mr. A.E. (Els) Schipaanboord

Els Schipaanboord obtained her master's degree in law from the University of Groningen, specialising in criminal law & criminology and civil law. During her studies, she focused on forensic psychiatry and conducted empirical research in this field. Her research mainly concentrated on the conjunction of legislation and the various forms of regulations within the Pro Justitia assessments and reports. The study's findings were published in a scientific publication titled "The right to inspect and correct behavioral assessments in criminal cases" by J.W. Hummelen, C.M. van Esch, A.E. Schipaanboord & T.S. van der Veer in Expertise and Law 2013, no. 2, p 44-49. Els has also worked in legal practice and as a research intern during her studies.

After graduating, Els started working as a staff lawyer at the Pieter Baan Centre in Utrecht. In 2013-2014 she was a lecturer in criminal law and criminal procedural law at the Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology at Leiden University. In 2014 she was appointed as a PhD researcher at the Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy within the Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law at Ghent University. She conducted research and published several papers on the norms that govern the legal position of lawbreakers with a mental disorder. 

Els has been a lecturer and researcher at the University of Groningen since 2019. She began her career at the university as a lecturer for the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology. During this time, she taught Dutch and international courses on criminal law and human rights and supervised many master's thesis students.

As of August 2022, she works for the Department of Legal Methods. Her dissertation focuses on the relationship between public-order law, restorative sanctions and Article 6 ECHR. She is particularly interested in the mayoral powers to revoke or refuse liquor licenses, impose area bans, and close drug premises under Section 13b of the Opium Act. She combines traditional doctrinal legal research with (quantitative) empirical methods. As a researcher, she is actively involved in the Center for Public Order and Safety (COOV) and is affiliated with the ERC-funded (interdisciplinary) research group EVICT. She works closely with the Center for Crime Prevention and Safety (CCV).

Beyond her scholarly pursuits, Els teaches and mentors students pursuing bachelor's and master's degrees in both Dutch and English programs. She has also been designated as a Student Coordinator for the Groningen Center for Legal Skills (GCJV).