VUB Contextual Research in Law

  The Rule of Laws Introduction The laws now enforced throughout the world are almost all modelled on systems developed in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During two hundred years of colonial rule, Europeans exported their laws everywhere they could. But they weren't filling a void: in many places, they displaced traditions that were already ancient when Vasco Da Gama first arrived in India. Where, then, did it all begin? And what has law been and done over the course of human history? In The Rule of Laws, Fernanda Pirie traces the development of the world's great legal systems - Chinese, Indian, Roman, and Islamic - and the innumerable smaller traditions they inspired. But she also hints at the fascinating, sophisticated approaches to justice that have been lost since the advent of modern, Western law – and at how these different laws helped, and still help, ordinary people in their struggles for a better world, outside of the realm of Western law.   Biogra...

Abstract:  Aujourd’hui, le seul moyen de faire passer un message, c’est de bloquer [la voie publique] .”  Deze woorden behoren toe aan één van de ‘ dix-sept du Pont de Cheratte ’. Zij zijn een groep vakbondsleden die recent op grond van artikel 406, eerste lid Sw. werden veroordeeld voor kwaadwillige belemmering van het wegverkeer wegens hun deelname aan een stakingspost op de E40. Nadat ABVV-secretaris Verlaeckt in 2020 op dezelfde rechtsgrond werd veroordeeld, valt de uitspraak tegen de   dix-sept du Pont de Cheratte   niet uit de lucht. Er is nood aan kritische analyse en aandacht voor deze evolutie. Beide rechtszaken creëren namelijk een   chilling effect   voor deelnemers aan directe acties en blokkades en vernauwen zo de ruimte voor protest in België. Dit artikel start met een inleiding over artikel 406 Sw., waarna achtereenvolgens de processen van Verlaeckt en die van de zeventien van Luik worden besproken. Daarna volgt een bespreking van relevante E...

(image source: Die Keure ) Prof. Frederik Dhondt co-authored a chapter in the Liber Amicorum Jan Velaers . Abstract: The referendum as an instrument has been used increasingly in many parts of the world. It can contribute to strenghtening democratic culture within a polity. Yet, as Jan Velaers demonstrated masterfully, history learns that context weighs heavily in assessing specific manifestations of this concept. A referendum can be a tool of domination in specific circumstances, serving other purposes than those publicly admitted to. The present contribution uses the Belgian case of the "Royal referendum" to illustrate this. The introduction of the possibility of a popular consultation at regional level has given direct democracy a more prominent constitutional entrenchment than before. Research in political science teaches us that authoritarian instrumentalisation is less to fear than use for political parties' own ends. Two out of three regions seem not in a hurry to ...

  Prof. Frederik Dhondt intervenes at the conference "Forces armées, gardiennes des institutions et des libertés", organized by the Université de Bourgogne-Franche Comté in Dijon (24-25 November). He will address the topic  Garde civique, gendarmerie, armée. Les gardiens de la Constitution belge face aux citoyens . More information here .

  (image source: Anthémis ) Prof. Frederik Dhondt published a paper in the acta of a symposium held at the Belgian Constitutional Court at the occasion of the admission of president François Daout to the status of emeritus. The symposium was devoted to the concept of neutrality of the state ( laïcité ), the chapter explores the French concept from a historical perspective, from the age of Enligthenment on. More information with the publisher .