项目介绍

2025年2月8日

Your position 
The urgency of improving environmental law enforcement is clear: climate change and biodiversity loss are among the most pressing global challenges of our time. The EU’s GALILEO Earth Observation Program and other remote sensing technologies are dramatically reshaping environmental governance, providing critical data to monitor environmental trends and detect violations. The UN’s Environmental Rule of Law initiative actively promotes these technologies to enhance transparency and accountability in environmental compliance.    

Innovative technologies therefore offer prospects of finally narrowing implementation- and compliance gaps and to transform governance processes. Environmental litigation often hinges on the availability and reliability of data, which these technologies can improve. Yet, significant gaps remain in how these technologies are used in legal proceedings and governance processes. Hence, the integration of these technologies into compliance mechanisms raises important legal and governance questions, particularly concerning procedural fairness, evidentiary standards, and institutional capacity. 

This PhD project investigates how these technologies shape and transform environmental compliance, encompassing centralized EU enforcement (infringement procedures) and decentralized national court proceedings (private enforcement). The research will roughly focus on the following themes:

1. Use of Satellite Data as Evidence in Environmental Cases in the Infringement Procedure
2. Use of Data Mining as Evidence in Environmental Cases in the Infringement Procedure
3. Use of Satellite Data as Evidence in Environmental Cases in national courts 
4. Use of Citizens-Science as Evidence in Environmental Cases in national courts

The research will employ a multi-method approach, combining doctrinal legal analysis with empirical investigation:
a. Doctrinal legal research (e.g. law of evidence under the EU Court’s  Rules of procedure, legal standards pertaining to the quality of  (citizens) ‘science’ derived from past case-law, interim-measures, infringement procedure, preliminary ruling procedure, legislation on the use of Galileo data by the public)
b. Empirical research (e.g. interviews and/or questionnaires opening the black-box of the European Commission’s and other public authorities changed working practices, as well as those of NGOs )
c.To be selected case-study (e.g. focus on secondary law that explicitly reserves a role for remote sensing technologies or a specific field that would benefit most from the use of compliance technologies)

Candidates for this vacancy should be interested in conducting a PhD dissertation project within the general ambit of the above description. They should have a graduate law degree, or alternatively, a graduate degree with a specialization in qualitative socio-legal studies (e.g. public administration or political science). Regardless, they should be willing and prepared to conduct both desk-based legal research and qualitative empirical research on the topic.

The chosen candidate will be contributing to the research community at Tilburg Law School devoted to Global Law and Governance, and more specifically to the research team Law and Governance in the Anthropocene.  

This position consists predominantly of research (0,8 fte), with limited opportunities for education (0,2 fte) in the the Global Law LLB, Public Governance LLB, International Law and EU law LLM & Public Governance and Strategy LLM 
 
Key responsibilities:

• Writing a PhD thesis (monograph and/or a collection of articles) within 4 years
• Submitting research results for publication in peer-reviewed academic journals
• Presenting papers at conferences, in the Netherlands and/or internationally
• Actively participating in the Global Law and Governance research community
• Some teaching may be required (0,2 fte), preferably in International and/or EU (Environmental) Law or Public Governance

Your profile 

• LLM degree in Law, Public Administration/Governance or a comparable degree; 
• High proficiency in English, allowing for effective communication and documentation 
• You have a demonstrable interest in (socio-)legal research, preferably with experience working on the editorial team of a law journal, or experience in a research master program, or experience as a research assistant; 
• You have scientific integrity and will contribute to an open and diversified culture of excellence;
• You are interested in teaching courses in Law or in Public Governance;
• You are interested in working with a broader research team oriented on questions about law, governance & compliance, law & technology, climate change & biodiversity, and the Anthropocene;
• You are willing and able to relocate to the Netherlands to take up this employment position.  

International PhD’s with scholarships below the IND income standard (€1,564) are unfortunately not eligible for this vacancy. 

