Invited Lectures
[with W. Bull], European harmonisation of intellectual property law: a view from general private law, lecture conference European Methods and Interactions in the Field of Intellectual Property Law, University of Oxford 7-8 January 2012 (blog)
European legal culture: English common law vs. continental dogmatism or something new?, lecture conference Towards a European legal culture, University of Oxford 16 December 2011
Introduction and chair, MEPLI Round Table The Proposed Common European Sales Law: Have the Right Choices been Made?, Brussels campus Maastricht University, 9 December 2011 (blog)
What Future for European Private Law?, guest lecture course Private Law and the Internal Market, University of Amsterdam, 23 November 2011
Towards an interactive and multi-level system of private law for Europe, lecture conference European Legal Method(s) in a Multi-layered Legal Order, Copenhagen Business School, 17-18 November 2011 (blog)
Problems with Uniform Laws, lecture conference Global Challenges of International Sales Law, University of Florida, Gainesville 11-12 November 2011 (blog)
Which Private Law for Europe?, lecture ELSA Università degli studi di Trento, 25 October 2011
Introduction and chair, Conference Does Law Matter?, KNAW Amsterdam 21 October 2011
Het recht en de wereld: een causerie over de toekomst van de juridische opleiding, lezing Tijdschrift voor Privaatrecht Dag in het Groen, Ooidonk 3 september 2011
Common Law and Civil Law, 7 lectures in the Postgraduate programme in international and comparative law, FHR School of Law, Paramaribo, 18-26 July 2011 (blog)
The Future of Codification, lecture Conference Civil Traditions, Codifications and Unification, Utrecht University 30 June 2011
Beyond the State Monopoly: Making Law Work in Times of Globalisation, lecture 4th HiiL Law of the Future Conference, The Hague 23-24 June 2011 (interview on youtube)
Introduction and chair, 6th Benelux-Scandinavian Symposium on Legal Theory, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi 8-10 June 2011
Introduction and chair, seminar What Role for Property in European Integration?, University of Helsinki 7 June 2011
How to Prepare Students for Global Citizenship?, lecture Center for Transnational Legal Studies, London, 20 April 2011
International Legal Education: Why and How?, lecture International Association of Law Schools (IALS) conference on Teaching, Legal Education and Strategic Planning, University of Buenos Aires, 13-15 April 2011
The State and Private Law: Towards a Pluralism of Authorities, lecture Conference Pluralism and European Private Law, University of Exeter, 25 March 2011
Rethinking Private Law: Finding Alternatives for National Institutions, lecture Conference Transnational Law: Rethinking Law and Legal Thinking, European University Institute, Florence, 10-11 March 2011
Codification of Private Law: a Functional Approach, lecture University of Helsinki, 13 December 2010
Private Law 2.0: on the Role of Private Actors in a Post-National Society, inaugural lecture Maastricht-HiiL Chair on the Internationalisation of Law, 30 November 2010
On the Role of Principles in European Private Law, lecture Colloque doctoral ProDoc Les principes en droit Européen, Université de Fribourg 19-20 November 2010
Over de ongekende legitimiteit van een optionele code, lezing Symposium Groenboek Europees contractenrecht: naar een optioneel instrument?, Universiteit van Amsterdam 10 november 2010
The Psychology of the European and Comparative Judge, lecture Conference Judicial Decision Making in Civil Law: Determinants, Dynamics and Delusions, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 9 November 2010
Harmonisation of private law in Europe, lecture Sungkyunkwan University Law School, Seoul, 28 October 2010
Harmonisation of Law: on Mixed Jurisdictions and the Importance of Comparative Inspiration, lecture Gwangju international conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of the CISG, Chonnam National University Law School, Gwangju , 26-27 October 2010
Contract Law in the European Union, lecture Chosun University Law School, Gwangju, 25 October 2010
Codification in Europe and China: What makes Contract Law special?, lecture Conference Towards a Chinese Civil Code: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, City University of Hong Kong, 22-23 October 2010
