ILS 2.0: The three winning proposals 2016-2020
The research profile area Interaction between Legal Systems has a multidisciplinary approach and aims to inspire innovative research. Out of all the proposals put forward, three winning projects have been selected for the forthcoming research period 2016-2020.
Current issues, new insights
Data use, online consumer needs, business strategies and regulatory response, project leader Professor Simone van der Hof: ”Many businesses collect and use online data without consumers being aware of this or having given their permission. This data is used by businesses to boost profits. For example, they use past consumer behaviour to offer what is called a ‘dynamic price’ to a consumer. This can therefore turn out to be higher than the average price for that product! In our research we will look at the impact of legislation on consumer behaviour. What if consumers receive one short notification on their screen about the use of dynamic price setting by the company they are dealing with? And what if that notification appears at the beginning or at the end of the sales process? We are therefore concerned with the impact of regulations on the use of data. Our research will inform the regulators, but in addition it will provide us with better insights into how consumers respond to statutory information.”
Willem van Boom, Simone van der Hof and Jean-Pierre van der Rest submitted the proposal.
SOLID: Solidarity under strain - A legal, criminological and economic analysis of welfare states and free movement in the EU, project leader Dr Olaf van Vliet: "The access for EU citizens to social security in other EU Members States is a controversial and politically sensitive topic that causes division within Europe. The research project SOLID will investigate how the free movement of persons in Europe and labour migration have caused significant challenges in national social policy. The research will focus on social regulations such as unemployment benefits and social assistance and on the use of bogus schemes in the labour market, with a central role for the interaction between EU rights and national rights and the interaction between legal, criminological and economic perspectives.
Olaf van Vliet, Joanne van der Leun, Masja van Meeteren, Koen Caminada, Kees Goudswaard, Stefaan Van den Bogaert, Daniel Carter, Barend Barentsen and Yvonne Erkens collaborated on this proposal.
Policing the high seas: maritime law-enforcement in a multi-actor environment, project leader Dr Jorrit Rijpma: “How do you ensure that the entire sea does not become a free zone for illegal activities? Piracy has always been a crime against which everyone could take action. But what about human trafficking? And drug trafficking or terrorism? And what are the limits on this? These are issues at stake throughout the world. As a result of the refugee crisis and fears about terrorism, these have become current issues in the European Union. A proposal was recently put forward for a European maritime coast guard. Out at sea you are dealing with various intersecting national and international legal systems, making this a subject that certainly lends itself to an investigation considering different legal systems. In addition, more use is being made of surveillance, for example using air drones or automated data exchange. By collaborating with various departments we can look at maritime security from various perspectives and work towards a legal framework for law enforcement at sea.” Jorrit Rijpma, Pablo Mendes de Leon, Nico Schrijver, Simone van der Hof, Pinar Ölcer and Melanie Fink were involved in this proposal.
Professor Simone van der Hof, Dr Olaf van Vliet and Dr Jorrit Rijpma will also be directors of the profile area Interaction Between Legal Systems for the next four years.
Background to the profile area Interaction between Legal Systems
On the basis of the successful completion of the profile area Interaction between Legal Systems (ILS 1.0), the Executive Board of Leiden University has awarded the profile area a grant of €1,000,000.
The research projects concerned provide public and private actors with more clarity about their effectiveness, competence and accountability so that they can contribute towards the development of national, European and international policy that is effective and fully observes the rule of law.
Horizontal and vertical integration and its social relevance
The selected projects have a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach. In this way, national and international legal frameworks and fields of law are combined and insights are integrated from various fields including law, philosophy, psychology, economics and criminology.
The projects aim to inspire collaboration between researchers from various institutes and departments, and at the same time also inspire collaboration with researchers from our international academic networks.
All projects involve the major stakeholders (policymakers, non-government organisations (NGOs), international organisations) in their research, providing Leiden Law School the opportunity to position itself internationally in the area of scientific innovative and socially relevant research.