Burundi's constitutional court, with specific focus on gender equality and the protection of women's rights. (2) The education component will target both students of the Faculty of Law and Political Science and legal sector professionals. A selection of students will be involved as researchers and agents of change in a new 'Advanced Constitutional Law, Politics and Gender" Master's course. (3) Societal uptake will be realized through the involvement of constitutional court officials, a women's rights organization and local media professionals.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Vandeginste Stef

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The research deals with the following question: What are the legal factors at the basis of constitutional design that can provide determinant conditions to explain the different intensity of constitutional asymmetries in multi-tiered systems? Societies divided along ethnic, religious, linguistic, or cultural lines give rise to challenges of highly practical importance. In fact, the tension between ethnocultural groups may either result in violence (permanent discrimination, civil conflict, ethnic cleansing, genocide) or, even in the absence of violence, have a corrosive effect on the political dynamics of the State, creating stalemate in political institutions or even constitutional crisis. The solutions proposed by academics to address these challenges revolve around two main approaches: integration and accommodation. My first assumption is that asymmetric federalism provides an effective synthesis of the two main approaches, since it presents features of both, and it provides the flexibility that a multinational State requires. My second assumption is that asymmetric federal systems have different intensity of constitutional asymmetries, each having different impacts on the political system. Therefore, the aim of research is to understand whether it is possible to explain the different intensity of constitutional asymmetries. This will be achieved through a model based on a series of legal factors which are distinctive elements of constitutional design for divided societies, and that may lead to constitutional asymmetries. To do so, the research will adopt an unusual methodology for the legal field, namely Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). The ultimate objective of the research would be to provide a flexible model of constitutional engineering. According to the model, it would be possible to determine the intensity of constitutional asymmetries to apply in different multinational States, thanks to the legal analysis of the results emerged by the QCA. Exploring alternative solutions for divided societies could be of shared interest for academic scholars and policymakers for two reasons. The first is that many of these multinational states are in the European Union, which itself may be considered a multinational "entity", therefore European scholars and policymakers may need a new perspective to deal effectively with these issues. The second is that many others are situated in deeply unstable areas of the world, namely in the Middle East (e.g., Iraq, Afghanistan), and it is crucial to understand what model of constitutional design and what degree of asymmetries to apply in a post-conflict environment.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Bonifati Lidia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Abstract Decolonising Geographical Indications The encouragement grant proposal seeks to elevate the underlying PhD research project titled 'Geographical Indications and Sustainable Development – Preparing GIs for the Future' by integrating the concept of decolonisation of GI law in the theoretical and the empirical part of the project. To facilitate this integration, a research stay at the University of Cape Town, South Africa under the supervision of Professor Caroline Ncube is proposed. The PhD research places a special focus on GI law and governance in developing countries and it is important for the research to be open to a broad spectrum of ideas on origin linked products. Curiously, all literature on the history of geographical indications law traced its origins to the laws on appellations of origins in 19th century France. While it is easy to find domestic rationales and debates from France and neighbouring European countries in the early 19th century when European law on GIs was being negotiated and it is not difficult to trace the position of other Global North countries such as Switzerland and the U.S. during the negotiations for the TRIPS Agreement. However, the participation of developing countries during these debates was conspicuously absent and even today, the domestic rationales of countries in the Global South are dictated more by the requirement of complying with the WTO TRIPS agreement and any other bilateral trade agreements that they may have signed, than by the socio-economic needs or demands of producers of origin-linked goods. When one inspects the general corpus of international intellectual property law, it becomes clear that these laws were drafted primarily by European countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries (the Paris and the Berne Conventions) and later on included in an international agreement (TRIPS Agreement 1994). The conditions of world trade in this time were heavily in favour of European imperial powers and intellectual property law contains traces of coloniality till date. The present research proposal seeks to elevate the underlying research proposal by including insights from decolonisation literature (Haraway 1988; Quijano 2007; Bhambra 2014; Moosavi 2020). Decolonisation literature adds strength to the already existing push for bottom-up governance approaches which restores the decision-making power to the lowest levels of producers in the GI value chain. More concretely this forces governments and policy makers to ask the questions- Whose development? Who decides whether a product should be protected through a GI? Who draws the boundaries? Who receives the compensation for infringements? It refocuses the attention to the terroir, which includes not only the physical characteristics of the land but also the human link to the origin. GI law's ability to valorize and effectively protect the terroir of GI products can be the key to its sustainability and to the sustainable development of the region. At the end of the research stay, the written output in addition to the PhD research will be an open access article. The initial ideas for this research have already been presented at international conferences: IPIRA Conference 2021 and the Annual EPIP Conference 2021. Another impact of this research will be a contribution to the discussion on decolonisation of law with the example of decolonisation of GI law at the Faculty of Law, University of Antwerp.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Saxena Devanshi

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

No matter how perfect the formal design of an independent judicial system with clear, respected, formal rules is, the role of courts and judicial systems may be influenced by informal practices, which could contribute to or counter a democratic decay. The INFINITY project, hosted by Masarykova univerzita (Brno), conduct san in-depth comparative legal study combining sociological and political sciences, while focusing on the analysis of differences in informal judicial systems and their role in 'new' and 'old' EU Member States.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This study consists of an evaluation of the opportunities offered by compulsory licensing of patented technologies in case of very expensive medicines. It provides a descriptive and evaluative analysis of the Belgian, European and international legal framework regarding compulsory licensing and regulatory exclusivities and offers a number of recommendations for the Belgian government.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The revised European Social Charter recognizes the right to housing. The study examines consequences for Flemish housing policy, given the federal state structure and the non-ratification of Article 31 RESC. In addition, the study examines which lessons can be drawn from decision-making practice regarding this article or any other provisions of the Charter that are relevant to housing policy.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Policy makers are highly interested in a goal regulation approach. Nevertheless, it is rarely used in a substantial way. This study examines the legal conditions for goal regulation. It also discusses whether goal regulation reduces the regulatory burden and, at the same time, leads to more innovation within society. Finally, it examines the circumstances under which goal regulation is desirable. Based on this, a conceptual framework of criteria is developed to determine the desirability of goal regulation.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Abstract (English): The 4th industrial revolution resulted in a new billion-dollar industry with a group of globally operating internet service providers (ISPs) in charge of what we daily see on social media, how we communicate, what information we will read on the basis of chosen algorithms. These ISPs often act as intermediaries enabling the sharing of content rather than creating content themselves. Therefore, under the current legal framework of e-commerce ISPs are not required to actively react against illegal or harmful content. The reasoning goes that only the users responsible for the content should be targeted to ensure the free flow of e-communication, e-commerce, the freedom of information and expression. This paradigm has been put in question due to the evolution of the internet as a platform for spreading hate, violence and crime. Cyberviolence is a specific part of this harmful online conduct, whereby digital action results in physical, sexual, psychological and/or economic harm or suffering of individuals. ISPs are already acting against harmful content if they are notified and some ISPs go a step further in self-regulating. Yet, this is often considered unsatisfactory. Therefore, NGOs, national and EU authorities currently discuss whether the exemption of liability for ISPs in the light of cyberviolence is still justified and whether authorities should not step in further. The project examines to what extent the current approach on cyberviolence is effective or needs further improvement. It focuses on two types of cyberviolence, online hate speech and non-consensual distribution of intimate images (NCII) or image-based sexual abuse. While existing legal and judicial tools are being scrutinised by Belgian and European authorities to better fight these forms of cyberviolence, a thorough understanding of these phenomena and their prevalence is still lacking, especially in Belgium. Therefore, this project in the first place wants to understand these phenomena in Belgium through qualitative research focusing on how users, moderators of ISPs and stakeholders delineate online hate and NCII and the permissible or harmful nature of such content. Based on these results, quantitative research will map the prevalence of the phenomena in Belgian society with a focus on digital natives. Moreover, victims' coping behaviors, their use of and trust in reporting mechanisms of several instances, will be assessed. In the second place it will be considered whether and how these phenomena can be tackled by legal and/or judicial response, building on current practices and the outcomes of the qualitative and quantitative research. The remedies against harmful content will be counterbalanced against the freedom of information and expression within the framework of the digital market. This includes the assessment of the role of public authorities and ISPs discussing whether new balances and legislative action are required. The research is intrinsically multi-disciplinary as it approaches the phenomena from the perspective of social sciences, criminology, anthropology, and legal sciences. Within the work packages the respective disciplines will interact to acquire in-depth, multi-faceted knowledge of both phenomena. Apart from the scientific output, the project intends to offer policy makers and stakeholders a clear understanding of the phenomena for future initiatives and action, as well as to provide input on how to further develop the e-commerce framework taking into account the impact of cyberviolence.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van De Heyning Catherine

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Tha project examines counter arguments pitting notions of national identity against the values enshrined in EU (and international) legal frameworks. It will produce 5-7 scholarly papers with legally-based counter arguments to the "identity vs. values" debate.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

From a policy point of view, further European integration in the field of health care is advocated. But in order to make that shift, a thorough understanding of the existing similarities between the health care systems organized by the Union Member States is required. Unfortunately, however, that insight has not yet been provided by scientific research: a fundamental legal scientific study exploring the common legal bases of European health care systems and the shared patterns in the legal organization of those systems, is currently lacking. This research aims to reveal the common legal architecture of European health care systems. To that end it focuses on the examination of two research questions, namely (1) the question whether there is a common core of fundamental legal standards that found the organization of the existing European health care systems and (2) the question whether there is a shared pattern in the structuring legal intervention by which the European Member States organize those systems. By answering those questions through fundamental legal research, we aim to close the gap in the scientific literature and shed new light on the organization of the European health care systems. In addition this research also aims to provide a more far-reaching social added value, for policy, the development of Union law and legal practice. The methodology that will be used to carry out this research is based on three principles: (1) the subject is addressed from a human-rights perspective, (2) the relevant data are collected and analyzed in accordance with the principles of legal positivism, and (3) the comparative method is used to draw conclusions from the analysis. These principles find expression in the various stages of the research, in which we will answer systematically the higher mentioned research questions.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Louckx Freek

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The independence of judicial institutions is one of the most debated issues in the context of the good administration of justice. Scholars have investigated mechanisms and principles fostering the independence of courts and developed sets of "indicators" to assess independence. Despite the vast literature on independence of generalist courts, a fundamental gap exists with respect to specialised courts. Specialised courts face different challenges. In fact, they may be more inclined to make decisions which favour their "mission". Moreover, specialised courts may be more easily influenced by interest groups. This project aims to provide a better understanding of judicial independence in the context of specialised international courts. Desk research will be combined with empirical research in order to identify indicators, mechanisms and guidelines to foster the independence of specialised courts. Additionally, I will provide concrete recommendations to strengthen the independence of the future Brussels International Business Court, Unified Patent Court and Multilateral Investment Court. Although these courts differ with respect to their goals, institutional designs and challenges, they are all subject to intense criticism due to the alleged insufficient guarantees of independence.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Fellow: Baldan Federica

