The Utrecht School of Law will be appointing a PhD researcher in law for a period of four years. The PhD project we pursue is about ‘Intelligence and Law’ and made possible by the Dutch Ministry of Interior Affairs and Ministry of Defense. The candidate is located at Utrecht University’s Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law. The project is embedded in the research program of Utrecht University’s Montaigne Centre for Rule of Law and the Administration of Justice. The focus of the project is about the relationship between (national) security and fundamental rights. Gathering intelligence takes place in a dynamic field, which is greatly influenced by digitalisation and globalisation. The PhD candidate is asked to reflect on this theme and conduct legal research. The doctoral research focuses on a better understanding of underlying normative frameworks, in which connection is sought with legal theory, the international context and legislation in other areas. It results in formulating recommendations for policy and regulations within the intelligence domain. During the doctoral research, the candidate is expected to publish and write a dissertation related to the theme "Intelligence and Law”. After 1.5 years, an evaluation will determine whether the doctoral candidate's PhD program will continue. The main supervisor of the project is prof. dr. Jan-Jaap (JJ) Oerlemans.

The successful candidate should have a particular interest in Intelligence and Law.
Furthermore, the successful candidate should:

• have a law degree in criminal law, IT law and/or constitutional and administrative law;
• have experience in legal research (preferably demonstrated by publications);
• have a strong motivation to do PhD research in the area of Intelligence and Law;
• have an excellent command of English in speech and writing; an excellent command of Dutch in speech and writing is recommended;
• have the capacity to plan ahead and meet deadlines;
• have excellent scientific writing and communication skills.

We offer a PhD position with a gross monthly salary starting at € 2.325 in the first year to € 2.972 in the fourth year of employment, for full-time employment. The successful candidate will be offered an initial contract as a PhD researcher for 18 months. Upon positive evaluation of the PhD researcher’s performance the contract will be extended by 2,5 years. 
Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University can be found here.

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The Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance of Utrecht University includes three departments: the Utrecht School of Governance (USG); the Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E.) and the Utrecht University School of Law (USL) and has some 4000 students and 500 employees. Thanks to a broad range of departments, renowned research institutes and an outstandingly equipped library, the organisation is an active part of society.

The PhD researcher will be based at the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and the Montaigne Centre for Judicial Administration and Conflict Resolution of the School of Law, Utrecht University.