Government and Law

Recent developments of governance and multi-level government have impacted on public law. This research group examines the fundamental questions raised by the exercise of authority at lower and higher levels of governance and by non-state actors: how do public agents function in this new environment, and how should we deal with questions of legitimacy and accountability, rule of law, and respect for fundamental rights derived from there? Inasmuch as national constitutions are insufficient to secure these principles, the research group inquires at the normative level how ideas of justice, rights and democracy need to be rethought in a multi-level, multi-actor context and through what form public law would be suitable in this institutional context to realise these values. This programme covers as units of analysis public institutions at the local, regional, federal, European and international level, as well as non-state actors in so far as they take on a prominent role in the public sector.  It analyses the legal framework for the functioning of public institutions and its relations with citizens and the industry. To this end, it aims at a multi-dimensional approach, based on intra- and interdisciplinary research next to doctrinal legal approaches, and supported by a broader foundational framework of legal theory.

The program aims to present the University of Antwerp on a national and international level as a research centre of public law which transcends traditional branches of law and disciplines.

The program covers four lines of research which emphasize different but overlapping topics.

• Multilevel good governance. This priority research line fits the UA’s ‘Emerging Research Domain’ on federalism, multilevel governance and globalization. The evolution towards a ‘multilevel’ context and a ‘governance’ model within this multi-level context, as well as its impact on fundamental legal principles, accountability, fundamental rights, institutional design, informal processes and substantive rules are put central.
• Governance and public decision making. This line, rather than studying the interdependence of different legal orders (i.e. the ‘multilevel context’), focuses on aspects of governance within a single political level. Principles of proper rule-making, administration and due process are regarded as guiding precepts in this regard. Considerable attention is paid to the way in which various public and private actors become partners in legislative, administrative and judicial decision-making.
• Governance in diverse societies. This research line focuses on the legal challenges to governance in diverse societies. A diverse society is understood as a society composed of members with different national, cultural, religious, regional and/or ethnic identity. The research comprises access of non-citizens to residence and citizenship, citizenship as a tool for full membership of society and the exercise of rights and freedoms by members of a diverse society, particularly those in a minority position.
• Rule of law and constitutionalism. This research line feeds the former ones by providing both a theoretical framework on fundamental principles of constitutional law and a more empirical account of the role of the various actors in both constitutional law and constitutional practice, such as Constitutional Courts, Parliament or political parties.

Requirements

• Applicants must hold a master’s degree
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): minimum score of 550 for the paper-based test or 79 for the Internet-based test. Information about this test is available at the TOEFL-website. IOB does not accept the TOEFL ITP.
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System): minimum score of 6.5 and a minimum score of 6.0 on each component. Information about this test is available at the IELTS-website.
• A copy of your valid passport or identity card/a curriculum vitae
• A motivation letter
• A legalised copy of your degree certificate (please read more information on legalisation)
• Applicants that are enrolled in the final year should submit an original and signed letter from their college or university confirming that they are expected to finalise the program at the end of the current academic year
• A copy of your academic transcripts, provided with a stamp of the university

Scholarships

• An assistant mandate - salaried assistant; 
• An appointment to a research project that was requested by a promoter and subsidized assigned by internal (BOF) or external (international, national, regional, local) research resources; 
• A personal doctoral fellowship (eg FWO-aspirant and analog mandates, IWT grant for strategic basic research, temporary mandate (opvangmandaat) of the Special Research Fund - BOF specific funds that grant scholarships);