The Utrecht School of Law is seeking to appoint a PhD Researcher in law for a period of four years under the framework of our research platform ‘Empirical Research into Institutions for conflict resolution’ (ERI) and the Montaigne Centre for Rule of Law and Administration of Justice. We conduct research into conflict resolution institutions under a rapidly changing rule of law framework. Our researchers conduct both ‘classical’ legal research and empirical research. We study, among other things, compensation systems and law enforcement. We investigate how institutions work in legal practice, as this provides important insights into the performance of their tasks, transparency, responsibility and accountability. All of this is done in collaboration with other scientific disciplines and other legal faculties, at home and abroad.

A current challenge concerns the role of courts in relation to private and/or digital alternatives for conflict resolution, such as mediation, arbitration and online dispute resolution (ODR). Governments and judicial institutions have embarked on innovations aimed at increasing the ‘societal effectiveness’ of courts as problem-solving institutions. It is, however, not clear to what extent these innovations are an adequate response for ensuring the continued relevance of courts in a rule of law framework. The PhD Researcher will describe and compare innovations introduced in either civil or administrative procedures in two legal systems (the selection is to be determined by the PhD Researcher and supervisors together). The research will comprise a critical analysis of these procedures in light of rule-of-law standards. This analysis will be combined with an empirical study (by means of qualitative interviews) among litigants and other stakeholders to gain insight into and compare the perceived fairness and effectiveness of classic and new mechanisms for conflict resolution.

As a PhD candidate, you will be hosted by Utrecht University’s Institute of Jurisprudence, Constitutional and Administrative Law. During the doctoral research, you will write and publish a dissertation related to the aforementioned theme. The supervisors of the project are Prof Elaine Mak and Dr Urszula Jaremba.

Do you have a particular interest in legal institutions, innovations in court procedures and questions relating to the rule of law? Are you interested in doing legal comparative and empirical research? If so, this position may be of interest to you.

As a PhD Researcher you:

• engage in supervised scientific research that will ultimately result in a doctoral thesis;
• participate in the relevant activities of the ERI platform, as well as those of the Montaigne Centre for Rule of Law and Administration of Justice and the Institute of Jurisprudence, Constitutional and Administrative Law;
• participate in the educational programme for PhD candidates of Utrecht Law School;
• publish the interim results from the doctoral research in the form of conference papers, contributions to scientific journals, as well as through popular publications and presentations;
• participate in research activities and events, such as conferences, workshops and joint publications. There is also a possibility to organize one or more meetings around the thesis topic.

To obtain this position, you:

• have a law degree, preferably in civil, constitutional and/or administrative law and/or in legal theory/legal philosophy;
• are strongly committed to engaging in both legal comparative and empirical research (preferably demonstrated by publications and/or relevant education and research experience);
• are highly motivated to do PhD research on courts in a changing societal context;
• can speak and write fluently in English and, preferably, also in Dutch;
• like to plan ahead and are committed to meeting deadlines;
• can demonstrate excellent scientific writing and communication skills.

We offer a PhD position (1.0 FTE), initially for 18 months. Upon a positive evaluation, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years. The gross salary ranges between €2,395 in the first year and €3,061 in the fourth year of employment (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. 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.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability. In addition to these overall themes, the university stimulates interdisciplinary research through ‘focus areas’. Utrecht University is well-connected to society and contributes to today’s and tomorrow’s societal challenges.

The city of Utrecht is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, with a charming old centre and an internationally oriented culture that is strongly influenced by its century-old university. Utrecht city has been consistently ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the Netherlands.
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 4,000 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.