Codification of Private Law in China and Europe, lecture Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 19 October 2010
Private Law in a Post-National Society, lecture conference Rethinking Legal Thinking, University of Helsinki, 26-28 August 2010
Complexity of Transnational Sources, comment on the General Report, 18th Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, Washington D.C., 31 July 2010
The Right to Change Your Mind? Rethinking the Usefulness of Rights of Withdrawal in Consumer Contract Law, lecture 15th meeting of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law, Toronto 22-24 July 2010
Is a Codification of European Private Law Conceivable?, lecture Kolloquium Die Instrumentalisierung des Privatrechts durch die Europäische Union, ZERP, Universität Bremen, 9 July 2010
Harmonising the EU Consumer Protection Directives, lecture ‘Capitals of Europe Summer Abroad’ programme, Pennsylvania State University Law School, Brussels 28 June 2010
Towards a European Ius Commune, lecture annual Eurojuris-Jurismus conference, Maastricht 25 June 2010
Over doel en methode van de rechtswetenschap, lezing Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 22 juni 2010
Over juridisch onderzoek aan universiteit en HBO, lezing Congres Juridisch onderzoek in het HBO, Saxion Hogeschool Deventer, 15 juni 2010
Welcome address, inaugural meeting of ETHYRN young researchers network, University of Edinburgh, 8-9 June 2010
Enhanced Consumer Protection: A Matter for Europe?, lecture Finnish Association of Consumer Law, Helsinki, 19 May 2010
Legal Tourism: Contract, Marriage and Citizenship beyond the State, lecture Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law, Oxford University, 29 April 2010
Is Law a Parasite? Explaining Differences among Legal Traditions, lecture expert seminar Evolutionary Approaches to Comparative Law, Ghent University, 23-24 April 2010
Over Omstreden rechtswetenschap, lecture Delft University, 19 April 2010
Legal Tourism: Can Law be a Product?, lecture Jagiellonian University, Krakow 26 March 2010
Is Law a Product?, lecture VIII Nordic Graduate School on ‘Law and Theory’, Lammi 18-19 March 2010
On Purpose and Method of Legal Scholarship, lecture Seminar Legal Science: What is it Good For?, University of Helsinki 17 March 2010
Civil Codes and Constitutions Beyond the State: Law as a Product, inaugural lecture Tilburg University, 5 February 2010 [brief Dutch version available here]
The use of the comparative method in European private law, lecture Academy Colloquium Methodology of comparative legal research in theory and practice: an approach from the inside out, KNAW Amsterdam 20-21 January 2010
Harmonisation of private law in Europe: attractive or not?, lecture University of Trnva, 14 December 2009
European private law: brave new world or a feast of diversity?, lecture conference Euroscepticism and Multiculturalism, Utrecht University, 7 December 2009
The unbearable fragmentation of private law?, lecture seminar Harmonisation, Competition and Fragmentation: an Integrated Perspective on European Private Law, University of Helsinki, 3 December 2009
European private law: what is going on?, lecture University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu 1 December 2009
Multiple sources of transnational law: problem or solution?, lecture University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu 30 November 2009
Positive Obligations and private law, comment Workshop Positive Obligations in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights, XIVth Ius Commune Conference, Maastricht University, 26 November 2009
Four lectures on European private law, Koc University, Istanbul, 9-10 November 2009
Contractenrecht als meergelaagde rechtsorde: uitdagingen voor de komende tien jaar, lezing congres Tien jaar Contracteren, Universiteit Utrecht, 6 november 2009
The DCFR: how to (re)present European private law?, lecture seminar European private law and its Ingredients, Tilburg University, 4 November 2009
Rethinking the Architecture of European Private Law, lecture Max Planck Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Hamburg, 20 October 2009
