M. (Maarten) Bouwmeester, LLM MSc

Maarten Bouwmeester works as a PhD Candidate at the department of Constitutional law, Administrative law and Public administration. He holds a bachelor's degree in Law (University of Groningen) and two master's degrees, Law & Public Administration at the University of Groningen (cum laude) and Economics & Governance at Leiden University (cum laude).

Maarten's research focuses on the intersection of public law and public policy in the domain of social security. As of July 2022, he is working on a four-year PhD project titled 'System failure in the digital welfare state'. This project examines how the use of surveillance technologies and automated decisions in social security has raised the demand for, yet hindered the effective functioning of rule of law control mechanisms. It thereby contributes to a more fundamental understanding of recent 'system failures', while it also delves into the possible strategies to reinforce the rule of law and checks and balances in the digital welfare state. This research combines insights from public law, social security and automated decision-making and draws lessons from two cases: Robodebt (Australia) and the Childcare benefits scandal (the Netherlands).

Organizing member of ESPAnet Low Countries (the Netherlands-Flanders)
Member of the Supervisory board of GRIN (Groningen Graduate Interest Network)