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Most traditional federal theory remains grounded in the notion that asymmetrical constitutional arrangements are somewhat exceptional. According to contemporary federal theory, however, recent systems are composed of several tiers of government and different identities. They produce asymmetrical responses by default to accommodate differences arising from complex relationships among tiers and groups. While asymmetrical solutions often seem necessary, this implies that some degree of constitutional asymmetry may provide grounds for the instability of the system. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach is needed to investigate constitutional asymmetries as a cause of instability. It will require identifying safeguards of stability in systems with established constitutional asymmetries by empirically examining the level of stability across all systems and distinguishing factors that undermine or support stability.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Sahadzic Maja

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Hoewel ingrijpende Covid-19 lockdownmaatregelen legitiem waren in de eerste maanden van de crisis, begint de roep om strenge maatregelen geleidelijk aan af te nemen. Burgers eisen dat exit-strategieën ontwikkeld worden met voldoende aandacht voor hun sociaaleconomische belangen, terwijl potentiële inbreuken op grondrechten zoals bewegingsvrijheid, privacy en eerlijke mededinging, en rechtsbeginselen zoals gelijkheid en proportionaliteit, leiden tot kritiek en zelfs rechtszaken tegen overheidsmaatregelen. De huidige overheidsstrategieën zijn hoofdzakelijk gebaseerd zijn op epidemiologisch en medisch onderzoek. De toenemende relevantie van sociale en juridische factoren voor exit-strategieën impliceert echter dat nieuwe data en kennis dringend nodig zijn. In het bijzonder is er behoefte aan inzicht in de voorwaarden waaronder Covid-19 overheidsmaatregelen sociaal legitiem en wettig zijn en burgers stimuleren tot naleving. Ons project verhelpt het gebrek aan wetenschappelijke en beleidsrelevante kennis van sociale en juridische factoren van belang bij Covid- 19 exit-strategieën, door middel van een dubbele onderzoekaanpak: 1) drie vignette surveys bestuderen hoe de nalevingsbereidheid en legitimiteit van combinaties van nieuwe Belgische Covid-19 maatregelen worden beïnvloed door framing op onderliggende volksgezondheids-, sociale en juridische belangen, en 2) een systematische juridische analyse genereert inzicht in de wettigheid van nieuwe maatregelen, en dient tevens als essentiële input voor het ontwerp van voornoemde vignette surveys. Door middel van continue communicatie aan overheden van resultaten uit zowel de vignette survey als de juridische analyse, kunnen we reeds gedurende het project beleidsrelevante input leveren voor concrete maatregelen. Daarmee helpen we overheden om geïnformeerde en gebalanceerde beslissingen te nemen over hun exit-strategieën en helpen we gebrekkige naleving van of rechtszaken tegen Covid-19 maatregelen te voorkomen.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Bursens Peter
• Co-promoter: Declerck Carolyn
• Co-promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: Verhoest Koen
• Co-promoter: Walrave Michel

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The coalition agreement of the Flemish Government 2019-2024 and the Housing Policy Plan 2019-2024 of Minister Diependaele contain the intention to investigate whether a dynamic list of rogue tenants, landlords and real estate agents could be drawn up. The project primarily examines whether it is possible to create such a dynamic list in accordance with higher legal standards, including privacy regulations.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The study aims to identify the need for social counselling among social tenants, as well as which counselling social tenants already receive and which needs are not or insufficiently met. Together with representatives of social landlords, social tenants and welfare organisations and field workers, and by using the Delphi method and round table discussions, a new measuring tool is designed for this purpose.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The main aim of this sabbatical is the writing of a monography on 'Dynamic Federalism'. This lays down a fundamental theory of federalism in the 21st century that is not, as established theories on federalism are, based on 'model' federations such as the USA and Germany, but that leaves room for more centralist constructs such as UK devolution, more confederal arrangements such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, on multilevel constructions such as the European Union, in which asymmetrical configurations fit, and in which the relations with regional or global organisations are included. Related to this, a book on 'subnational constitutions' is co-edited with two foreign colleagues. Further, I will be continuing my running projects and supervision of PhDs, and I am, with foreign colleagues, setting up a book series on international studies of national parliaments, for which I will co-author the Belgian part.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The main aim of this sabbatical is the writing of a monography on 'Dynamic Federalism'. This lays down a fundamental theory of federalism in the 21st century that is not, as established theories on federalism are, based on 'model' federations such as the USA and Germany, but that leaves room for more centralist constructs such as UK devolution, more confederal arrangements such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, on multilevel constructions such as the European Union, in which asymmetrical configurations fit, and in which the relations with regional or global organisations are included.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

When we value a sound housing quality policy, we need enough crisis housing for rentors who have to leave an unsound home. Sometimes a provisional housing is need in situations like fire, expulsion, domestic violence, ...

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Europe is confronted with a rise of autocratic regimes and tendencies. In this context, academic research and media have reported on Member States relying on current concepts of European constitutional law that structure the interaction and dialogue between the domestic and European legal order for the pu ose of reinforcing its own policy to the detriment of fundamental rights protection. Such concepts often established to reconcile European and domestic constitutional standards of fundamental rights protection and based on a mutual understanding of the minimum thresholds of protection appear hijacked by authoritarian states. The research project aims first to map and understand the current dynamics of this novel evolution to the background of the rationales for these mechanisms. Second it intends to assess whether the current conception of interaction between the European and national legal order on the protection of fundamental rights is to be revisited in order to more effectively prevent constitutional concepts to undermine fundamental rights protection. To this aim, it combines legal analysis with critical discourse analysis.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Van De Heyning Catherine
• Co-promoter: Van Hout Tom

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

TiGRE provides an encompassing and coherent analytical framework for the study of trust relationships in governance. It studies trust among actors of regulatory regimes, such as regulators, political, administrative and judicial bodies, the regulated industries, service providers and their interest organisations, consumers and other societal interests, as well as citizens at large. TiGRE opens thereby new research directions within the tradition of studies of trust relationships between citizens and public authorities. TiGRE's aim is to reveal the role of trust and distrust in European regulatory governance and the ways trust can be maintained, enhanced, repaired and nurtured via administrative practices and reforms. It takes a multilevel governance approach, which includes the EU level as well as the national and regional ones. Trust – both as a pre-condition and a consequence of well-functioning regulatory regimes – is a key factor to be considered in order to capture how these regimes are able to produce effective and legitimate governance. The in-depth investigation of the complex interplay between trust configurations and regulation in different regulatory regimes (finance, food safety, communication and data protection) across levels of governance and in several countries requires the joint effort of experts with wide-ranging experience. TiGRE is run by a tightly integrated multidisciplinary consortium of top-level scholars, who bring together a very broad range of theoretical, substantial, and methodological skills. A cutting-edge mixed-method approach is applied to provide a comprehensive understanding of such multi-faceted trust-related processes. To bridge research with policy and practice, TiGRE provides criteria, indicators and early warning mechanisms for detecting decreasing trust, and scenarios on consequences thereof. They will be validated through interaction with stakeholders and compared with evidence from outside the EU.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: Verhoest Koen

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The purpose of the research project is to measure to what extent the discrimination is present on the private renting market in Leuven and to formulate recommendations for improvement. We investigate whether or not there is discrimination with regard to ethnic origin and physical disability.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This study is a comparative analysis on access to social protection for employees and self-employed in Belgium, in the light of the Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 regarding access to social protection for employees and the self-employed (2019 / C 387/01). Particular attention is paid to the similarities and differences in formal coverage, effective coverage, adequacy of benefits and the transparency of the relevant social security schemes. Targeted policy recommendations are formulated to remedy differences in treatment found to be problematic in the aforementioned areas.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Louckx Freek
• Co-promoter: Cantillon Bea

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Planetary urbanization is creating a sense of urgency over seemingly unstoppable and unsustainable land consumption in Flanders, Europe and the world. Unexpectedly, the distribution of land rights, as one of its main drivers, appears to be insufficiently understood in its full complexity. This research will address this gap, by focusing on the institutionalization of land use, land use rights, land reform and urbanization. For this, purpose, the research will mobilize an innovative analytical framework, combining theories of both law and urban planning, more specifically a Lockean inspired land-labour theory and critical institutionalist planning theory, complemented with state of art theories on the commons. Through this framework mechanisms of urbanization land allocation in Flanders, Greece and Northern Italy will be analyzed as case studies. The research aims to explore how land and labour are connected, and how this connection is institutionalized in regional urbanization patterns. The research will reanimate the theoretical debate on urbanization as the institutionalization of productivist behaviour. It will give insights in how bottom-linked cooperative movements succeed (or not) in reconnecting land and labour, imbue this connection into land governance dynamics, and foster socio-ecologically sustainable urbanization.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard
• Fellow: Hiergens Ide

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The existence of discrimination and selection mechanisms on the private renting market in Malines is a reason for worrying. Nevertheless good housing is a fundamental right. The research has to deal with the accessibility of the housing market for different vulnerable groups.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Numerous administrative decisions are taken every day in Belgium by a variety of administrative bodies. Some of these decisions rely on facts that are fairly easy to determine (date of birth, residence etc.). Others, however, require a more thorough and intensive investigation and proof of all the relevant facts in order to ensure that the administration can take a well-informed decision. Decisions on planning and environmental permits, for instance, require a precise, technical knowledge of the location of the planned construction, the dangers posed by certain activities, the expected nuisance with respect to mobility, the environment etc. Imposing a disciplinary sanction on a civil servant who denies the facts, may require the administration to have recourse to certain investigatory acts. Which methods of investigation and proof can the administration use in those cases? And who carries the delicate and complex burden of proof in asylum cases? Many administrative decisions are annulled by the administrative courts because the facts were not established or assessed in a proper and correct way. Sometimes, however, the question also arises whether the intensity of review that the administrative courts adopt in this matter is sufficient. Fundamental rights are at stake here, too. The question arises whether the right to a court that exercises 'full jurisdiction' (guaranteed by article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights) does not require a more active role of the courts in these matters, which goes beyond a mere control of the investigation carried out by the administration. For citizens, administrative bodies and administrative courts, the lack of a comprehensive theory on proof in administrative law is problematic. Who carries the burden of proof in which circumstances? What has to be proved? Which types of evidence are permissible? And what is the role of the courts in the litigation phase? An answer to these questions would fill an important lacuna in legal academic knowledge. The aim of this research is to develop a general theory on proof in administrative law, both in the administrative phase and in the phase before the administrative courts. To that end, we study the case law of the Council of State and a selection of specialized administrative courts and we engage in comparative research to look for inspiration in other jurisdictions. Knowing who has to prove what, which types of evidence can be used for that purpose and how a judge has to evaluate and control this process is essential for legal certainty and, hence, for the rule of law. Both the scientific and social relevance of this research are therefore certain. The results of this research will not only offer handholds to citizens, administrative bodies and courts; they could also be an inspiration for the legislature to develop a statutory framework on proof in administrative law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Co-promoter: De Somer Stéphanie
• Fellow: Stijleman Annelien

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project examines constitutional strategies that secure the jurisdictional integrity of both national and EU law within national boundaries while at the same time providing legitimacy for European claims of supremacy within the national legal system. It identifies enabling strategies, impact strategies and multi-layered strategies to find whether the combination of these strategies lead to an efficiency or a legitimacy strategy. The research looks for factors that determine types of strategies and dynamics within these strategies. It also identifies mechanism to adapt strategies to new developments.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Nicotina Alberto