Plurality of Sources in European Private Law, or: How to Live with Legal Diversity?, lecture Conference The Foundations of European Private Law, EUI Florence 28-30 September 2009
The Multidimensionality of European Constitutions, comment Conference The Many Constitutions of Europe, University of Helsinki, 12-14 May 2009
The Draft Common Frame of Reference: the Right Way Forward?, lecture Conference Perspectives on European Private Law, University of Santiago de Compostela, 7-8 May 2009
Comparative Property Law and Harmonisation, lectures South-African Research Chair in Property Law (SARCPL), University of Stellenbosch, 30 March and 3 April 2009
A Transnational Approach to Law: the Last Frontier?, lecture VII Nordic Graduate School, Lammi 19-20 March 2009
Legal Education in a Transnational World: Challenges for the Future, lecture conference Past, Present and Future of Legal Education: Celebrating 30 Years of Legal Education in the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi 16 March 2009
The Common Frame of Reference and the Draft Consumer Rights Directive, lecture Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University (audiovisual), 3 March 2009
Consumentenrecht: steeds meer een Europese zaak?, lecture Symposium Ontwerp EG-richtlijn consumentenrechten, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 28 January 2009
Human Dignity and Uniform Law: An Unhappy Relationship, lecture Seminar Fundamental Rights and Private Law: A Means of Harmonisation?, University of Helsinki, 12 January 2009
Democracy and (European) Private Law: a Functional Approach, lecture Conference Globalisation and Private Law: The Way Forward, University of Stellenbosch, 18-20 December 2008
Unjust Enrichment in the Draft Czech Civil Code and the European Model, lecture XI Forum on the Draft Czech Civil Code, Charles University Prague, Prague, 22 November 2008
The European Harmonization Process: Lessons for the Global Level?, lecture Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University, State College, 29 October 2008
Research Group on the Economic Assessment of Contract Law Rules (Joint Network on European Private Law), round table Venice International University, Venice, 23 June 2008
Methodology of Comparative Law: The Way Forward, workshop Comparative law, Conference Towards a European Legal Methodology Tilburg University, 10 June 2008
The Draft-CFR, Methodological Nationalism and the Road Towards a Truly European Private Law, lecture Conference Fifty Years of European Contract Law – The Private Law Society and the Common Frame of Reference, SECOLA, Barcelona 6-7 June 2008
Convergence of private law, lecture Honours programme Maastricht Faculty of Law, 16 April 2008
Rechtswetenschap als een normatieve discipline, lecture Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (SIM), Utrecht University, 8 April 2008
After the Common Frame of Reference – What Future for European Private Law?, workshop European University Institute, Firenze, 29 February-1 March 2008
Legal Europe – Coherence and/or Fragmentation, round table Kick-off seminar Centre of Excellence Foundations of European Law and Polity, University of Helsinki, 1 February 2008
Research Group on the Economic Assessment of Contract Law Rules (Joint Network on European Private Law), round table University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, 17 December 2007
Private law beyond the Nation State: Private Parties in the Age of Globalisation, lecture Conference Law in a Globalised World, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), University of Stellenbosch, 6-8 December 2007
General Clauses in European Contract Law, lecture European University Institute, Firenze, 26 November 2007
Legal Science as an Argumentative Discipline, lecture Conference on Methods of Human Rights Research, Maastricht University, 23-24 November 2007
A European Law on Unjust Enrichment?, lecture Conference European Private Law Beyond the CFR, Universitat de Lleida, 25-26 October 2007
Three Aspects of Dutch Law, Conference Learning from Each Other, International Association of Law Schools, Kenneth Wang School of Law, Soochow University, Suzhou 18-19 October 2007
Contract Law in the Netherlands and in China, lecture Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 17 October 2007
