NWO Open Competition grant for strengthening the rule of law in Europe

Recent developments in Hungary and Poland have led to a crisis for the rule of law in the European Union. The current approach to ending this crisis emphasizes the legal foundations of the rule of law, but so far has not been very effective. With the research project CITIZENS-LAW, Hertogh wants to provide insight into the social views on law that can help explain this crisis.

Within the framework of the Open Competition for Social Sciences and Humanities, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded a grant of 750,000 euros to Professor of Socio-Legal Studies Marc Hertogh for his research project CITIZENS-LAW. Towards a New Approach to Strengthen the Rule of Law in Europe: Incorporating EU Citizens' Perceptions of Law.

Hertogh: "If we want the rule of law to really matter, then we need to look at the social foundations of the rule of law in addition to the legal foundations. Do people know the law, do they recognize it and do they use the law? Although much research has been conducted into the legal aspects, the social foundations of the rule of law are still largely a 'black box'. CITIZENS-LAW uses empirical-legal research to analyze social views on law in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Hungary. These research results are being translated into a new governance toolkit to strengthen the rule of law in Europe."

Open Competition Social Sciences and Humanities

With the NWO Open Competition - SSH, the NWO Domain in Social Sciences and Humanities wants to give researchers the opportunity to conduct research into a topic of their own choice, without thematic preconditions. The competition aims to promote excellent and curiosity-driven research with a primarily social science or humanities based research question. Of the 199 submitted proposals in total, 34 proposals were approved.