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

A construction company that participated in a public procurement procedure but lost, learns that the beneficiary has a close personal relationship to some of the members of the contracting authority. A candidate for a nomination as a public servant hears that a member of the jury is the former employer of the candidate that was ranked first and will be appointed. A public servant of a local authority that is subject to a pending disciplinary procedure reads in the newspaper that his mayor already considers him to be guilty and believes that he should be severely punished. In all these situations, the person affected could challenge the final decision via the administrative courts, relying on the prohibition of bias that the administration is subject to. A short preliminary study, however, reveals that the success rate of such claims in Belgium is low. The proposed research aims to assess what the explicit and implicit reasons for this high number of failures are and what the relative importance of those reasons is. It relies on a systematic analysis of the case law of the Council of State and the Raad voor Vergunningsbetwistingen ('Council for Disputes on Permits') in a period of 8 years. The research will reveal where precisely the duty of impartiality has its 'Achilles heel', being the factors that impede an effective judicial enforcement. Via the legal comparative method, possible solutions for the identified problems will be looked for in other legal systems.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: De Somer Stéphanie

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

One of the principal effects of the European integration is the right to freely move across state borders, in a degree that is unprecedented in modern history. This right is vested into every European Union (EU) citizen by Article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. However, free movement is more than a right to cross the borders and live abroad. Life abroad means a life under a foreign legal system. One of the most glaring problems of living abroad relates to the permanence of the position of a natural person in the legal order, in other words, his/her personal status. Each Member State preserves its own private law. For this reason, some Member States have the institute of partnership, others know only marriage; some may recognize a third-gender, most do not. In this panoply of legal regimes, a person, having acquired a certain personal status in one Member State may find that the status is recognized in a few Member States, but not in others. Such a state-of-affairs demotivates people to use the rights of free movement and prevents closer integration of EU citizens. Hence, the study of what is and can be the role of EU law in ensuring the permanence of personal status of EU citizens, so that EU citizens who decide to live abroad preserve their personal status, which is important for scientific and societal reasons, constitutes the main subject of the Project.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Fellow: Fillers Aleksandrs

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In recent years, the independence of judicial institutions has represented one of the most debated issues in the context of the good administration of justice. Scholars have investigated mechanisms and principles fostering the independence of courts and developed sets of "indicators" to assess independence. Despite the vast literature on independence of generalist courts, a fundamental gap can be identified with respect to specialised courts. Specialised courts face different challenges than generalist ones. In fact, they may be more inclined to make decisions which favor the "mission" for which they are created. Moreover, specialised courts may - more than other courts - be subject to the influence exerted by interest groups. This project aims to provide a better understanding of judicial independence in the context of specialised courts. Desk research will be complemented by empirical research investigating the projects for the creation of the Brussels International Business Court (BIBC), the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Multilateral Investment Court (MIC). Although these courts have different goals, institutional designs and are facing distinct political challenges, they are all subject to intense criticism due to the alleged insufficient guarantees of independence. My final aim is to identify specific indicators and guidelines to asses and foster independence at the BIBC, the UPC and the MIC.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Fellow: Baldan Federica

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will meet in 2021 to negotiate and define the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). A critical point of negotiation is the issue of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) from "digital sequence information on genetic resources" (DSI). DSI is essential for life sciences research, including biodiversity, food security, and public health. The current model for DSI is "open-access" which not only enables scientific reproducibility and enforces scientific integrity, it enables global non-monetary benefit sharing, including scientific capacity building in developing countries precisely because everything is open, free, and reusable. Yet this very openness raises questions from some Parties about alleged lost opportunities for benefit-sharing, which are regulated for genetic resources in the Nagoya Protocol. Tension builds because of the divergence between some Parties' desire to maintain control over genetic resources and DSI, and the scientific community's observation that the value of DSI can only be fully realized if the system is as open and comprehensive as possible. This project is aimed at identifying potential compromise solutions for the current stalemate starting from a scientific perspective, while taking into consideration the interests of various stakeholders.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Several fields, in which linguistic challenges generated by linguistic diversity occur, have received considerable attention in the scientific literature. Studies on the interactions between the administration and allophones3 within the current linguist diversity are however rather limited, despite the fact that several sources indicate that the existing language laws are experienced as difficult to implement in practice. The importance of the language used in these administrative contacts cannot be underestimated, as it has an influence on an individual's access to administrative services and the subsequent enjoyment of their rights, as well as on the functioning of these services. The aim of this research is to provide an empirical insight into this lesser researched field in the recent literature. This research project examines the existing practices and the formulated needs in interactions between allophones and local administrative services. It aims at providing an insider's perspective – from the point of view of both administrative authorities and allophones – on how the relevant actors are dealing with linguistic diversity and which tensions are generated between the applicable norms and the practice. Within this research the focus is on the Sorbian minority and Turkish speakers in Germany, as well as on French and Turkish speakers in the Dutch language area of Belgium. This selection encompasses (possible) 'old' and 'new' minorities, which currently enjoy a different legal protection. Germany has ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and recognizes the Sorbs as a minority, but not 'Turkish people'4. Belgium has not ratified the Framework Convention, given the difficulties with defining the concept of national minority in the Belgian context as well as with the legal obligations generated by the treaty. This research considers several administrative services, selected on the basis of criteria, such as the interfering side, the urgency of the interaction and the presence of a certain target group. This has led to the following selection of administrative services, namely disaster and emergency communication, municipal registration office, waste collection, emergency calls, local ombudsmen, and social services. The selection of municipalities, where the research was conducted, is based on the presence of persons belonging to the selected groups, previous language related incidents and the apparent language policy of local authorities.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Velaers Jan
• Fellow: Bernaerts Jonathan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The technical report for housing controls towards a sound housing quality is very important. Cities can appoint own controllers. But a sound framework has to be created for these officers: that is the objective of this research.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The professional reality of architects is changing quite radically due to different developments. Contemporary construction projects are more and more often interdisciplinary collaborations. The projects are expected to provide sustainable urban solutions for so-called "wicked problems", such as climate change, mobility, health and the aging society. Addressing wicked problems in construction projects requires expertise from different disciplines. An example of such an interdisciplinary project that relies on close collaboration between various experts is the Dutch 2nd Skin project. This project aims to increase the energy-efficiency of existing structures through the use of modular façade elements that form a second "skin" around the building. The technology is the result of a collaboration between engineers, architects, housing corporations, real estate developers and climatologists. In Belgium the relationship between the architect, the owner and the constructor is typically represented by a "construction triangle", in which the architect takes the lead. However, as complex construction projects are increasingly based on partnerships with a variety of expertise and interests, the dynamics within this traditional construction triangle have shifted over time. This could ultimately lead to a move from the "construction triangle" towards a kind of "expertise network". Although architects continue to play an important role in those interdisciplinary projects, this "new reality" has a significant impact on the way architects are operating. Nonetheless, key components of the Belgian legal framework for architects have not been adapted to this new reality. Moreover, the literature does not systematically address this issue despite the fact that an academic debate has been launched in Belgium to think about the "Architect in the 21st Century". As this legal framework is currently under revision, this is an excellent moment to take into account the new professional reality of architects and to re-evaluate the legal framework. Therefore, the main objective of the current project is to systematically rethink the role of the architect (Architect 2.0) and to re-evaluate the relevant Belgian legal framework in a more fundamental way. In terms of methodology, we employ a comparative legal analysis (i.e. Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK) combined with qualitative empirical research. At the end of the project, an examination will be made whether it is necessary and appropriate to recommend changes to the Belgian legal framework and/or best practices facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration in design and construction processes.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Bois Sigrid
• Co-promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Fellow: Nysten Sander

Research team(s)

• Research Group for Urban Development
• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research is the actualization of a research done in 2012 by the King Baudouin Foundation on the relation between the citizen, the law and society. Two major aspects are analyzed: the quality of legislation on the one hand and the way justice deals with conflicts on the other hand.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The architect of today no longer designs buildings 'in splendid isolation'. He acts and interacts with various other professionals, such as experts in mobility, sociology and engineering. His accountability moreover extends beyond the relationship with his client, and also involves policymakers and planning authorities, as well as the users of the public space (citizens). In a first step, this project is aimed at mapping these developments and relies on close cooperation with researchers in the Faculty of Design Sciences to achieve that aim. Subsequently, it is aimed at confronting this altered professional context within which architects operate with the legal framework that determines architects' legal status in Belgium. The project focusses on urban planning law, construction law and intellectual property law and assesses whether and to what extent, in each of these domains, the law is 'lagging behind'. Finally, in those instances where the law fails to meet the topical challenges identified, how could / should it evolve? In order to identify solutions and best practices, we look at foreign law, using the comparative legal method.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Somer Stéphanie

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Within my postdoctoral research project at the Faculty of Law (University of Antwerp), I examine European and national regulations and policies regarding open access. Open access forms a substantial part of open science and brought a global change towards making research outcomes freely available. The European Commission is committed to improve knowledge circulation and to accelerate the interpretation of open science theory into research practice. As far as the goal of knowledge circulation is concerned, access to information sources is of the utmost importance. In contemporary days, the internet forms an essential mean to provide such access. Unfortunately, copyright regimes are beset by practical difficulties regarding the intellectual protection of online information. In addition, the ongoing technological evolution 'bombards' the copyright laws regime. Consequently, the legislator faces a difficult task to respond quickly and adequately. Therefore, given their knowledge, also other IP stakeholders such as university libraries, national research councils, public libraries, local publishers etc. need to contribute to an efficient framework for copyright governance. This brings me to my central research question: to what extent does the implementation of open access require a modification of the copyright governance framework on national level? To answer this question, I will focus on Belgium as a (first) case study. Through this study, I will propose some recommendations for the further development of copyright policies on a national level. On the basis of these provisional results, different applications for external funding will be made (e.g. FWO postdoc).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Koutras Nikolaos

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The intention of the Vlaamse Bouwmeester is to discover which are the causes of unreasonable use of space. These causes can be found in the legal sphere, in the legislation, and in the financial sphere, as a result of financial channels which promote the unreasonable use of space, both explicitly or implicitly. Recommendations can be drafted to turn these negative causes into a more reasonable use of space.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The principle of subsidiarity is a federal principle that seeks a balance between autonomy and coherence which characterizes multi-tiered political systems. Starting point is that competences are exercised at the lowest level, unless regulating at the higher level is more beneficial. In the EU the principle is laid down in Art. 5(1° and (3) TEU and Protocol N° 2, with a political and a judicial enforcement system. Both components are rather weak: an orange card was put forward only three times and led only once to the withdrawal of the proposal, and the Court of Justice has not ever found a violation of the subsidiarity principle. In the overall project an economic and a legal analysis is executed to find how parliaments can have more rip on the subsidiarity test. This part of the project covers the legal section. From an analysis of the ECJ case law, rules of thumb are distracted and a step-by-step plan for the subsidiarity test is designed.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research investigates the compatibility with the Belgian Constitution, European Union law and the international commitments of Belgium of the proposal to add an additional condition for the entitlement to the income replacement benefit and the integration benefit for disabled persons. The proposal is to introduce a condition of a prior residence period of ten years in Belgium, of which at least five years consecutively.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschueren Herwig

