Letter from Ms Tanja Gonggrijp, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe, to Ms Despina Chatzivassiliou, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, dated 14 November 2025.
[…]
Your Excellency,
On behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, I have the honour to formally submit the nomination of three distinguished candidates for the position of Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, to be elected in respect of the Netherlands.
In accordance with the procedures established by the Parliamentary Assembly, the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has decided to nominate these candidates based on their impeccable qualifications, professional integrity, and steadfast commitment to the principles enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.
The nominees are, in alphabetical order:
Each candidate embodies the highest standards of legal expertise and impartiality, and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is confident that they will uphold the dignity and the rule of law that this esteemed judicial institution represents.
[…]
In addition to the CVs of the candidates, please also find attached the recommendation by the Recommendation Committee to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Legal Protection, signed by the President of the Supreme Court, Ms. De Groot. Please also note that this document also contains the necessary information on the national selection procedure.
[…]
On 2 April 2026 the term of the current Dutch judge at the ECtHR will come to an end. By letter of 11 September 2024 the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe invited the Dutch Government to nominate three candidates for the position by 11 August 2025. By letter of 25 September 2024 the Advisory Panel of Experts on Candidates for Election as Judge to the European Court of Human Rights (‘Advisory Panel’) invited the government to first submit its nominations to the Advisory Panel (by no later than 12 May 2025).
With that in mind the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the then Minister for Legal Protection initiated the procedureNote created by their predecessors by order of 4 July 2023. Under this procedure they are sent a non-public list of recommended candidates, drawn up by a Recommendation Committee which, in the case of the present vacancy, consisted of the following members:
Since 1 September 2025 Professor Richard Lawson has been chair of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. As of that date he thus succeeded Professor Nico Schrijver as ex officio member of the Recommendation Committee.
Dr Nelleke Koffeman (Ministry of Justice and Security) and Mr Vincent de Graaf LLM (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) served as secretaries of the committee.
The vacancy was published on 27 December 2024 on www.werkenvoornederland.nl, the website for announcing job listings for central government. Interested parties were invited to upload their CV and a cover letter. The deadline given was 10 February 2025. On 10 January 2025 a full-page advertisement for the vacancy, which contained a reference to the above-mentioned site, appeared in the law journal Nederlands Juristenblad (NJB) and also in the NJB’s online newsletter, with a link to the official listing. A listing for the position was also published in early January on the website of the Centre for International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the Council for the Judiciary. Finally, the vacancy was widely disseminated on LinkedIn, the online professional network.
In addition to announcing the job opening, as described above, the Recommendation Committee (‘the committee’) also notified people it felt would be suitable for and interested in the position.
In the first round a total of 13 people applied for the position, either on www.werkenvoornederland.nl or by directly emailing the committee. Out of that total of 13 applications, the committee invited five candidates (three men and two women) for an interview. In the committee’s view, the other eight applicants (four men and four women) did not fulfil the requirement set down in Article 21, paragraph 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that judges on the ECtHR ‘must either possess the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office or be jurisconsults of recognised competence’, as it has been interpreted by the Advisory Panel.
On the basis of the five interviews, the committee drew up a recommendation on 11 March 2025 consisting of three candidates, listed in alphabetical order: Professor Sjoerd Bakker,[ ...] and Ms Corinna Wissels. On 25 April 2025 the Council of Ministers for the Kingdom approved this recommendation, and on 28 April 2025 it was submitted to the Advisory Panel. […] The list was subsequently submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 3 July 2025. Shortly thereafter, one of the candidates withdrew from the procedure for personal reasons. Consequently, the Netherlands’ list of candidates was formally withdrawn on 22 July 2025.
Inquiries with the PACE secretariat revealed that as long as the list had not yet been published by PACE, the government was free to modify it. The Dutch list had not been published by PACE. The PACE secretariat confirmed that the two other candidates could remain on the list and that the third position could be filled by a new candidate, as long as that person had been interviewed in the course of the national selection procedure. There were only two remaining candidates who had also been interviewed as part of the national selection procedure. The committee felt that it was appropriate to readvertise the vacancy. The Minister of Justice and Security and the then Minister for Legal Protection were sent a memo to this effect.
The vacancy for the remaining place on the list was published on werkenvoornederland.nl from 6 to 28 August 2025. A similar notice was also published on the website of the Centre for International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and widely disseminated on LinkedIn, the online professional network. In addition, the committee asked its secretaries to inform a number of individuals directly about the new vacancy.
