The department of Criminal Law and Criminology of Maastricht University is looking for an enthusiastic researcher to join the interdisciplinary project ‘Empathy & Compassion in the Juvenile Criminal Procedure’. The project’s goal is to discover how to transform juvenile criminal procedure by infusing it with compassion and empathy. Due to the pedagogic character of juvenile law, the project is interdisciplinary as it blends elements of psychology, legal psychology and law.

The aims of the project are: to identify which models exist for developing empathy and compassion for juveniles, whether some of these already apply in the systems of various European countries (e.g. UK, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands) and how to apply these models to criminal process. The focus shall be mainly on the pre-trial phase, i.e. investigations, prosecution and mediation.

This project is part of the research agenda of Maastricht University on restorative justice & mediation. The research team is comprised by dr. J. Claessen (coordinator), dr. D. de Vocht and dr. C. Peristeridou. 

Responsibilities & Tasks 

The project is interdisciplinary and it involves research in legal psychology, developmental psychology and law. Your tasks shall be to conduct research into literature and selected legal systems of the European Union. 

Qualifications  

• Master’s degree in legal psychology. Psychology graduates are welcome to apply provided that they can demonstrate knowledge in criminal law. Law graduates may also apply provided that they can demonstrate good knowledge of psychology. Specialisation in developmental psychology is an asset.
• Fluency in English and working proficiency of at least one more European language (e.g. Dutch, French, German) are required.
• Excellent research & analytical skills. Prior experience in academia is an asset.
• Ability to work independently, take initiatives and good organisational skills.

Fixed-term contract: 4 months.

The job position is part-time (0,50 fte) and temporary for four months: September 2017 - December 2017.

The research assistant shall be part of the department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the Faculty of Law, Maastricht University.

Your salary is independently from your experience and qualification set to that of a Researcher 4, scale 10 of the CAO Dutch University Agreement, namely to maximum € 2.588,00 gross per month (€ 2.588,00 x 0,50 fte = € 1.294,00 gross).

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 16,500 students and 4,000 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law contains six departments:Private Law (Civil Law, Company and Business Law), Public Law (Constitutional, Administrative and Social Law), International and European Law, Criminal Law and Criminology, Foundations and Methods of Law and Tax Law. Research is conducted within the inter-faculty research schools Ius Commune and Human Rights and in the faculty research institutes, one of them being the Maastricht Graduate School of Law.

The Maastricht Graduate School of Law offers PhD researchers and talented students research-, supervision- and education-facilities.

PhD researchers join the faculty department in the field linked to the theme of their research proposal.