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

One of the elements which over the past years have received a lot of attention in the European Union's migration policy is the impact of migration on the social systems of the host Member States. In order to protect the national solidarity mechanisms against use thereof by immigrants, the EU introduced in its migration law instruments a number of sufficient resources requirements as a condition for obtaining and keeping the right to reside. However, these provisions have led to much confusion and arbitrary applications, which is highly problematic for the persons and institutions involved. This is due to the very divergent and vague wording of the relevant provisions. In addition, they are implemented differently in the Member States' national legislation and legal disputes about the application of these requirements and their compatibility with fundamental rights, both in national and European courts, keep increasing. This research aims first at analysing the meaning of the sufficient resources conditions in the various EU legal instruments and at comparing their transposition into the Member States' law. It will highlight the lack of clarity and the inconsistencies. Secondly, the research will develop proposals that should contribute to more legal certainty and to the conformity of these requirements with fundamental rights and general principles of law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschueren Herwig

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Quality control is institutionalized at different moments in the legislative cycle. Three moments are identified in this project. In the internal preparatory phase, regulatory impact analysis is an instrument for better regulation. At the end of the law-making procedure proposals are sent out for advice on legality as well as socio-economic impact. Finally, enacted laws can be reviewed by the Constitutional Court. The purpose of this project is to examine whether the points of quality control throughout the legislative cycle are attuned, whether they are effective, and whether noncompliance by the legislator increases the risk of invalidation of the law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The institutional design of the European patent system will soon change significantly once the "Patent Package" will finally fully enter into force. As a consequence a new type of "unitary" patent protection and a new centralized, highly specialized court, the "Unified Patent Court" (hereinafter UPC) will be created. At many occasions, it has been noted that the success of the UPC will largely depend on "public trust" or more specifically the "trust of the patent user community" in the UPC. However, commentators who refer to the importance of trust in this context do not clarify what they mean by "trust", nor do they disentangle the form, causes and potential of trust with respect to such a new, highly specialized court system. The literature on trust within the context of judicial governance is rather limited. Although some research exists on public trust (trust of ordinary citizens) in courts and on trust between courts, we do not know to what extent and how trust based on expertise is relevant for the legitimacy and effectiveness of new judicial organizations in the context of a highly specialized legal regime like patent law. The main objectives of this research project are (1) to provide a stable research base in order to start developing a theory on trust in patent law and (2) to prepare a pilot study for empirical research by way of a survey amongst patent practitioners related to trust in the UPC.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

With a growing world population and increasing climate change threats, farmers need to access a wide diversity of seeds to produce enough food to feed the world: this requires access to the diversity of varieties of both the physical seed and its associated knowledge. Globalization has favoured private ownership over seeds and its associated knowledge, protected by intellectual property rights (e.g. Monsanto), as the main tool to manage seeds and to promote research and development. However, the increase of property rights over plant varieties has led to reduced access to seeds and to major loss of agrobiodiversity, thereby threatening future food security. This project analyses the current legal framework and governance systems related to seed management in light of the theory of the commons. It aims to re-instil the values of sharing, exchange and fairness within these systems. Two case studies (YuanYang rice terraces (China); International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, the Philippines)) are carried out to examine the importance of the role of commons' sharing values in local (YuanYang) and international (IRRI) rice management systems. The overall objective is twofold: (1) contribute to the theory of the commons in the area of food and agriculture governance; (2) improve the existing seed legal framework to enable the international community to reach their food security and sustainable agriculture objectives.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Fellow: Frison Christine

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Open innovation (OI) has gained significant popularity in recent decades. It refers to a model for innovation whereby entities increasingly rely on external knowledge and external partners throughout the innovation process. This model has been embraced by numerous companies and its relevance has also been recognized by public institutions. In negotiating R&D partnerships, international partners encounter challenges with contract clauses allocating the ownership of jointly developed technologies due to differences in cultural and legal backgrounds. Many legal systems prescribe a regime of so-called co-ownership – which often requires approval from the co-owners for important decisions in exploiting the technologies (e.g. licensing, selling). Moreover, the detailed ownership rules may differ between countries. This could result in high transaction costs, delays and conflicts. Therefore, in practice international partners tend to "contract out" of the legislative co-ownership rules and set up alternative Intellectual Property (IP) ownership arrangements in their agreements. This research project aims to analyse (1) the differences between the legal frameworks on IP ownership allocation in several countries, (2) the alternative contractual IP ownership arrangements and (3) the extent to which legislators could adjust their legislation and stakeholders could adapt their contractual arrangements in order to facilitate engagement in OI and international collaboration.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Who should make statutory laws? The legislature! The answer to this question seems self-evident. Still, all legislatures in Europe pass on some of their power to make statutes to other actors. Traditionally, legislative power has been conferred to the executive. More recently, independent agencies and private actors are receiving legislative powers. Whereas the executive was still controlled by voters or by parliamentary representatives of the voters, these 'non-democratically legitimized actors' are not or to a lesser extent. When may the legislature outsource to these non-democratically legitimized actors? Which guarantees must be met in the norms of these actors? Constitutions are mostly silent on these fundamental questions. Therefore, policy makers, politicians and legal practitioners remain in the dark on the legal sustainability and outer limits of legislative outsourcing to non-democratically legitimized actors. This research first aims to derive, from existing treaties, constitutions and statutes, the constitutional principles that determine the limits for legislatures to confer their legislative powers. Second, the research establishes minimum legal safeguards that the norms, made by nondemocratically legitimized actors pursuant to legislative outsourcing, must meet. Ultimately the comparative conclusions for Belgium, France, Germany and the UK will enable us to understand a crucial practice in modern European law-making.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Velaers Jan
• Co-promoter: Velaers Jan
• Fellow: Jenart Cedric

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research projects aims to make an inventory of new initiatives in housing ("social housing initiatives) as a first step and assess these initiatives in a second phase. Finally, recommendations will be drafted to elaborate an appropriate housing policy.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

RACCOMBAT examines the necessity to seek tools and mechanisms to prevent and combat racism and xenophobia against non-nationals throughout their whole integration in society. An important part of that process is social orientation of new immigrants which is supposed to ensure that participants integrate in host societies to their own and society's benefit. Civi integration and social orientation trajectories should take place in full observance of fundamental rights and legal obligations of all parties. Thus, participants should be given knowledge about those rights and obligations and about acts of hatred and/or discrimination they may encounter, learn to recognise such acts and be aware of all legal tools offered by the host state to prevent and combat them.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In 2002, the King Baudouin Foundation realized a study on the relation between the citizen, the law and the society. After 15 years, the Foundation wishes to update the study, from the perspective of recent developments over time. This project will deal with the support for the edition of a new report (desk research and interviews) and a conference on the subject.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

During the monitoring of projects about shared housing in the province of Vlaams-Brabant, some problems have been experienced in the application of the regulation on urban planning. The objective of this project is to clarify the situation, and to provide the municipalities to use the appropriate legal instruments to enhance these new types of housing.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

After the sixth state reform, the regulation of the private renting market has been transferred to the regions. With the Belgian political structures every legislator has the duty to realize the fundamental rights of the citizens: this is also the case for the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Hence, the Flemish authorities have to enforce non-discrimination when houses or apartments are rented. A non-discrimination policy has to be elaborated with the stakeholders. This project is a preliminary stage in the elaboration of this policy.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In the Flemish debate on urban planning policy, Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) have recently been suggested as a possible solution for urban planning problems. The underlying principle of TDRs is relatively simple: property rights and development rights of real-estate are being separated and a market for development rights is created. Those development rights can then be traded and transferred to other real-estate owners or developers. Typically a distinction is made between the places where a community would like to see less development, the so-called sending areas, to places where a community would like to see more development, the receiving areas. The sending areas are generally areas where the government would like to achieve certain public policy objectives, such as safeguarding open space or preserving the environment or the rural or historical nature. Although the concept is not new (origins in the US beginning of the 20th Century) and a strong interest exists in Flanders to explore the utility of TDRs, no systematic academic literature or policy studies have been carried out to examine whether TDRs would actually fit within the Flemish/Belgian legal framework or whether this would require a modification of the legal framework. The proposed research project aims at filling this gap by examining to what extent it is necessary and feasible to introduce TDRs into the legal framework to respond to the identified needs and problems of contemporary urban planning.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Co-promoter: De Bois Sigrid
• Co-promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The "SENSE" Strategic Partnership project, in which universities of 4 EU Member States are involved (The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Poland and Belgium), aims to contribute to solving problems in the field of EU transnational road transportation, by providing adequate understanding of the legal setting, both at national level and at EU/comparative level. The partners will develop high quality education modules about this subject. In view of this, SENSE will make an inventory of existing law and regulations at national level. It will also examine the problems and solutions in the field of regulations in the transport sector within the participating countries. It will analyse the national rules and regulations applicable; the role of the social partners and/or other strategic partners; over a time period of (at least) five years all national case law and all relevant publications; all legislative efforts undertaken; and all national solutions to these problems that are in place or contemplated. In addition, it will analyse the role of EU fundamental freedoms; of private international law; of the Posting of Workers Directive 96/71/EC (including enforcement Directive 2014/67/EU); of the coordination of social security systems and of European social dialogue in the transport branch.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschueren Herwig

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project
• Education Project

Abstract

It is a truth universally acknowledged that 'beauty is in the eyes of the beholder'. If this is true, can governments legitimately regulate the aesthetics of the built environment? Research in psychology has revealed that the way in which we perceive the beauty of our environment has important effects on our well-being as individuals and as a society. If an aesthetically pleasing environment indeed serves the public interest, it seems legitimate for governments to control the beauty of buildings and neighbourhoods. Planning authorities typically enjoy considerable room for appreciation (discretionary power) in matters of 'aesthetic regulation'. But precisely because aesthetic taste is often regarded as highly subjective, not everybody agrees that this is desirable. This raises the question of who is to (co)decide on what constitutes 'beauty' in this context. Architects, as experts? The public? This is also important because 'aesthetic regulation' affects fundamental rights. Whereas owners point to their right to protection of property, architects argue that they should be free from censorship, relying on their right to freedom of expression. The public, on the other hand, may well argue that it has a right to enjoy an agreeable neighbourhood, which could be subsumed under the right to an effective enjoyment of private life. The project studies the way in which Flemish urban planning law deals with these questions and seeks inspiration the US, the UK and the Netherlands.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: De Somer Stéphanie