In the further application round, a total of 13 people (seven men and six women) applied for the open place on the list. The committee invited three of those individuals for an interview (one man and two women). In the committee’s view, the other 10 applicants did not meet the aforementioned requirements set down in Article 21, paragraph 1 of the ECHR, or at least not to the same degree as the three individuals selected for interviews. One of the three invited candidates withdrew from the procedure shortly before their interview was to take place. As a result, interviews were conducted with only two individuals.
In assessing the candidates, the committee took the following requirements as points of departure:
Furthermore, the committee sought to determine whether the applicants had an in-depth knowledge of the ECHR and the areas of Dutch law that are relevant to ECtHR cases, including criminal law and immigration law. It also looked into whether applicants had relevant international work experience, whether they had a good awareness of the different legal cultures of the member States of the Council of Europe and whether they could be expected to operate effectively in such an international environment. In addition, the committee considered whether the applicants had a sufficient knowledge of and connection to the Netherlands’ constitutional order, including the role of ECtHR cases in the Dutch legal system and administration of justice, and whether they had a vision of the tasks performed by and the functioning of the ECtHR, both now and in the future, and the way these things relate to the national legal order. Applicants were also assessed on whether they were capable of shouldering the heavy workload of the ECtHR. Finally, the committee assessed whether the candidates were willing to move to Strasbourg.
The government is obliged to submit a nomination list of three people, in alphabetical order, to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. At least one person on the list must be a woman. Because women are currently underrepresented on the ECtHR, the nomination list could also have consisted solely of women in this instance. The government’s eventual nomination to the Parliamentary Assembly will consist of only the names and CVs of the three people in question.
[…]
On the basis of the relevant documents, interviews with the applicants and other observations during the application rounds described above, the committee arrived at the following recommendation (in alphabetical order):
[…]
Name: BAKKER, Sjoerd
Gender: male
Date and place of birth: 10 November 1973 in Heemstede, the Netherlands
Nationality: Dutch
Period: Since 2021
Position: Appeal Judge (raadsheer) (0,8 FTE)
Location: Court of Appeal Arnhem-Leeuwarden, the Netherlands (venue Leeuwarden)
Responsibilities: judging on appeal with respect to civil cases (commercial disputes, family and hereditary law) as well as (from 2024) criminal cases.
Period: Since 2024
Member of the Expert Group Victim Rights within the judiciary.
This Expert Group mainly focusses on the legal position of the victim/affected party in criminal cases.
Period: Since 2021
Member of the Platform Innovative Projects (PIP), a think tank within the judiciary, affiliated with the Taskforce Innovation (Regiegroep Innovatie) and The Council for the Judiciary (Raad voor de rechtspraak) respectively.
Period: 2019 – 2021
Position: Deputy Judge (raadsheer in opleiding)
Location: Court of Appeal Arnhem-Leeuwarden, the Netherlands (venue Leeuwarden)
Responsibilities: judging on appeal with respect to civil cases (mainly concerning commercial disputes and family law).
Period: Since 2023
Position: Endowed Professor Administration of Justice (0.2 FTE)
Employer: Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands (Faculty of Law, Department of Jurisprudence)
Responsibilities: conducting and stimulating research (within the sector plan “Conflict Resolving Institutions”) and teaching in the field of, inter alia, justice and lawmaking, with particular attention to hermeneutics, fundamental rights in civil law, organising periodic round table meetings with a view to exchanging knowledge between the judiciary and (legal) science, supervision of graduate thesis students.
Period: Since 2013
Position: University Lecturer (zero-hours appointment)
Employer: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Faculty of Law, Department of Private Law)
Responsibilities: (until 2014): conducting research and teaching (bachelor and master phase) in the area of (international) contract and liability law; supervision of undergraduate and graduate thesis students and support of young researchers and lecturers.
Period: 2017 – 2019
Position: Attorney at law
Employer: Spigt Dutch Caribbean, Willemstad, Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean
Responsibilities: advising and litigating in the field of corporate law, (international) contract and liability law and competition law, drafting and negotiating financing agreements for the Caribbean market.
Period: 2016 – 2017
Position: Associate Professor (Faculty of Law, Department of Private Law)
Employer: University of Curaçao Dr. Moises da Costa Gomez, Willemstad, Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean
Responsibilities: conducting and coordinating research (in the research programme “Fundamental Rights") and conducting and coordinating education (bachelor and master phase) in the field of property law and the law of obligations; supervision of undergraduate and graduate thesis students.
