Tilburg University appoints Ingrid Leijten as professor of Dutch and European Constitutional Law
Tilburg University has appointed Dr. Ingrid Leijten as Professor of Dutch and European Constitutional Law at Tilburg Law School as of 1 January 2022. In this position she will research, among other things, the relationship between fundamental rights and trust in government, the influence of public debate on the interpretation of constitutional law and the legitimacy of government action in times of complexity and uncertainty.
Ingrid Leijten's research focuses on fundamental rights and the role these rights play within broader constitutional law issues, for example with respect to the task of the different governmental powers and in times of crisis. She is fascinated by the internationalization and constitutionalization of public law, and through her work she aims to contribute to discussions on the legitimacy and effectiveness of modern constitutional legal orders. In recent years, she has published on such topics as the protection of fundamental social rights in a multilayered legal context, proportionality review and alternatives, fundamental rights in climate debates, and ‘tailored’ administrative law.
As part of the multidisciplinary research program Global Law and Governance at Tilburg Law School, Ingrid Leijten will focus on various themes. In her research on the future of fundamental rights, she wants to make the link with trust in government and the role that fundamental rights - and constitutional law in a broader sense - play in this regard.
She will also investigate the 'public character' of constitutional law, and how different actors and public discussions (on social media) contribute to the interpretation of the law. All this against the background of questions of legitimacy of government action in times of complexity and uncertainty, with the pandemic as an important case study. In doing so, Leijten will seek collaboration with the other disciplines represented in the Department of Public Law and Governance, as well as with other departments and Schools at the university.
Prof. Geert Vervaeke, Dean of Tilburg Law School: "We are very pleased that Dr. Ingrid Leijten has chosen to strengthen Tilburg Law School. With her we have found a worthy successor for our highly esteemed colleague Prof. Ernst Hirsch Ballin. Her academic achievements show her talent and skills as an academic. The Board is very pleased to welcome her within our Law School."
Dr. Ingrid Leijten LLM MA studied law and political science at Leiden University and Columbia Law School in New York. After passing the New York Bar Exam, she did PhD research in Leiden under the supervision of Prof. Janneke Gerards. In 2015 she obtained her PhD on a study of core rights and the protection of social rights by the European Court of Human Rights. Subsequently, she worked as assistant professor and associate professor of constitutional and administrative law at Leiden Law School. In 2019, she was a visiting professor at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. Among other things, Ingrid Leijten is a member of the editorial board of the Dutch Journal of Human Rights ('Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Mensenrechten') and produces a podcast on fundamental rights entitled 'Ons goed recht'.
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