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project aims at fundamental research of private international law within the European Union from the perspectives of European constitutionalisation and multilevel governance, with a focus on the impact of EU law on national conflict of laws and attention given to the comparison with the development of interstate conflict of laws within the constitutional framework of the USA.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Research into the state of the art of the research on legal aid, legal assistance and the access to justice for a workshop about the future of legal aid, legal assistance and access to justice in China.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The theory of constitutional dialogue has been extensively studied in recent years. The preliminary reference procedure is often highlighted as a primary tool for constitutional conversations between courts. Although considerable research has been devoted to the courts' referral practices and the preliminary judgments of the constitutional courts, less attention has been paid to the referring courts' reply. However, in order to analyse whether the preliminary reference procedure triggers a genuine dialogue between courts, the follow-up judgments by the referring courts need to be taken into account. Consequently, the purpose of this project is twofold. First, we will collect and analyse these follow-up decisions of the referring courts in order to examine the actual consequences of a preliminary judgement. The project will focus on the study of preliminary judgments by the Belgian Constitutional Court, in particular those in which the Court determines that a legislative lacuna is present. After all, remedying an unconstitutional lacuna requires positive action. What's more, since 2008, the Constitutional Court allows courts to complement the unconstitutional law under certain circumstances. This project will show to what extent Belgian courts actually undertake positive action by extending the scope of the law. Unfortunately, there does not exist a comprehensive database that includes all judgments of ordinary courts; only a selection of case law is uploaded in the Juridat database. Consequently, for the decisions that cannot be found in this database, the registries of the relevant court will be contacted. The assistance of a job student to collect these judgments and enter them into a Nvivo-database, would be of significant value. Secondly, we will focus on the attitude of judges towards the Constitutional Court. By means of interviews and surveys we will examine to what extent the Constitutional Court is perceived as an initiator of constitutional dialogue. To reach the judges in the French and German speaking part of Belgium, a reliable translation of the survey is crucial. This approach correlates with the increase in use of qualitative research methods within legal research, into which I plan to gain more in-depth knowledge. This project does not encompass a new research program, but complements my FWO Postdoctoral Research in which I focus on the case of legislative omissions to examine the role of the Constitutional Court as initiator of constitutional dialogue. Within this FWO research, the position of the legislator as participant in the constitutional dialogue is examined as well.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verstraelen Sarah

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

At the level of housing policy a simplification of the rules on renting in the public sector is announced. The regulation nowadays is very detailed, e.g. compared to the legal framework for private renting. The objective of the research is to describe how form the legal point of view (a) and from the perspective of the actors on the ground (b) a simplification can be elaborated and to take into account the role of the municipal level and the relation between welfare and housing projects.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The knowledge center on housing support policy makers in giving housing policy a sound scientific evidence and deals with legal questions about housing: this is where the expertise of our research group comes in.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The fight against poverty and social exclusion is a policy objective that is high on the political agenda of the European institutions. This is reflected in policy initiatives such as the Europe 2020 Strategy and supported by provisions in the EU Treaties as well as in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, these policy objectives and general legal provisions do not have a direct impact on legal claims for financial or other support by persons faced with poverty or social exclusion. This reveals the ambiguity between the EU policy objective of fighting poverty and social exclusion on the one hand and the very modest or even marginal implementation of it in legally binding instruments of EU law on the other. The main objective of this research is to examine how this ambiguity can be lifted, and how EU legal instruments can be improved or developed in order to make more and better contributions towards the realisation of these policy objectives. More specifically, it will study the role the provisions in the EU Treaties, the general principles of EU law and fundamental rights could play in the fight against poverty. It will further provide a critical analysis of the impact of existing EU legal instruments on poverty and social exclusion and come up with proposals to make them more coordinated with the policy objectives. Finally, it will examine what kind of new EU legal instruments could be developed in the fight against poverty and social exclusion.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verschueren Herwig
• Co-promoter: Cantillon Bea

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The reforms in fiscal and budgetary governance triggered by the 2008 financial crisis brought about a major shift in governance architecture and instruments. A prominent feature is the obligation for Member States to have a sound and balanced public budget. This creates a tension between parliamentary democracy, human rights and a sound public financial status. Instead of a top-down approach, a coordinating system is set up that triggers fiscal responsibility at the national level, yielding paradoxical results. While the budget is to an extent depoliticized, a conflict of constitutional principles and values arises. In some cases, the forum for this balancing exercise will be the judiciary - a far cry from their role as the mere bouches de la loi. But the national balancing act – hypothesise a budget in deficit justified on human rights claims - might have important consequences on the European level. A clash between national authorities and the European Commission or the Court of Justice on budgetary matters is a plausible option due to the new regulatory framework. Two research questions are put forward: firstly, what are the normative arguments underpinning judicial involvement? Several problems arise with respect to the separation of powers and the legitimacy questions intertwined with such a review. Secondly, how should judges approach questions related to public finances: for instance, how to discern between structural and cyclical deviations? -

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Peeters Bruno
• Fellow: Vandenbruwaene Werner

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Open innovation (OI) has gained significant popularity in recent decades. It refers to a model for innovation whereby entities increasingly rely on external knowledge and external partners throughout the innovation process. This model has been embraced by numerous companies and its relevance has also been recognized by public institutions. In negotiating R&D partnerships, international partners encounter challenges with contract clauses allocating the ownership of jointly developed technologies due to differences in cultural and legal backgrounds. Many legal systems prescribe a regime of so-called co-ownership – which often requires approval from the co-owners for important decisions in exploiting the technologies (e.g. licensing, selling). Moreover, the detailed ownership rules may differ between countries. This could result in high transaction costs, delays and conflicts. Therefore, in practice international partners tend to "contract out" of the legislative co-ownership rules and set up alternative Intellectual Property (IP) ownership arrangements in their agreements. This research project aims to analyse (1) the differences between the legal frameworks on IP ownership allocation in several countries, (2) the alternative contractual IP ownership arrangements and (3) the extent to which legislators could adjust their legislation and stakeholders could adapt their contractual arrangements in order to facilitate engagement in OI and international collaboration.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Who should make statutory laws? The legislature! The answer to this question seems self-evident. Still, all legislatures in Europe pass on some of their power to make statutes to other actors. Traditionally, legislative power has been conferred to the executive. More recently, independent agencies and private actors are receiving legislative powers. Whereas the executive was still controlled by voters or by parliamentary representatives of the voters, these 'non-democratically legitimized actors' are not or to a lesser extent. When may the legislature outsource to these non-democratically legitimized actors? Which guarantees must be met in the norms of these actors? Constitutions are mostly silent on these fundamental questions. Therefore, policy makers, politicians and legal practitioners remain in the dark on the legal sustainability and outer limits of legislative outsourcing to non-democratically legitimized actors. This research first aims to derive, from existing treaties, constitutions and statutes, the constitutional principles that determine the limits for legislatures to confer their legislative powers. Second, the research establishes minimum legal safeguards that the norms, made by nondemocratically legitimized actors pursuant to legislative outsourcing, must meet. Ultimately the comparative conclusions for Belgium, France, Germany and the UK will enable us to understand a crucial practice in modern European law-making.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Velaers Jan
• Fellow: Jenart Cedric

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the client. UA provides the client research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a research agreement between the UA and on the onther hand IWT. UA provides IWT research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project examines constitional asymmetry in multinational federal or quasi-federal states. Multinational systems are often asymmetric: regional entities have different powers, or different means of participation. In traditional federal theory, based on model federal states of the 20th century, both asymmetry and multinationality are considered factors of instability. Yet, (quasi-) federations of the 21th century are often multinational and asymmetric. This is the case in devolving systems such as Belgium, the UK, Spain etc. But differentiation is also a growing issue in the integrative European project. This project aims at examining whether asymmetry is a condition for or a threat to the stability and legitimacy of multi-tiered multinational systems. It examines whether asymmetry is inevitable in these systems and if so, how this can be reconciled with constitutional values.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Patent systems are criticized increasingly for failing to respond in a coherent and effective manner to key economic, societal, and political challenges, such as climate change and global health problems. Frequently such criticism eventually leads to a push for fundamental patent reforms, including the establishment of new institutions and regulation. Yet, there is a risk that some of these reforms are not apt for achieving the underlying objectives. In Europe and the US, radical patent reforms are taking place today. In Japan, the patent system was changed significantly a decade ago. In view of the strategic role in stimulating research and development, innovation and competitiveness, which is widely attributed to patents, it is important to examine and compare patent systems, the objectives for patent reforms, reform processes and the institutional changes. Such an examination may provide useful lessons on governance experiments in other jurisdictions. The current project has four main aims. Firstly, to examine how patent governance and patent reform processes can be put on firmer theoretical grounds and can be analyzed within a more advanced conceptual framework. In this respect, it aims to add to the state-of-the-art by elaborating on the available governance literature of public administration, comparative politics and institutional change; secondly, to analyze and compare the European, US and Japanese patent reforms, the patent reform processes and the implementation of the reforms; thirdly, to develop a taxonomy of modes of institutional change and, fourthly, to identify best practices. These aims lead to the following research questions: (1) What are pivotal elements for a conceptual governance framework tailored to the particularities of patent systems? (2) What is the state of affairs ("law in the books" and "law in practice") of the implementation of the European, US and Japanese patent reforms? (3) Can a taxonomy of institutional change be developed on the basis of the comparative analysis under (2)? (4) Are there any particular "best practices" that can be derived from the comparative analysis and taxonomy of institutional change, which could be applied within other jurisdictions?

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Fellow: Baldan Federica

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The primary task of a Constitutional Court is safeguarding the fundamental rights of citizens by annulling unconstitutional norms and preventing further application. However, when the court determines that a legislative gap is unconstitutional, this decision does not directly provide for the necessary protection: it merely states that further action is needed to remove the legislative omission. Hence, the question rises whether or not other institutional organs, namely the legislator and the courts, will comply with this statement and whether they will fill the contested legislative lacuna. This is the central research question in this study: how do courts and legislators respond to findings of unconstitutional legislative omissions? By indicating the unconstitutional omission, the court initiates a dialogue, first and foremost with the legislator. It is primarily his task to correct the unconstitutionality. This does not detract from the fact that the Constitutional Court will frequently indicate the proper solution for the legislative lacuna. In addition, ordinary and administrative courts are involved in this initiated dialogue. The cooperation between these three actors – Constitutional Court, legislator and other courts – will provide the excluded petitioner what (s)he is looking for, namely the application of a similar provision to his or her situation.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Verstraelen Sarah

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research aims to investigate how the EU governs systemic risks in network services and in particular what role EU agencies can play in their mitigation. The main research question is whether the control over systemic risks requires the EU to take responsibility, through specialised actors and on the grounds of the principle of subsidiarity.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Herwig Alexia
• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Straetmans Gert
• Fellow: Simoncini Marta

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The law on the creation of autonomous public bodies in the administrative organization of European states is currently characterized by two trends. On the one hand, international or supranational law obliges or encourages states to create autonomous public bodies. Various national regulatory authorities which find their legal basis in different directives of the European Union on the liberalization of utilities sectors are the most apparent examples of this trend towards the internationalization of the law on autonomous government. On the other hand, one notices an attempt on the national level to restrain the evolution towards autonomous government. The question arose whether and to what extent autonomous government can be reconciled with fundamental constitutional principles governing administrative organization. Attempting to put a brake on the unlimited rise of autonomous public bodies, states have come up with framework regulation, determining the conditions for their establishment. How do these two trends determine the law on autonomous public bodies? To what extent do these trends conflict and – if need be – (how) can they be reconciled? The research studies these questions from a European comparative perspective.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: De Somer Stéphanie