Period: October 2015 – March 2016
Position: Senior Legal Counsel a.i.
Employer: Dynniq Nederland (formerly Imtech Traffic & Infra BV), Amersfoort, the Netherlands
Period: January 2015 – September 2015
Position: Senior Legal Counsel
Employer: Royal Imtech NV, Gouda, the Netherlands (liquidated)
Period: 2011 – 2013
Position: Lecturer-researcher
Employer: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Faculty of Law, Department of Private Law)
Period: 2007 – 2014
Position: Attorney at law/PSL (private law)
Employer: Houthoff Buruma, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Period: 2000 – 2006
Position: Attorney at law (private law)
Employer: Bos & Van der Burg Advocaten, Zoetermeer, the Netherlands
Period: Since 2024
Ad hoc contributor to Judges for Judges (Rechters voor Rechters), a Dutch NGO, which aims to support fellow judges who have experienced or may experience problems related to their profession.
In 2016 my family and I moved to Curaçao in the Dutch Caribbean after accepting an invitation to become an associate professor at the University of Curaçao Dr. Moises da Costa Gomez. Seeing the many differences in life and welfare conditions between the people of the Dutch Caribbean and the inhabitants of the European part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, I took a lasting interest in fundamental rights and their significance for the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands. I was by that time appointed by the co-deans of the law faculty of said university to conduct and co-ordinate research in the research programme “Fundamental Rights". Around and after my departure from said faculty this resulted in a faculty research volume on fundamental rights in the Dutch Caribbean (2019) and in articles by me on the relation between fundamental rights and good faith (2017) and on the impact of the 2016 ECtHR ruling in the Murray case on Dutch Caribbean private law (2020). Fundamental rights have since then played a distinct role in my publications and (university) lectures, whereby the focus is generally laid on their influence on the legal order, private law in particular, and on judicial decision-making. Publications of this period include an article on the banishing (wegcontracteren) of fundamental rights in contracts (2022) and a monograph on the influence of fundamental rights on Dutch property law and law of obligations (2023). More recent studies with a fundamental rights perspective were conducted on the subject of corporal coercion, the ‘right to be forgotten’ and the Jewish orthodox phenomenon of the ‘Eruv’. On a regular basis I also contribute to publications by a group of Dutch Court Watchers in the Nederlands Juristenblad, where new ECtHR jurisprudence is presented by said group on a weekly basis. Moreover, I recently co-organized and presented lectures on religious pluralism and human rights at the yearly conference of the Dutch Council for the Judiciary (Raad voor de rechtspraak) in The Hague and accepted an invitation to contribute to an upcoming Nijmegen research volume on the application by the judiciary of ECtRH and CJEU rulings in Dutch law.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Period: Since 2023
Member of the Court Watchers, a Dutch group of ECtHR observers from Leiden University and the Radboud University Nijmegen under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Rick Lawson
Period: Since 2023
Arbitrator for the Dutch Arbitration Institute (Nederlands Arbitrage Instituut) (NAI), Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Period: Since 2022
Arbitrator at the Arbitration Board for the Building Industry (Raad van Arbitrage in bouwgeschillen), Utrecht, the Netherlands
Period: Since 2018
Co-editor of the Groene Serie Verbintenissenrecht (reference work Wolters Kluwer on the Dutch law of obligations)
Up to ca. 90 academic legal publications since 2006, amongst others:
|
Language |
English |
French |
German |
|
Reading |
C2 |
C1 |
C2 |
|
Writing |
C2 |
C1 |
C1 |
|
Listening |
C2 |
C1 |
C2 |
|
Speaking |
C2 |
C1 |
C1/C2 |
|
How acquired? |
In secondary school, during my student years in university and in my professional life as a lawyer, university scholar and legal counsel. |
In secondary school and during group and individual language courses at Alliance Française, both in the Netherlands and in France during the past years. |
In secondary school, during my study time in Heidelberg and in my professional life as a lawyer, university scholar and legal counsel. |
Lecturer CPO/Grotius Academy, postgraduate course on international contracting, Nijmegen, the Netherlands (ongoing).
Lecturer OSR/Law Firm School, a partnership of leading law firms in the Netherlands, offering aspiring lawyers a high-quality training program aimed at developing legal expertise and professional skills that are essential for success in the legal profession, Utrecht, The Netherlands (ongoing).
In the event that you do not meet the level of language proficiency required for the post of judge in an official language, please confirm your intention to follow intensive language classes of the language concerned prior to, and if need be also at the beginning of, your term of duty if elected a judge on the Court.
