Prof. John Morijn appointed first chairman Scientific Committee EU Fundamental Rights Agency

Last June, the eleven new members of the Scientific Committee of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency were announced. On Friday, it was announced that John Morijn, professor of law and politics in international relations at our Faculty, will assume the role of chairman within that committee.

Appointment and first meeting

Besides Morijn, Dr Dia Anagnostou, Prof. Marie-Laure Basilien-Gainche, Prof. Adam Bodnar, Dr Paul De Hert, Prof. Delia Ferri, Prof. Janneke Gerards, Prof. Mārtiņš Paparinskis, Prof. Laura Morales, Dr Kirsten Roberts Lyer and Prof. Gentian Zyberi have been appointed members of the Committee. Their term of office started on 4 June 2023 and will be for a period of five years.

On 7 September, the committee met for the first time in Vienna to get to know each other and learn about each other's work and methodologies. A day later, they held their first official meeting in which FRA reports were reviewed. Morijn was appointed chair, Roberts Lyer vice chair. Their appointments are for the period of one year.

Goal of the committee

The group brings together knowledge on various topics, from EU migration law and the rule of law to comparative constitutional law and international human rights. Because the members each have their own expertise, the Committee can follow FRA’s work across the entire spectrum of its activities. Moreover, the Committee can build on the members’ experience as legal experts. Until recently, two of them held the position of Human Rights Commissioner; others have been members of international bodies such as the UN International Law Commission and the Group of Experts of the European Commission on Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation.

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.