VUB Contextual Research in Law

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 .

  Our research group welcomes  three  new researchers. Today we present  João Freitas Mendes , who pursues a PhD in legal theory. More on João's  page .

(image source: Prof. Bastos )   Prof. Cristiana Bastos (Lisboa, ERC Advanced Grantee) will hold this year's opening lecture for the EUTopia Connected Learning Community Legal History:Labour Migration. The topic is "Across empires: plantation labour in the aftermath of abolition". Background reading can be found on Prof. Bastos' project website , and will be shared at registration. The Connected Learning Community Legal History:Labour Migration brings together the VUB, UPF Barcelona, Ljubljana, Warwick, Nova Lisboa and CY Paris. Five to eight students per institution work together on the common theme of Labour Migration .  The event will take place on Friday 21 October at 15:30 Brussels Time . Registration is mandatory with dr. Elisabeth Bruyère  (Elisabeth dot bruyère at vub dot be).

  (Image: prof. Fiocchi Malaspina, Zurich, 3 March 2020) Dr. Raphaël Cahen and prof. Frederik Dhondt  co-edited with prof. Elisabetta Fiocchi Malaspina (Zurich) the special section “Entangled National and International Legal Orders in the Long Nineteenth Century” for the open access journal Forum Historiae Iuris. This section contains the papers presented at a conference hosted by the University of Zurich (Chair prof. Thier) in March 2020. The introduction and the first article (by prof. em. Pietro Costa (Firenze)) are already available. The contributions by prof. Lisa Ford (UNSW), prof. Inge Van Hulle (KU Leuven/Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory, Frankfurt) and the three co-editors will be released in batches in the coming weeks. Read the introduction to discover more!