Back into the (online) lecture halls in Groningen

On July 6, 2021, our Faculty will celebrate its 425th anniversary. We do not want this special anniversary to pass unnoticed. Therefore, on June 25, 2021, we will organize the alumni afternoon 'Back into the (online) lecture halls in Groningen'.

As an alumnus of our Faculty, you are welcome to attend lectures 'like in the old days'. But then a lecture as the students of the past year have participated in: online. We will conclude with a festive online drink. Will you celebrate this special anniversary with us?

Online programme

1:30 Welcome by Ramses Wessel, Vice Dean.
1:45 Lectures, round 1 (choice from two different lectures)
2:30 Break
2:45 Lectures, round 2 (choice from two different lectures)
3:30 Online chat

Lectures

• The Mladic case before the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
  By: Caroline Fournet, professor of comparative criminal law and international justice
  
  
• Stuck between a rock and a hard place: EU Competition Law in the 21st Century
  By: Hans Vedder, professor of economic law
  
  

  Competition law is one of Europe's success stories. Not only does it continue to be one of the cornerstones of the internal market, the EU competition rules have inspired a spontaneous harmonisation throughout the 27 Member States. Perhaps Brexit was a sign of things to come, with a former member state citing excessive state aid control as one of the reasons for its breakaway. Right now, however, the challenges that EU competition law faces are more pervasive and fundamental as they touch upon one of the very essence of competition law: what is competition and why would we want to have it in a particular way, shape or form? Whether we are talking about digital markets, the green economy or agriculture and solo-self-employed persons, the very essence of EU competition law is questioned. We'll study the rocks and hard places that EU competition law finds itself in and then discuss whether this pressure may (re)form a diamond.

• Catch Up If You Can: Artificial intelligence and corporate human rights responsibility
  By: Lottie Lane, assistant professor of public international law; postdoctoral researcher EU non-discrimination law
  
  

  Private businesses are key drivers in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), giving them a key role in ensuring that AI respects human rights. However, while guidelines and principles in AI ethics increasingly address this role, the position of businesses developing AI under international human rights law remains somewhat unclear. Since the establishment of the State-centric framework of international human rights law, incredible technological developments have occurred, posing new challenges to human rights and leaving international human rights law scrambling to catch-up. Ongoing initiatives in the field of business and human rights demonstrate progress, but crucial questions regarding AI remain: What human rights responsibilities do businesses developing AI have under international human rights law? What shortcomings and challenges exist concerning the legal framework, and (how) can AI governance initiatives contribute to solving them?

• Carbon capture and storage. How will the ambitious goals to reduce 55% CO2 emissions by 2030 impact the protracted prospects for carbon capture and storage in the North Sea?
  By: Martha Roggenkamp, professor of energy law