Research

Within the department of Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Public Administration, researchers from diverse disciplines collaborate closely. The unique aspect of our department lies in the collaborative efforts between legal scholars specializing in constitutional and administrative law, and social science researchers specializing in administrative science and sociology of law.

Our department's strength lies in conducting classical legal-dogmatic research in the fields of constitutional and administrative law, both at the national and international levels, and in combining legal perspectives with social science perspectives, allowing us to understand how the law operates in practice.

Our research encompasses a wide range of societal topics, including dispute resolution, citizenship, digitilisaation, climate legislation, complex decision-making, environmental law and decentralization processes in the social domain. By addressing these areas, we aim to contribute valuable insights into the functioning of law in contemporary society.

The department participates in the following Faculty research programmes:

• Public Trust and Public Law, which explores how law affects trust between government and citizens and between citizens themselves.
• Law on Energy and Sustainibility, which focuses on the legal dimension of the energy transition.

In terms of its content, the department’s research links up with the University interdisciplinary schools:

• Rudolph Agricola School for Sustainable Development, focusing on research in governance, politics and sustainable processes.
• Wubbo Ockels School of Energy and Climate, focused on developing research on the broad spectrum of energy and climate.
• Jantina Tammes School of Digital Society, Technology and AI, the interdisciplinary platform with a focus on digital society, technology and artificial intelligence (AI).
• Aletta Jacobs School of Health, a joint partnership of the University of Groningen, UMCG, the Hanze University of Applied Sciences and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, working together “for more healthy years”