• Start date:
  • 26 October 2026
  • Duration:
  • 2 days
  • Legal area:
  • Internationaal Publiekrecht
  • Course:
  • Conference

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.

 

Target audience
We welcome academics working on public law from constitutional, administrative, European, and international law perspectives, as well as scholars from political science, sociology, and other fields engaging with the conference theme.
Attendance is free of charge but subject to registration. Participation is, in principle, open only to active participants (presenters, chairs, discussants). A very limited number of places will be made available for non-active participants.
 

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  
 
 

Programme ICON-S Benelux Conference

Click here to view the full programme. 
 

Monday 26 October 2026

08:45Registration
09:15Young ICON-S Welcome & Community Moment 
11:00Opening remarks
11:30
Opening plenary
13:00Lunch
14:00Skills Lab - Round 1
15:00
Skills Lab- Round 2
16:00Coffee break
16:30Parallel panel sessions 1
18:00Reception / drinks 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 27 October 2026 

09:00Second Plenary 
10:30Coffee break
11:00Parallel panel sessions 2
12:30Lunch
13:30

Parallel panel sessions 3

15:05Parallel panel sessions 4
16:30Coffee break
17:00Closing Plenary 
18:00Closing Remarks
Instructor
dr. M Fink
...
Instructor
dr. M. Markakis
...
Luica Pinto E Netto Leiden Law Academy
Instructor
dr. L.C.P. e Netto LLM
...
Instructor
dr. FP Peirone
...
Instructor
prof. dr. P. Popelier
...
prof. mr. dr. W.S.R. Stoter Leiden Law Academy
Instructor
prof. mr. dr. W.S.R. Stoter
...
Chairman
prof. H.C.H. Hofmann
...
Chairman
T McGonagle
...
prof. dr. Anne Meuwese Leiden Law Academy
Chairman
prof. dr. A.C.M. Meuwese
...
Speaker
dr. RB Beems
...
Speaker
prof. B. Bodó
...
mr. Robbert Bruggeman BA Juridisch PAO Leiden
Speaker
mr. R.J.H. Bruggeman BA
...
Speaker
dr. B Budinská
...
Speaker
mr. D. Charlotin
...
Speaker
prof. mr. J.H. Gerards (1)
...
Speaker
dr. E.C. Goanta LLM
...
Speaker
V Kosta
...
prof. dr. Ingrid Leijte Leiden Law Academy
Speaker
prof. dr. A.E.M. Leijten LLM MA
...
Speaker
D Misonne
...
Speaker
dr. R. Mortier
...
Reijer Passchier
Speaker
prof. mr. dr. R. Passchier
...
Speaker
dr. S. Pisani
...
dr. J.M.W. Pool Leiden Law Academy
Speaker
mr. dr. J.M.W. Pool
...
Speaker
F Praal
...
Speaker
dr. JP Quintais
...
Speaker
C. Romainville
...
Speaker
mr. E.W. Sattler
...
prof. mr. Jerfi Uzman
Speaker
prof. dr. J. Uzman
...
dr. Sheila Varadan Leiden Law Academy
Speaker
dr. S.R. Varadan
...
Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw

Steenschuur 25, 2311 ES LEIDEN


Attendance is free of charge.