Consumers are being confronted with the use of new technologies in the financial sector. Developments such as the issuing of virtual currencies, crowdfunding actions, automated (robo-)advice and innovative uses of consumer data often leave consumer unprotected and exposed for cyberfraud. There is to date no comprehensive approach aiming at achieving a regulatory and supervisory framework protecting consumer rights.

This PhD project maps out the current legal frameworks and identifies the gaps leaving consumers unprotected in a national context and in a cross-border context. The study will identify possible amendments to the regulatory and supervisory frameworks to provide adequate consumer protection.

The PhD candidate will be embedded within the research of the Cyber Security Noord- Nederland project led by the University of Groningen and supported by Provincie Groningen. This research position will be under the supervision of Prof. C.M.D.S. (Charlotte) Pavillon, Professor of private law, in particular of consumer law and Prof. O.O. (Olha) Cherednychenko, Professor of European Private Law and Comparative Law / Director Groningen Centre for European Financial Services Law.

We are looking for a motivated and skilled student holding a master’s degree in law. The ideal candidate shall have an affinity with consumer law and with developments in the financial sector on the use of new technologies. Good interpersonal and communication skills (including proficiency in the English language) are essential.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

We offer you, following the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a salary of € 2,395 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 3,061 gross per month in the fourth and final year for a full-time working week
• a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income and an 8.3% year-end bonus
• a full-time position (1.0 FTE) for four years; first, you will get a temporary position of eighteen months with the option of renewal for another thirty months; prolongation of the contract is contingent on sufficient progress to indicate that successful completion of the PhD thesis within the contract period is to be expected. A PhD training programme is part of the agreement and you will be enrolled in the Graduate School of the Faculty of Law.

The preferred starting date is before 1 March 2021

Faculty of Law

The Groningen Law Faculty is a modern (inter)nationally oriented Faculty with a broad and classic profile. While it has a four hundred year old tradition, it keeps renewing its teaching continually to educate broadly oriented and skilled lawyers. The Faculty’s research to a large extent transcends legal fields and is multidisciplinary in nature. With some 4.900 students and nearly 400 members of staff, the Faculty is a mid-sized Faculty in the University of Groningen.

This position is one of several PhD positions that are part of the Cybersecurity Noord-Nederland programme partially financed by the Province of Groningen under the REP-ZZL Groningen programme. The Cybersecurity Noord-Nederland programme is a unique programme in which various different stakeholders in Northern-Netherlands collaborate in cybersecurity research, education and training.