Do you enjoy doing research and writing on the prosecution of international criminal law? Analyzing how international criminal law is developing within domestic jurisdictions and through novel cooperation strategies with prosecutorial networks, investigative mechanisms and non-state actors? Participating in academic exchanges about the intersection of international criminal law, criminology and political science? Being part of a vibrant research community and work in a team? Then the job of PhD researcher at the University of Amsterdam is perfect for you!
Selecting Justice? Investigating the Role of the Prosecutor in Extraterritorial Atrocity CrimesWe are inviting prospective researchers to apply for 2 PhD projects within the NWO-VIDI project
Selecting Justice? Investigating the Role of the Prosecutor in Extraterritorial Atrocity Crimes led by Dr. Marieke de Hoon.
New forms of digital evidence (collection), new actors, novel investigatory collaboration initiatives and the increase of domestic practices present a game-changer for criminal investigations of atrocity crimes. While there is increased attention on the collection of evidence, there is much less theorization in legal and social science on the role of the prosecutor in this new constellation, while the prosecutor is the key actor to translate evidence into prosecutions and the gatekeepers between the information that is collected and their actual use in court. The two PhD projects are part of a systematic study on the theoretical underpinnings of the role of the domestic extraterritorial atrocity prosecutor and the contexts they operate in, traversing legal and social sciences.
PhD Project 1 focuses on investigating and theorizing the core tasks of domestic atrocity prosecutors and their choices and selections throughout the various procedural stages, to what extent they differ from “normal” prosecutors, what factors are relevant, how and why. The data collection focuses on a selection of Syria cases in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Sweden.
PhD Project 2 focuses on investigating and theorizing the prosecutor’s role in transnational cooperation by and/or aimed towards the domestic atrocity prosecutor, what factors are relevant, how and why, and to what extent this changes the role of prosecutors vis-à-vis the “normal” prosecutor. The data collection focuses on the IIIM (Syria) and Eurojust (Ukraine), investigating CSOs working on those conflicts, and local prosecutors.
Both PhD projects are encouraged to closely cooperate with the Postdoc project that focuses on theorizing the prosecutor’s role vis-a-vis victims of extraterritorial atrocity crimes.
In your motivation letter, please indicate whether you have a (strong) preference for one or both projects.
The PhD researchers are expected to conduct innovative research on these issues, leading to the completion and publication of their PhD dissertation within four years with the guidance and support of their supervisors. As part of their PhD trajectory, the successful applicants will be coordinating and agreeing with their supervisors on the content, planning and supervision of the trajectory.
What are you going to do - Design the scope of the individual PhD research project, and fine-tune the research questions and methodology together with the whole research team;
- Engage autonomously in - as well as collaborate on - the collection, coding and analysis of data, through doctrinal/literature research, semi-structured interviews and expert meetings;
- Present intermediate research results in internal discussions and at workshops and conferences;
- Contribute to project activities, such as organizing such as organizing expert meetings, academic events and outreach; and communication of research results to relevant communities of academics, practitioners and policy makers; and
- Optionally, and in mutual agreement with the project leader and in line with the teaching needs of the Criminal Law Section, have teaching responsibilities.
What do you have to offerYou have:
- (or are about to obtain) a master’s degree in law, with a focus on criminal law and/or international criminal law; or in an adjacent field, where there is a clear relevance for the subject of this research project, which should be convincingly demonstrated in the motivation letter. Knowledge of prosecutorial practice, prosecutorial transnational cooperation, atrocity crimes investigations and/or qualitative research skills are welcome;
- an interest in conducting multi-method empirical and legal research;
- experience with conducting academic research and academic writing in English;
- demonstrable team working skills;
- excellent command of English, both orally and written. Knowledge of German, French and/or Swedish would be welcome; and
- the ability to set and attain your (own) goals.
What do we offer youWe offer you the opportunity to work in an intellectually stimulating and teamwork-oriented environment. We aim to provide tailor-made and careful supervision with the main goal of helping you grow and flourish academically and professionally.You have the opportunity and obligation to participate in the Amsterdam Law School’s PhD training program.
We offer two 1.0 FTE positions (38 hours/week) as a PhD student. The initial appointment for each is for 1 year with a trial period of 2 months. After a positive evaluation, your appointment will be extended for another 3 years, i.e. until 31 August 2029. The start date will be determined by mutual agreement; it is currently scheduled around 1 September 2025.
Your salary ranges from €2,901 (in year 1) to €3,707 (in year 4) based on a 38-hour working week. This amount excludes 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. The CAO Nederlandse Universiteiten (CAO NU) applies.
This is where you are going to workYou will be part of a project funded by an NWO-VIDI grant and running 5 years, as part of a team consisting of the principal investigator, one postdoctoral researcher, two PhD researchers, and one student assistant.
The project team will be based at the Amsterdam Center for Criminal Justice (
ACCJ), the Center of Excellence for Criminal Law of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). ACCJ’s research activities aim at a critical understanding of legal, conceptual and practical challenges of criminal law, justice and policy in domestic, transnational and international settings. ACCJ includes a sub-group of international criminal law researchers that offer the world-leading International Criminal Law master program at Amsterdam Law School, and that collaborates closely with colleagues from Dutch Criminal Law, Military Law and Public International Law.
If you have any questions about the position, please contact by email: Dr. Marieke de Hoon,
a.m.dehoon@uva.nlIf you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application consisting of the documents listed below. Please apply online via the apply button. We will accept applications until 19 May 2025. We plan to conduct online interviews with those selected for the 2nd round on 27 - 29 May and to inform the candidates of the result as soons as possible thereafter. We hope the candidates will start their position per 1 september 2025.
Please note that it is only possible to upload two documents, therefore
please combine the required files in two (PDF) documents.File 1 - Motivation letter (including a motivation for either one or both PhD projects);
- a CV of no more than three pages;
- initial reflection on one or both PhD topics in no more than 800 words, excluding references; and
- writing sample of a recently written, single authored manuscript (e.g., your master’s thesis or other work written during your degree) in English of no more than 30 pages.
File 2 - Copies of the LL.B. and LL.M. degrees or equivalent, providing information about the program's length, content, passed courses and grades.
If you choose to upload your documents differently, you run the risk that the files are rejected for being too big or that we miss part of your application.