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The thematic area of constitutional politics is somewhat a lonely child – neither really being considered by public lawyers nor political scientists. In the era of 'juristocracy', constitutional courts are increasingly called upon to decide on issues of so-called 'pure politics': matters of an outright political nature and significance that define and often divide entire polities. The consequences of such decisions are particularly grave in consociational democracies, as the courts' decisions will be interpreted differently by the major actor in its divided community – the decision on Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde being a point in case. Against this backdrop, the project aims at unpacking the black box of constitutional courts from an interdisciplinary perspective, in order to advance the related literature in the fields of comparative politics and constitutionalism. The central research question is: what role does the constitutional judge play in the stability and transformation of consociational systems? To this end, the constitutional courts in consociational democracies are compared, discussing how the courts deal with issues of 'pure politics', and with the territoriality principle in particular; the causes and consequences of judicial selection of constitutional court judges; and the way constitutional courts shape multinationalism and federalism in consociational democracies.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Graziadei Stefan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand vzw Kazerne Dossin. UA provides vzw Kazerne Dossin research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal agreement between UA and on the other hand the client. UA provides the client results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In Europe, the US and Japan, patent reforms have led to a fundamental redesign of the patent system and the creation of new institutions. Significant differences and similarities exist as to the objectives of the reforms, the reform processes and the institutional changes in the three jurisdictions. An in-depth, comparative analysis from a governance perspective will provide important new insights regarding these reforms.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project relates to the specific character, principles and objectives of conflict of laws within the European Union. Conflict of laws is the legal discipline which determines what national law is applicable to international acts and facts. It constitutes, besides jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement, one of the three constituent elements of so-called private international law. Due to its transnational subject-matter, it might be expected that conflict of laws holds an important position within European Union law, as the latter discipline (and internal market law in particular) also relates to cross-border situations. While the recognition of the pertinence for the European Union of conflict of laws has been slow, the European Treaties now fully recognize the EU's competence in this field. This provokes new questions, in particular relating to the proper character of EU conflict of laws in the perspective of the European Union's objectives and the status of EU law. Does the integration within the EU fundamentally transform conflict of laws? The study of the essential character, principles and objectives of such "truly European" conflict of laws, which is important for scientific and societal reasons, constitutes the main subject of the research project.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project aims to monitor and assess the effectiveness of integration measures for two vulnerable migrant groups – women, children and victims of trafficking The assessment aims at the identification of strengths and weaknesses in the application of the Common Basic Principles on Migrant Integration when it comes to the integration of vulnerable migrant groups. In addition, it will serve to identify and initiate the exchange of promising practice in the field between EU countries of different migration patterns, regimes and experience.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk
• Co-promoter: Michielsen Joris

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The aim of the present project is to make good use of the lessons learnt from various police and justice reforms, developed in the aftermath of the Dutroux case,and implemented at various speeds times, sometimes in the same way as previous experiments. Thus, it would clearly be interesting to gain insights and to make comparisons regarding the changes implemented at various levels within the police and the justice system. The impetus behind the project is the recognition of the need for those involved in the two institutions to cooperate in theÎr work.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand de Federale Ombudsman. UA provides de Federale Ombudsman research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand Erasmus Mundus. UA provides Erasmus Mundus research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Herwig Alexia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The overall objective of her project is to add to the current state of affairs by elaborating on the available governance literature on globalization, multi-level governance and federalism in order to get a better understanding of the rationale of the European, US and Japanese patent reforms and the actual influence of those patent reforms on the institutional design of the respective patent systems.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther
• Fellow: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the client. UA provides the client research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research project aims to expose the dynamics between national and regional rights protection in Europe and establish if these dynamics are one of convergence. The project firstly intends to examine recent reforms concerning the rights protection of European constitutions with the purpose of ascertaining if these reforms are founded on similar or converging ideas of an ideal constitutional model. Consequently, the project will scrutinize recent dynamics in the catalogues of rights of European constitutions to see if newly adopted constitutional rights are transpositions of international/regional rights, or if they originate from national constitutional dynamics. Because similar catalogues of rights in European constitutions are not enough to create European harmonization, the interpretation of these rights remains key. A significant focus will therefore be placed upon whether the methods of interpretation used by constitutional courts in Europe and the European Court of Human Rights are converging. Lastly, with the establishment of the EU Charter - the most recent and vast European collection of rights - and the new important possibility of the European Union acceding to the European Convention of Human Rights, it is essential to evaluate whether this Charter will cause a further convergence of rights protection in Europe.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Lambrecht Sarah

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In Belgium, as well as abroad and within the E.U., important governmental tasks are more and more entrusted to autonomous public bodies, being entities in either a public or a (semi-)private legal form, with or without legal personality, that function at a certain distance from the core administration. In consequence of this evolution towards more autonomous government, fundamental questions arise as to the legal possibilities and limits of autonomous government and the democratic status of these entities. Recently, framework regulation has been developed in this context in several legal systems, but due to the frequent departures of this framework and the limited amount of issues which are arranged in it, the questions and problems remain. The research project aims at the development of a general legal framework on autonomous government. Which rules and principles of public law govern the creation and functioning of autonomous public bodies or should govern these? Are the traditional rules and principles of public law applicable to these autonomous bodies? Suchlike legal framework is necessary for the legislator who wants to create framework regulation, for the government that wishes to create autonomous bodies, for the autonomous public bodies themselves and for the supervising organs. It can also serve as an interpretative frame by which the various legal questions that arise today can be solved.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Federal Public Service. UA provides the Federal Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Janssens Christine

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand KULeuven. UA provides KULeuven research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a research contract awarded by the University of Antwerp. The supervisor provides the Antwerp University research mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions stipulated by the university. The project aims to set up a model for well-balanced development of the law library as a laboratory for research and education in all domains of the law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project aims to offer a systematic empirical understanding of the functioning of the Belgian Constitutional Court within the Belgian consociational system, its role as a venue for legal deliberation and its task to uphold key constitutional principles. This research explores both the performance of the court as guardian of consensus democracy and the deliberative quality of its judgments. It examines the tensions flowing from this dual role, and investigates how the court deals with these tensions.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Beyers Jan
• Co-promoter: Velaers Jan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project seeks to answer crucial questions about the effects of fundamental rights in practice, in particular with regard to social rights (also called socio-economic rights). Are social rights meaningful in practice? What is the significance of invokability and effectiveness of fundamental rights? Is the law indeed looking for a new way to deal with fundamental rights and why is this the case? Of course, the existence of fundamental rights itself is inspired by the need to intervene in socially (or otherwise) unacceptable situations. In particular, the question has to be raised whether fundamental rights have the often assumed capacity to change the situation in practice. Although an analysis of the effects on the ground of fundamental rights draws on an important social debate, the research questions are grounded in a fundamental academic discussion. First of all, an explicit link will be made with notions of poverty and social exclusion. Indeed, the research question gains particular relevance in situations of poverty. Poverty and social exclusion have been defined as the denial or non-realisation of social rights. We will focus on the latter dimension, i.e. the non-realisation of social rights. Secondly, we will focus on one particularly relevant social right, the right to an adequate standard of housing (in short, the right to housing). The right to housing has been recognized as a social right internationally, regionally and domestically. Article 23 of the Belgian Constitution guarantees the right to housing since its 1993 amendment. The right to housing is used as a "case" to study the effectiveness of social rights, but the conclusions reached through this research are expected to be amenable to generalization to other social rights. The key question is whether we can expect successful results from legislation, rather than from individual dispute resolution in realising fundamental rights.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard
• Co-promoter: Vandenhole Wouter
• Fellow: Moons Nico

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In my research I will focus on a topical and debated issue: same-sex marriage. Differently from most of the literature on this topic, I will partray it as a case that is able to prove a more general hypothesis on the role that law plays in society. Indeed, I will defend the claim that this issue should be seen as an instance of legal pluralism. Same-sex marriage illustrates the negotiated and contested natur of law in contemporary societies: the rules comprising modern legal orders are nothing but the upshot of ongoing negotiations among the different normative orderings of substate and sometimes supra-state entities, which compete in order to affect official law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios
• Co-promoter: Swennen Frederik
• Fellow: Croce Mariano

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The law on the creation of autonomous public bodies in the administrative organization of European states is currently characterized by two trends. On the one hand, international or supranational law obliges or encourages states to create autonomous public bodies. Various national regulatory authorities which find their legal basis in different directives of the European Union on the liberalization of utilities sectors are the most apparent examples of this trend towards the internationalization of the law on autonomous government. On the other hand, one notices an attempt on the national level to restrain the evolution towards autonomous government. The question arose whether and to what extent autonomous government can be reconciled with fundamental constitutional principles governing administrative organization. Attempting to put a brake on the unlimited rise of autonomous public bodies, states have come up with framework regulation, determining the conditions for their establishment. How do these two trends determine the law on autonomous public bodies? To what extent do these trends conflict and – if need be – (how) can they be reconciled? The research studies these questions from a European comparative perspective.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: De Somer Stéphanie

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project concerns the EU's main legal instrument on the surrender of persons in the European Union, namely the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant (FD EAW). The central question that this project will examine is to what extent the introduction and application of this instrument in the EU legal order and in the national legal orders contributes to the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice and, in particular, whether in these legal orders the three elements -freedom, security and justice- are in balance with each other. With this central question in mind, the project will start by defining the constituents of the 'area of freedom, security and justice' and will, consequently, in the following two parts examine to what extent the EU institutions on the one hand and the national judicial authorities on the other hand contribute, or not, to the creation of a true area of freedom, security and justice.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Fellow: Janssens Christine

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Great uncertainty exists on the law applicable to international jurisdiction agreements. Their hybrid nature results in both contractual and procedural characterizations. Divergent approaches, different from State to State or even from court to court, threaten legal security. The project attempts to develop a new approach which would promote legal certainty in transnational situations.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a research contract awarded by the University of Antwerp. The supervisor provides the Antwerp University research mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions stipulated by the university.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Janssens Christine

