Trust in transition: ICON-S Benelux Conference 2026

Trust in Transition: Public Law in a Changing World
ICON-S Benelux Chapter, Third General Conference

About the conference      
The ICON-S Benelux Chapter organises its third General Conference, hosted at Leiden Law School. This year’s edition centres on the theme: Trust in Transition: Public Law in a Changing World.
Trust lies at the heart of public law. It structures the relationship between citizens and the state, underpins the legitimacy of legal institutions, and enables collective action in democratic societies. This trust operates in multiple directions: just as citizens must trust state institutions, governments must also place trust in their citizens, a dynamic reflected in regulatory choices ranging from goal-based frameworks that presume civic responsibility to prescriptive rules that assume the need for detailed control. Yet trust is neither static nor guaranteed. In an era marked by rapid technological change, pressing environmental imperatives, and evolving institutional landscapes, legitimacy is continuously negotiated and the foundations of trust are being tested and transformed.
The conference invites scholars to explore how public law navigates these transitions: how legal frameworks build, maintain, or restore trust amid profound societal shifts; when new technologies enhance democratic accountability, and when they erode it; how law can foster trust in sustainability transitions that demand both immediate action and long-term commitment; and what the relationship is between trust and truth in an age of misinformation and contested expertise.
Please find the programme of the conference on the tab programme. The full programme will be published in September.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:
•    Prof. Balázs Bodó, University of Amsterdam
•    Prof. Armin Cuyvers, Leiden University
•    Prof. Janneke Gerards, Utrecht University / Dutch Council of State
•    Prof. Herwig Hofmann, University of Luxembourg
•    Prof. Ingrid Leijten, Tilburg University
•    Prof. Anne Meuwese, Leiden University
•    Prof. Delphine Misonne, UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles
•    Dr. Ria Mortier, Procurator General, Court of Cassation of Belgium
•    Dr. Stéphane Pisani, Judge, European Court of Human Rights
•    Prof. Céline Romainville, UCLouvain
•    Prof. Jerfi Uzman, University of Amsterdam

Organising committee
•    Dr. Luísa Pinto e Netto, Leiden University
•    Dr. Melanie Fink, Leiden University
•    Dr. Menelaos Markakis, Erasmus University Rotterdam
•    Dr. Franco Peirone, Maastricht University
•    Prof. Patricia Popelier, University of Antwerp

 Do you have any questions? 
We will gladly answer them. 

E-mail: events@law.leidenuniv.nl 
Phone: +31 (0)71 527 8666 
All contact details  
 
 

Attendance is free of charge.