Yes, I confirm
Please confirm that you will take up permanent residence in Strasbourg if elected a judge on the Court.
Yes, I confirm
Name: TROTMAN, Tamara Beatrice
Gender: female
Date and place of birth: 16 November 1969 in Rome, Italy
Nationalities: Dutch and Barbadian
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- 1986-1992: |
Master's degree in Law, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (criminal and civil law) |
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- 1992-1995: |
Professional training for lawyers (Beroepsopleiding Advocaten) |
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- 2000: |
Specialist training for defense lawyers (Opleiding Specialisatie Strafrecht), (Netherlands Bar Association and Willem Pompe Institute of the Utrecht University) |
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- 2005-2006: |
Various courses at SSR (the Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary) in the context of the initial training for judges |
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- Since April 2023: |
Judge at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, criminal chamber |
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- 2018-2023: |
Adjunct member of the jurisdiction division of the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Youth Protection (Raad voor Strafrechtstoepassing en Jeugdbescherming (RSJ)). The council reviews in appeal decisions made regarding persons serving a prison sentence or custodial measure: (remand) prisoners, offenders under a psychiatric treatment order). |
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- 2014-2023: |
Judge at the Court of Appeal The Hague, criminal chamber, (appointed senior appeal judge on 1 November 2023) |
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- 2011-2021: |
Deputy judge in the European Arrest Warrant/International Legal Cooperation Chamber at the District Court of Amsterdam (exclusive jurisdiction regarding EAW-cases in The Netherlands) |
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- 2007-2014: |
Judge at the District Court of Rotterdam, criminal chamber (appointed senior judge on 1 July 2013) |
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- 2006-2007: |
Judge in training (administrative and criminal law chambers) at the District Court of Rotterdam |
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- 2004-2005: |
Deputy judge, criminal chamber at the District Court of Rotterdam |
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- 2020-2023: |
SSR (Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary) lecturer (lector) criminal law regarding the continuing education courses for judges and legal court staff. A lecturer is seconded to SSR on a part-time basis and has the final responsibility for the content of the training programme. |
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- 2006-2012: |
Member of the Criminal Law Division of the Examination Board of the Netherlands Bar Association |
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- 1998-2005: |
Deputy member of the Board of Representatives (College van Afgevaardigden) of the Netherlands Bar Association |
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- 1996-2000: |
Deputy clerk to the Disciplinary Council (Raad van Discipline) in The Hague |
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- 1992-2005: |
Criminal defence lawyer in The Hague at the firm Wladimiroff & Waling and its predecessors (Wladimiroff Waling Schreuders and Wladimiroff & Spong). I handled cases across the whole spectrum of criminal law. |
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- Not applicable |
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- Since 2009: |
Member (and chair since 2013) of the board of foundation Judges for Judges (www.rechtersvoorrechters.nl) Established in 1999, Dutch foundation Rechters voor Rechters (Judges for Judges/ J4J) is an independent and non-political foundation set up by judges to support fellow judges abroad who have run into problems or risk problems on account of their professional practice. These problems are mostly related to (presumed) violation of their professional independence. J4J also concerns itself with judges, who have been discharged for disturbing reasons, have been arrested and imprisoned, put under pressure, are threatened or even assassinated. Examples of our activities: monitoring disciplinary trials (Serbia, Bulgaria), monitoring criminal trials (Türkiye), submission of joint report for Universal Periodic Review (Eswatini), third party interventions ECHR in cooperation with prof. Laurent Pech (in several Polish judges cases). J4J cooperates with e.g. European Association of Judges (EAJ), Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés (MEDEL), Association of European Administrative Judges (AEAJ), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. |
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- 2020-2023: |
Member Supervisory Board of Netherlands Helsinki Committee |
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- 2012-2021: |
Member, later Vice-Chair, Supervisory Board of UNICEF Netherlands |
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- 1999-2003: |
Member of the International Standing Committee on the Mandate of Amnesty International |
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- 1997-2001: |
Board member of Amnesty International Netherlands |
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- See under III.a |
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- 2019-2023 |
Chair of the appointment advisory committee for the Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur, a body established by law to advise the Dutch Government and Parliament on the arts, culture and media) |
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- Not applicable |
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- Not applicable |
A selection:
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- Since 2025: |
Lecturer at Opleiding Specialisatie Strafrecht (specialist training for defense lawyers) the Willem Pompe Institute of the Utrecht University |
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- 2023: |
Speaker (on Freedom of expression of judges) Central & Eastern European Judicial Exchange Network Conference CEELI, Prague |
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- 2022 & 2015: |
Chair/member of the Camera Justitia award jury, Movies that Matter film festival |
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- Since 2021: |
Jury member Thoolen NJCM thesis prize (NJCM is the Dutch section of the International Commission of Jurists) |
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- 2019: |
Jury member EJTN-THEMIS 2019 Semi-final (Judicial Ethics and Professional Conduct), Sofia |
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- 2018 2023: |
Short term expert for the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC), project Strengthening the Probation Service and the system for aIternative sanctions (Serbia & Montenegro) and project Strengthening women's leadership in the judiciary (MENA-region) |
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- Since 2016: |
Member of the editorial board of BoomStrafblad (until 2020: Strafblad (SDU)) |
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- Since 2014: |
Lecturer (Course on core values for judges) at the Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary (SSR) |
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- 2008-2017: |
Member of the New Board Members Committee Amnesty International Netherlands |
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- 2002-2009: |
Member of the Supervisory Board of Stichting FORUM, institute for multicultural development |
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- 1994-1996: |
Board member of the Young Bar Association at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands |
A selection:
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Language |
English |
French |
Dutch |
Italian |
|
Reading |
C2 |
B2 |
C2 |
B1 |
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Writing |
C1/C2 |
A2 |
C2 |
A2 |
|
Listening |
C2 |
B1 |
C2 |
B1 |
|
Speaking |
C1/C2 |
A2 |
C2 |
A2 |
|
How acquired? |
Secondary education (VWO = pre-university education), self-study |
Secondary education (VWO = pre-university education), self-study |
Mother tongue |
Language courses, self-study |
-
In the event that you do not meet the level of language proficiency required for the post of judge in an official language, please confirm your intention to follow intensive language classes of the language concerned prior to, and if need be also at the beginning of, your term of duty if elected a judge on the Court.
Yes, I confirm
Please confirm that you will take up permanent residence in Strasbourg if elected a judge on the Court.
Yes, I confirm
Name: WISSELS, Corinna Maria
Gender: female
Date and place of birth: 15 November 1963 in Luxembourg
Nationality: Dutch
My experience in the field of human rights is related to my professional experience working as European Law specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as a member of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State. As head-agent, representing the Netherlands at the EU Court of Justice, I cooperated with the agents, who represented the Netherlands at the ECtHR, in cases that concerned the interpretation and application of both the ECHR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. I also gave advise on the EU accession to the ECHR (until 2013).
As a member of the Migration Chamber and the General Chamber of the Council of State, I rule in numerous cases, in which applicants invoke rights that are protected by the ECHR, such as articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13, and article 1 of the first Protocol to the ECHR. In many of those cases, the EU Charter of Fundamental rights is applicable as well. I therefore have experience with the case law of both European Courts. As chair of the Committee on EU law of the Council of State, I advise on the interpretation and application of the EU Charter of Fundamental rights and the question to what extent the caselaw of the EU Court of Justice corresponds with that of the ECtHR. A member of the Constitutional law committee of the Council of State I advise on questions regarding the ECHR and the ECtHR’s jurisprudence.
I have published on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and its application in the Netherlands (see VII Publications). At conferences, I gave presentations on the EU Charter of Fundamental rights (for example in Brussels, 10 years EU Charter of Fundamental rights) or moderated panel discussions on the principle of mutual trust (for example FIDE 2023, Budapest). Since 2025 I also teach the advanced course on fundamental rights in the European Union at the training centre of the judiciary in the Netherlands (SSR).
|
Language |
English |
French |
German |
Russian |
Dutch |
|
eReading |
C2 |
C2 |
C2 |
B2 |
C2 |
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Writing |
C1 |
C1 |
B2 |
A2 |
C2 |
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Listening |
C2 |
C2 |
C2 |
B2 |
C2 |
|
Speaking |
C2 |
C2 |
C1 |
B2 |
C2 |
|
How acquired? |
School, University, work |
School, university, work |
School, social life |
work and intensive private language lessons while living in Russia, social life |
Mother tongue |
In the event that you do not meet the level of language proficiency required for the post of judge in an official language, please confirm your intention to follow intensive language classes of the language concerned prior to, and if need be also at the beginning of, your term of duty if elected a judge on the Court.
Yes, I confirm
Please confirm that you will take up permanent residence in Strasbourg if elected a judge on the Court.
Yes, I confirm