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Constitutional review by courts is a significant trend in the last decades. Post-authoritarian democracies tend to establish a strong judicial power for rights adjudication. The relationship between democracy and judicial review, however, is contested, for fear of a "government of judges" and might have a substantial impact on transition processes to democracy. Therefore, newly empowered high courts in emerging democracies are reluctant to exercise their powers assertively or do so only in some policy areas, for fear of provoking retaliation by political leaders. A crucial question therefore is how courts exercise their powers, more precisely how they react to and anticipate political pressure. This requires that courts are studied in an integrated framework that combines legal expertise on judicial reasoning with political science knowledge on the broader context and performance of courts as government agencies. According to deliberative democracy, procedural requirements for rational, transparent and inclusive debate give legitimacy to laws. Courts may act as forum for deliberation by giving the public access to constitutional debate and providing for reason-based justifications. Our starting point is that deliberative venues, such as courts, are key ingredients of democracy, and may play an important part in the transition to democracy. Yet, at the same time politicians may constrain courts in the tasks they aim to fulfil or courts might be reluctant to use their powers to the full extent. This research project seeks to explain variation in the deliberative practices courts develop in the transition to democracy. In order to investigate this variation, the project will construct a theoretical framework as a basis for the empirical analysis. The study will focus on three research questions. RQ 1: whether and how the theory of deliberative democracy can explain fundamental tensions between constitutionalism, including constitutional review, and democracy. First, the tensions between legal and political constitutionalism need to be clarified. Next, we need to assess how this tension impacts upon democratic transition processes. What does it mean for a country to be in 'transition to democracy' and what is the role of constitutional review in emerging democracies? How can courts function as a forum for deliberation in transitory democracies? RQ 2: Do constitutional courts shape the furthering of democracy in countries in transition, by protecting and expanding human and socio-economic rights? This requires an analysis of both the legal framework and the historic and socio-political context in which the constitutional courts operate. We need to gather quantitative data about the legal organization and competences of the courts, who has access to the court and who actually lodges a case, which cases fall within the ambit of the courts and how the courts interpret and exercise their powers, what kind of rights are at stake, how and when these cases are settled. RQ 3: What explains the success of failure of constitutional courts as deliberative agents? Legal and socio-political factors will be taken into consideration. Legal factors concern the procedure and competences of the courts, e.g. whether individuals and interest groups have access to the court, whether courts give voice to those who have been affected by a public policy and whether judges give dissenting opinions. Socio-political factors concern the social, economic, political and cultural environment in which the courts function. Here, we will partially rely on indicators which have been developed in doctrine to explain the role played by courts: transparency, public support, political competition and separation of powers.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Beyers Jan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the de Orde van Advocaten Antwerp. UA provides the de Orde van Advocaten Antwerp research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract. The objective is to analyse the duration for the treatment of second line legal assistance requests, to look into the decisive factors and to come forward with proposals and recommendations for improvement.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard
• Co-promoter: Mortelmans Dimitri

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk
• Co-promoter: Timmerman Christiane

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The proposed research should be regarded as a specific contribution to the general effort of explaining and justifying the normative dimension of law. In particular, the focus of the project is provided by a given legal theory aiming at such an explanatory and justificatory account of the normativity of law, namely, interpretivism. The resources that interpretivism has to account for legal normativity will be explored in detail and submitted to thorough criticism, thereby relying on but also contributing to current meta-ethical debates. The value of the proposed research is twofold, theoretical and practical. On the one hand, the theoretical significance of the research is due to the fact that it addresses a classical philosophical problem whose implications range over the disciplines of law and philosophy. On the other hand, the practical significance of the research is demonstrated by its relevance to a host of seminal questions surrounding our daily engagement with the legal doctrine: 'What are the roots of legal obligation?' 'To which extent is legal obligation confined to the state and to which can it arise independently of states at the global level?' 'Is there a hierarchy of norms in international law?' 'Are there universal human rights, and if so on what grounds?' Finally, 'how and to what extent are legal obligations connected to obligations arising from justice?' These questions concern us not only as legal theorists, philosophers and lawyers, but also as responsible citizens. It follows that a theory of law's normativity is going to impact considerably on our ordinary lives.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios
• Co-promoter: Schaubroeck Katrien

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project proposal aims to analyse how the EU multilevel system carries out the protection against catastrophic risks by implementing national and supranational regulations, especially by making use of the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity to ensure an effective cooperation amongst Member States even where competences are not yet shared, but the transboundary nature of the risk requires concerted action.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Herwig Alexia
• Co-promoter: Straetmans Gert
• Fellow: Simoncini Marta

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research project aims to expose the dynamics between national and regional rights protection in Europe and establish if these dynamics are one of convergence. The project firstly intends to examine recent reforms concerning the rights protection of European constitutions with the purpose of ascertaining if these reforms are founded on similar or converging ideas of an ideal constitutional model. Consequently, the project will scrutinize recent dynamics in the catalogues of rights of European constitutions to see if newly adopted constitutional rights are transpositions of international/regional rights, or if they originate from national constitutional dynamics. Because similar catalogues of rights in European constitutions are not enough to create European harmonization, the interpretation of these rights remains key. A significant focus will therefore be placed upon whether the methods of interpretation used by constitutional courts in Europe and the European Court of Human Rights are converging. Lastly, with the establishment of the EU Charter - the most recent and vast European collection of rights - and the new important possibility of the European Union acceding to the European Convention of Human Rights, it is essential to evaluate whether this Charter will cause a further convergence of rights protection in Europe.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Lambrecht Sarah

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The law on the creation of autonomous public bodies in the administrative organization of European states is currently characterized by two trends. On the one hand, international or supranational law obliges or encourages states to create autonomous public bodies. Various national regulatory authorities which find their legal basis in different directives of the European Union on the liberalization of utilities sectors are the most apparent examples of this trend towards the internationalization of the law on autonomous government. On the other hand, one notices an attempt on the national level to restrain the evolution towards autonomous government. The question arose whether and to what extent autonomous government can be reconciled with fundamental constitutional principles governing administrative organization. Attempting to put a brake on the unlimited rise of autonomous public bodies, states have come up with framework regulation, determining the conditions for their establishment. How do these two trends determine the law on autonomous public bodies? To what extent do these trends conflict and – if need be – (how) can they be reconciled? The research studies these questions from a European comparative perspective.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: De Somer Stéphanie

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The research is an attempt to answer the question 'How can the active selves of the citizens of a State be engaged in the action of rule-following when legal rules are externally imposed on them?'. In the paradigmatic case it is argued that in order to be able to follow and be guided by legal rules agents need to avow the grounding reasons as good-making characteristics of legal rules. Consequently, the authoritative character of law can only be understood in a 'ethicalpolitical' way. Thus, legal rules make salient the reasons for actions as good-making characteristics and in doing so citizens are able to engage with the grounding reasons of legal rules. The 'guise of the good' model of legal rules, therefore, is compatible with the idea that law provides a service to its citizens and can make a practical difference to our lives and plans.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal service agreement between UA and on the other hand CFO. UA provides CFO research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand ACVZ. UA provides ACVZ research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Onderzoek naar discriminatie en de vervolging van Joden in België tussen 1918 en 1950, door het uitwerken van een databank en het analyseren van de beschikbare gegevens. Onderzoek naar de evolutie, vanaf 1918, van de mensenrechten in de moderne samenleving en in België in het bijzonder, met bijzondere aandacht voor het non-discriminatiebeginsel. Uitwerken van een pedagogische vertaling van dit onderzoek, door een museale opstelling en door pedagogische tools die via webtoepassingen ter beschikking zullen staan.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The idea is to evaluate the implications and perspective of the new art. 80 of the Treaty, which appears to strengthen the previous art. 63(2)(b) provision which was limited to refugees and displaces persons. The note has to give ideas on a possible implementation of art. 80 TFEU to make the principle of solidarity effective.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

According to the principle of due care, the administration must carefully prepare its decisons. Therefore, it often obtains advice from external advisers, both public and private. The purpose of this research is to develop a general theory on advising the public authorities on the basis of an analysis of the domestic and foreign regulation, case law and doctrine.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: Denys Steven

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The research will seek to comprehensively study the role of constitutional courts in democratic development in post-Soviet countries. The basic assumption of this proposal is that the role of courts in democracy-building in these countries, as well as elsewhere in transitional societies, has been underestimated and that the new generation of investments in democratic development should pay a renewed attention to constitutional courts as key pro-democratic agents.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Pavlakos Georgios

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Research into the effects of the rejection of an application for free legal assistance of a lawyer on the way a dispute can be solved by means of interviews by phone, based on a questionary, being a combination of open and closed questions, and dealing with 100 persons, selected out of the population of persons whose application for free legal assistance has been rejected during the years 2008-2009.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The research question of this project is whether the subsidiarity principle is a suitable way to implement conceptions of constitutionalised, multilevel trade governance that require decisions on the allocation and exercise of competences. To answer the question, the research project draws on the subsidiarity principle of the EU as a comparative case study. It analyses how the ECJ has interpreted the subsidiarity principle and the reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty and evaluates academic literature to discern what objectives the principle should further. The EU case study will yield answers to the questions of whether the subsidiarity principle furthers the objectives of constitutionalised, multilevel trade governance, whether its operation is dependent on institutional or political preconditions and whether it can be adapted to the international context.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Herwig Alexia
• Fellow: Herwig Alexia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Considering that 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, the Researchers' night will focus on the mutual understanding of researchers and citizens around this specific theme. The citizens will be able to express their feelings, skepticism, doubts, fears or enthusiasm on the importance of biodiversity. Researchers will show that behind recommended behavior, behind simple deeds, there is research. And a researcher. The idea is to show that biodiversity researchers are part of the society. Subsequently the citizens will be asked to become biodiversity research actors.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Federal Public Service. UA provides the Federal Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand UCSIA. UA provides UCSIA research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

New tendencies indicate that judicial transitional law is at the verge of a new evolution, calling for further research this project will focus in particular on two research questions which will lead to concrete directives for both policy makers and legal practice Research Question 1: What are the theoretical foundations and policy arguments for the principal temporal function of' judgments? Research Question 2. What arguments justify in the practice of courts a modulation of the temporal effects of judgments?

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Vanheule Dirk
• Co-promoter: Vanlerberghe Beatrix

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Art is a pivotal activity that deserves the protection of the law. Most contemporary constitutions reserve a special protection of artistic expression as an improtant constitutional good, thus recognising the key role of Art for the flourishing of individuals and the community. The project aims to investigate the role art plays in the public sphere of a democratic polis and to draw conclusions about the protection it deserves by the state. In doing, so, it calls upon members of the local and international contemporary art community to re-negotiate the nature of art and invites members of the legal community and the general public to revise their views on the limitations and the value of artistic expression within a democratic polis.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The objective of the project is to analyse the character, the size and the importance of the valorisation of research in the field of human and social sciences, and to point out the diciplinary differences on the matter. Furthermore, the project aims to describe the possible obstacles in the valorisation in the field of human and social sciences, to sum up the "assets" of the Flemish region in this field and the possibilities and tracks that could be explored to extend the valorisation potential of the human and social sciences. Among the cases that will be analysed some will be chosen in the field of the law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Hubeau Bernard

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project investigates the qualitative digitisation of the first Belgian photographic magazines 'Bulletin belge de Photographie' and 'Bulletin de l'Association Belge de Photographie'. The results of the research will be brought together in a qualitative course, syllabus and e-book that will be presented to specific libraries and museums to make the information accessible for further research.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman
• Co-principal investigator: Schalm Olivier

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Ce project contient d'une part un cour complet de droit constitutionnel Congolais pour les étudiants de la faculté de droit de Kisangani. D'autre part, une formation au droit international humanitaire serait offerte au personnel de la Faculté, étudiants de 3e cycle et certains membres d'ONG locales. Par ailleurs des séminaires sur des sujets spécifiques seraient aussi proposés pour un public plus large (société civile) surs les violences sexuelles ou la Cour Pénale Internationale et le conflit en RDC.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Maes Gunter

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The debates for political unity in Europe can be captured by this basic question: 'Can we conceptualise a common good for the European polis?' The project identifies two angles from which to pose the question: (i) how might a common conception of the good appear from the point of view of a single - if multi-layered - entity such as the European polis? and (ii) how might it appear from the point of view of regions, whose regional parliaments are also entrusted to legislate for the common good at a subsidiary level of representation. Spanning both questions is that fundamental quandary for democracy: why would the will of a majority (at the EU level) legitimately bind any minority in the absence of a good that is assumed common for both?

