Department of International law

General Information

The Faculty of Law has a long-standing reputation in a number of fields of public international law. These include, in particular:

1. The law of international peace and security (e.g. the (il)legality of the use of armed force by states and inter-governmental organisations in international relations; the law of warfare, including humanitarian (assistance) law, and the use of specific categories of weapons, such as weapons of mass destruction like nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; the UN role in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security; UN peace-keeping operations; humanitarian intervention; arms control and disarmament; etc.).
2. The law of international economic relations and the law of economic development cooperation (e.g. international trade law; international investment law; international monetary law; international development financing law; international labour law; the law of natural resources exploitation; both on land and in the seas and sea-beds; the emergence of the principle of preferential treatment for developing countries; etc.).
3. The law of environment protection and sustainable development (e.g. protection of the marine environment; protection of the atmosphere and the ozone layer; trans-boundary transmission of toxic substances; trans-boundary transport and dumping of hazardous wastes; the relationship between international trade restrictions and environment protection; the relationship between economic development and environment protection; preferential rights and obligations for developing countries in environment protection regulations; etc.).
4. The law of the sea (the expansion of coastal state jurisdiction over extended marine zones; the exploitation of living and mineral resources of the seas and sea-beds, within and beyond the limits of national jurisdiction; protection of the marine environment; preferential rights for developing countries in the new law of the sea; etc.).
5. More recently, the universal and regional protection of human rights, and the law of state responsibility have been added to the research programme of the Department.
   Part of the Faculty's research programmes falls within the ambit of the Research School Centre for Law, Policy-making and Society.

Currently, the teaching-staff of the Department of International Law includes Prof. Dr. Marcel M.T.A. Brus (Chairman), Prof. Dr Wil D. Verwey, Prof. Dr Frans A. Nelissen, Dr. André J.J. de Hoogh and Ms. Mr Kirsten C. Wolkotte. In the recent past, a number of distinguished professors of International Law have held the Röling Chair, named after the renowned late professor of International Law Bert V.A. Röling, co-founder of the science of peace research and judge in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo). These include Prof. Antonio Cassese - former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia -, Prof. Manfred Lachs - former President of the International Court of Justice -, Prof. Erik Suy - former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs of the United Nations (Legal Counsel) - and Prof. Michael Bothe - Professor of Public and International Law at the University of Frankfurt.