Our offer 
Tilburg University offers excellent benefits in a pleasant working environment: 

• A position based on 0,8-1,0 fte (32-40 hours per week). 
• A salary of €2.901 gross per month for full-time employment, based on UFO profile Promovendus and salary scale P. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system based on relevant work experience. 
• This is a vacancy for a PhD in accordance with Article 2.3 paragraph 8 sub b CLA DU. You will initially be given a temporary contract for the duration of 18 months.
• Vacation pay of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. 
• Over 8 weeks of vacation leave. 
• The opportunity to work partly on campus and partly from home with a home office allowance of €2 per day.
• Reimbursement for sustainable commuting: walking, cycling, and public transport. 
• A monthly internet allowance of €25.
• An options model in which you exchange benefits for things such as additional leave, more pension, a bicycle or personal training at our Sports Center. 
• A moving allowance (subject to conditions). 
• Employees from abroad may be eligible for a tax-free allowance for extraterritorial expenses equal to 30% of taxable salary. 
• A pension with ABP; the largest Dutch pension fund.
• Training in personal development, career development, leadership, education, and research. Or a language course at our Language Center. 
• A work culture in which we embrace differences, everyone is welcome and given equal opportunities. 
• A vibrant campus in green surroundings that is easily accessible by public transport. 

For more information, see our website and the CLA Dutch Universities. 

Information and application 
Would you like to know more before applying? Feel free to contact Dr. Floor Fleurke at F.M.Fleurke@tilburguniversity.edu and Dr. Giulia Bazzan at G.Bazzan@tilburguniversity.edu.

We kindly invite you to apply before March 31st, 2025; this can only be done online. Address your cover letter to Giulia Bazzan and Dr. Floor Fleurke and attach the following:

• Resume;
• Writing sample (research publication, master’s thesis or other relevant LLM course work);
• Diploma + Transcript from your graduate degree program (or a provisional grades list, if you have not obtained your diploma yet);
• Two references (including name, telephone number and email address);
• Short research proposal (approx. 3000 words) describing the dissertation project you would propose conducting within the ambit of this vacancy. Please use the format available on this website.  
   

Letter selection is scheduled on in the week after the closing date. You will receive notification from us shortly thereafter. The selection interviews will take place on May 12th. 

The selection committee consists of: 

1. Dr. Giulia Bazzan, Assistant Professor of Public Governance
2. Dr. Floor Fleurke, Associate Professor European Environmental Law
3. Prof. dr. Phillip Paiement, Chair Law & Governance in the Anthropocene
4. Dr. Inge Graef, Vice-Dean of Research TLS

You will ideally start working for Tilburg University on 1 September 2025. 

About Tilburg University 
Tilburg University is an academic, inclusive, and engaged community. Together with nearly 3,000 employees, we are committed to broad prosperity, sustainably, and inclusion. For current and future generations. We develop and share knowledge for the requirements of people and our society. This is how we contribute to solving complex social issues and help society move forward.

We educate our 19,500 students of 110 nationalities to become responsible leaders with knowledge, skills, and character. With our education and research for broad prosperity, we exceedingly focus on themes such as mental and preventive care, an inclusive labor market, the energy transition, and digitalization.
 

Tilburg Law School

Since its founding in 1963, Tilburg Law School has become one of the leading law schools in Europe. Through top research and the provision of high-quality university education, the School contributes to society. Tilburg Law School is organized into five Departments: Public Law and Governance; Law, Technology, Markets and Society; Private, Business and Labour Law; the Fiscal Institute Tilburg; and Criminal Law. The mission of the School is to understand and improve the role of law and public administration in addressing the social problems of today and tomorrow. Through research and education, our scholars contribute to that mission. 

More than 4,000 students pursue a Bachelor’s, pre-Master’s or Master’s degree at Tilburg Law School. Through this education, we train students in law, public administration, and data science. The Tilburg Educational Profile (TEP) is unique in the Netherlands. Central to it are three core concepts: knowledge, skill and character. A university education provides students with the latest substantive knowledge and trains them to be critical thinkers and resilient professionals. In addition, the School is committed to innovative educational concepts and, partly in response to the coronavirus crisis, has invested heavily in the quality of online education and in innovative didactic tools to make and keep students inquisitive. 

Tilburg Law School’s research is highly regarded nationally and internationally. The Tilburg Law School Departments work closely together in their research in four signature research programs: 1) Global Law and Governance; 2) Law and Security; 3) Connecting Organizations; and 4) Regulating Socio-Technical Change. 
 

About Public Law and Governance
The Department of Public Law & Governance (PLG) is a unique collaboration of researchers in the fields of International Law, European law, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Public Administration, Legal Philosophy, Political Science, Legal History, and Jurisprudence. Collaboration within the Department is very much inspired by joint research interests.