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios
• Co-promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This is a fundamental research project financed by the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO). The project was subsidized after selection by the FWO-expert panel.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Fellow: Janssens Christine

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

According to the principle of due care, the administration must carefully prepare its decisons. Therefore, it often obtains advice from external advisers, both public and private. The purpose of this research is to develop a general theory on advising the public authorities on the basis of an analysis of the domestic and foreign regulation, case law and doctrine.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: Denys Steven

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios
• Fellow: Herwig Alexia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project aims tot give a concise inventory of the most important legislative provisions of Belgian administrative law, by wich the silence of the administration after expiration of a certain term is equalled with a fictitious positive decision, the so called "silencio positivo". Some important characteristics of this fictitious decisions are briefly outlined. The various individual country reports will result in a final global report.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Given the fundamental importance of legislation to society, legal scholarship has generated remarkably few insights into the norms that effectively govern legislative processes. Between the extra-legal constraints traditionally studied by political science and the formal constitutional framework that is the territory of constitutional law scholarship, a grey area of seemingly bureaucratic rules on lawmaking can be identified. This project refers to these rules as 'meta-rules' and aims to analyse the way they interact with constitutional law. The recent proliferation of 'Better Regulation' policies in Europe has led to a convergence of meta-rules applied in different legislative arenas and to a growing salience of these norms. Many meta-rules overlap with constitutional norms in terms of subject matter, for instance the issue of who gets access to the legislative process. However, these rules are inspired by the paradigm of the regulatory state rather than by the traditional rationale of democratic lawmaking. An example of a meta-rule is 'a legislative proposal can only be put forward if it is accompanied by an impact assessment'. Such a requirement follows a different logic than the assumption that 'the sovereign parliament can initiate laws as it sees fit' which is often part of traditional constitutional frameworks. Are meta-rules as they emerge from increased transnational cooperation in the framework of EU 'Better Regulation' capable of overriding the formal constitutional rules and principles in certain cases? Or do they instead facilitate their implementation in the day-to-day practice of lawmaking? It is proposed to combine macro-level research on meta-rules by expanding existing databases on regulatory policies in Europe with more detailed case-study based analysis. In doing so traditional methods such as elite interviewing and textual interpretation will be combined with methods that are new to legal research, such as quantitative textual analysis.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Fellow: Meuwese Anne

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The research project will be made up of four parts: 1. First, we will investigate which fundamental principles in fact underlie the current devision of powers in the Belgian federal system. To this end, the judgments of the Court of Arbitration and the advices of the Council of State, Legislation section, will be systematically analysed. Central to this investigation is above all the question of the degree to which the exclusivity principle should or should not be reassessed. 2. In the second part, we will research the extent to which the development under way in Belgium can be explained in terms of the concepts of a "cooperative federal state" and of "multilevel governance". In this part a limited and strictly functional comparison will be made with regard to the phenomena of non-exclusive exercise of powers in other federal states. As well, insights will be presented from the legislative theory of "mulitlevel governance" in a federal context. 3. The third part will examine - by means of the (scarce) European jurisprudence and the practice of the transposition of European directives into national law - whether European law can also shed light on this development. 4. Finally, research will be conducted into whether it is necessary and/or desirable further to refine the rules, in the Constitution and in the special Institutional Reform Act of 8 August 1980, governing the division of powers, including those regarding cooperative federalism, with a view to ensuring a consistent exercise of these powers.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Velaers Jan
• Co-promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Co-promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Velaers Jan
• Co-promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The research focuses on the internal, administrative appeal against agency decisons that has tot be exhausted before seeking relief tot the court. The research aims to : - determine the why and the how of the current system; - evaluate the similarities and differences between the various appeals; - propose ways to optimize the current system (eg by creating a general framework) - develop a general theory on organized administrative appeals, which would be applicable on all those appeals, regardless of the area of administrative law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: Goris Joke

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Sottiaux Stefan
• Co-promoter: Velaers Jan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Since the beginning of the UN administration in Kosovo, the status of human rights remained unclear. Also their enforceability, both with regards to the international administration as to the local authorities, is much disputed. The research will focus on the question whether or not human rights are effectively protected, and in how far they are relevant to the different communities in Kosovo.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Sottiaux Stefan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The proposed research undertakes an investigation of the impact of globalization on the concept of law from the point of view of General Legal Theory and the Philosophy of Law. In addition, extensive use is made of contemporary debates in the Philosophy of Action, Social and Political Theory and Sociology. Given its interdisciplinary scope, the project focuses on structural as well as substantive aspects of legal orders with an eye to offering an explanatory framework of legal phenomena that lives up to the challenges of the globalised era. Such a framework, it is argued, needs to combine a dynamic understanding of how legal norms and categories evolve in the light of the social, economic and political changes globalization effects, with an account of the specifically normative structure of law as a source of authority, which is legitimate from the point of view of those agents who engage in globalised contexts. The two aspects, it is suggested, may be combined through an analysis of the dual character of Law as a system of co-ordination of action: on one hand, the factual aspect that pertains to legal institutional arrangements; on the other, the ideal aspect that refers to the claim law raises to be a legitimate source of normative authority.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios
• Co-promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project adresses the principles of repartition of powers in the Belgian federal system. It aims at detecting these principles through an analysis of the case law of the constitutional court and the advices of the Council of State, at interpreting them in the light of the theory of the "cooperative federal state" and at examining their compliance with European law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Velaers Jan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The aim of this project is to discover requirements of proper law making in a European Union context. The research relates to European rules as well as national rules with a European dimension. The jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will be analysed to find legal requirements relating to the quality of laws. This is put in the broader perspective of regulatory management as a EU policy.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The research project 'The Constitution of Globalisation' brings legal doctrinal analysis and philosophical argument to bear on key questions of globalisation, with a view to demonstrating that globalisation raises substantive questions of justice, human rights and democracy, questions that need to be taken very seriously by lawyers, policy-makers, politicians and citizens at the international and national levels. On the face of it, it seeks to make a contribution to the current globalization debate on two levels: first, to subject existing legal institutions to sustained criticism; second to propose new forms of legal regulation by suggesting a fresh way of thinking about the role law can play in a globalised world. It is envisaged that this line of enquiry will amount to important conclusions about the content, form and institutional validity of a Constitution of Globalisation.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Pavlakos Georgios
• Fellow: Pavlakos Georgios

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project will assess the quality and quantity of the Dutch consultation practice regarding regulatory drafts. It will look at: - the position of consultations in the lax making process: the development of a process of quality management - the functions of consultations in an ideal law making process

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project aims at analysing, in a comparative way, the interaction of the national and European courts in the protection of human rights against legislative and regulatory action, or the lack thereof. It treats the relations between national courts as well as the interaction of the Court of Justice with national courts. Special consideration is given to the European dimension. In order to ensure the full effect of Community law, Member States must organise their judicial system in such a way that any provision of national law which conflicts with Community law can be set aside. In the field of human rights, national courts thus have to combine the protection afforded within their national legal order with the obligations flowing from Community law as well as with the minimum level of protection imposed by the European Convention on Human Rights. The project examines how problems and bottle-necks can be solved within the existing framework of judicial protection; and to what extent the existing system of judicial protection should be reformed in order to achieve an efficient and coherent system of human rights protection, in which judicial decisions are given within a reasonable period of time.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia
• Co-promoter: Velaers Jan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The Treaty concerning the European Union qualifies the European Union, in its article 6, as being democratic. It is the task of the European Court of Justice to guarantee that, through its interpretation of the European Treaties, Union legislation is being respected (art. 220 Treaty). The Court has always done this in a rather expansive and activist manner. The question therefore is if and how this expansive interpretative activity can be reconciled with the idea that the European legal order is based on the idea of democracy.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Adams Maurice
• Co-promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The renovation of the Antwerp 19th-century boulevard started in 2002. A lot of monumental relics of the old 16th-century fortifications were found. They are rare testimonies of the earlier city walls, porches, bastions, bridges and moats. On the basis of interdisciplinary research (architectural, historical and archaeological) a fundamental research is started up to describe the unique character of those remains.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The European Community has jurisdiction over matters of asylum and immigration since the Treaty of Amsterdam. The decision making process is mainly the consultation procedure, with limited legislative power for the European Parliament. The research topics are the respective importance of each of the European institutions in the legislative process, the degree of democratic participation and the possible consequences for legal protection.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In the context of the results of biomedical and technological research, law and ethics are strongly linked to eachother. In the future, the legislator will more and more be urged to regulate the questions and problems that will be raised in this context. This proposal therefore wants to look at how the legislator should react to this.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Adams Maurice
• Co-promoter: Lemmens Willem
• Fellow: Braspenning Sven

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Rimanque Karel
• Fellow: Maes Gunter

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Fellow: Janssens Christine

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: Goris Joke

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Rimanque Karel
• Fellow: Maes Gunter

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Overbeeke Adriaan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This study, by combining methods of legal theory (literature study) and sociology of law (interviews), aims to look at how magistrates in the Belgian Cour de Cassation understand their law creating function. As a result a deeper understanding of the democratic attitude of these magistrates is given, and insight is gained into the functioning of Belgian democracy.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Adams Maurice
• Co-promoter: Van Aeken Koen

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Co-promoter: Pertegas Marta
• Co-promoter: Straetmans Gert
• Co-promoter: Swennen Frederik

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Opdebeek Ingrid
• Fellow: Goris Joke

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

A policy towards the quality of legislation implies care for the organisation of the legislative process. This project wants to analyse the organisation of the decision making process. It aims to consider the institutional actor's strong and weak points in the legislative process and to find out how these actors can influence the quality of legislation. A comparative study will look for inspiration from abroad to reform institutions in Belgium.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Popelier Patricia

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Project of education and research relating to EU-law, with special emphasis on the development of the still young subdiscipline of EC private international law. The project thus confronts two legal disciplines: private international law (which regulates cross-border activities from a private law perspective) and Community free movement law (which, in a specific treaty framework, regulates cross-border economic movement in function of the objectives laid down in in the EC Treaty).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project aims at an in-depth analysis of the case law of the Belgian Conseil 'Etat on the application of the Aliens Act on the immigration of non-Belgian citizens to Belgium. The Conseil d'Etat, being ths supreme administrative tribunal, reviews the decisions made by the immigration authorities on the basis of the Aliens Act. Although these appeals currently compose the majority of the Conseil's workload, exhaustive legal research on more than 20 years of case law is lacking. The research will examine these cases from different legal angles; migration law, administrative law, administrative procedural law, constitutional law, international public law, European law and human rights law.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vanheule Dirk
• Co-promoter: Foblets Marie-Claire

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project 'EPHEBOS' attempts to analyse the basic needs and available sources in order to create a Europe-oriented modular education package for the bachelor level within the Association of the University of Antwerp-Colleges within the Antwerp province. This comprehensive research about education fits into the priorities of the Antwerp prov~nce and gains momentum with the Bologna declaration.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Co-promoter: Bursens Peter

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Meeusen Johan
• Co-promoter: Pertegas Marta
• Co-promoter: Straetmans Gert

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Goethem Herman
• Fellow: Vanden Daelen Veerle

Research team(s)

• Government and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project