Applying Evolutionary Theory: the Case of European Private Law, lecture Conference Law, The State, And Evolutionary Theory, University of Bremen and The German Law Journal Annual Conference, 5 October 2007
How to Teach Law in a Transnational Way: Some Problems, McGill Round Table on Legal Education 2007, McGill University, Montréal 27-28 September 2007
The Practical Importance of Harmonization of Commercial Contract Law, lecture at the fortieth annual session of UNCITRAL (conference Modern Law for Global Commerce), Vienna 9-12 July 2007
Mixed Legal Systems: Lessons to Learn, lecture at the Second World Congress of the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists, University of Edinburgh 27-29 June 2007
Chinese and European Contract Law: Looking Beyond the Black Letter, lecture seminar Contract Law in China and Europe, Maastricht 18 June 2007
Wat is goed rechtswetenschappelijk onderzoek?, lezing Universiteit van Tilburg 21 mei 2007
Are the national contract laws in Europe converging?, lecture 4th European Jurists’ Forum, Vienna 3-5 May 2007
Less is More; or: What is a Common Law for Europe?, lecture University of Helsinki, 21 March 2007
Law Making in the European Union: Promoting an Optional Contract Code, lecture conference Law Making in a Global World, Louisiana Law Review Symposium, Baton Rouge 26-27 January 2007
Foundations of European Private Law and Comparative Law, course for PhD-researchers, University of Helsinki, 15-17 January and 20-21 March 2007
Conference The Bottom-Up Approach to Comparative Law, University of Leuven, 21 December 2006, moderator of discussion
Neues Burgerlijk Wetboek und deutsche Schuldrechtsmodernisierung, lecture conference Schuldrechtsmodernisierung und europäisches Vertragsrecht, Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 27-28 October 2006
Fundamental rights and contract law, lecture Conference Fundamental Rights and Private Law in the European Union, Universität Bremen 15-16 September 2006
Mixed Legal Cultures and their Cultural and Societal Basis, lecture, Conference on Private Law and the Many Cultures of Europe, University of Helsinki, 27-29 August 2006
Economische baten en kosten van eenvormig bedrijfsrecht: een commentaar, lecture Conference Eenvormig bedrijfsrecht: realiteit of utopie?, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, 23 June 2006
European private law: a plea for a spontaneous order, lecture Conference European Integration and Law, Maastricht 8 June 2006
Grondrechten en vermogensrecht, lecture Maastricht District Court, 13 April 2006
Commercieel contractenrecht: pleidooi voor een optionele code, lecture conference for Willem Grosheide, Universiteit Utrecht, 5 April 2006
Nordic legal thinking: looking from outside, lecture at conference Nordic Law and Legal Thinking in Comparative Perspective, Vaasa, 2-3 March 2006
Common Frame of Reference and Optional Code: really the best way forward in European Contract Law?, lecture University of Helsinki, 1 March 2006
The future of European contract law: the siren call of the ‘best’ rule, staff seminar lecture, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, LSU, Baton Rouge 7 February 2006
The future of European contract law, lecture Tulane University Law School, 6 February 2006
Common Frame of Reference and Optional Code: how to find the best rules for European contract law?, lecture Friedrich-Wilhelm Universität Bonn, 21 November 2005
Belangenafweging in het privaatrecht, lecture Studiedag Belangenafweging door de rechter, Leiden University, 28 October 2005
Private Law and Fundamental Rights: A Sceptical View, lecture Conference Constitutionalization of Private Law, Leiden University, 3 June 2005
Unjust Enrichment and Formation of Contract, lecture Conference Unjust Enrichment (Schrage symposium), Amsterdam, 17-19 March 2005
Het Europese actieplan: nieuwe initiatieven op het terrein van het Europees privaatrecht, lecture Nederlands Genootschap van Bedrijfsjuristen, VNO-NCW Den Haag, 23 September 2004
The Need for a Uniform Contract Law in Europe: a Sketch of the Problem, lecture seminar Empirical Perspectives on European Private Law, Maastricht 4 June 2004
The Principles of European Contract Law and the Harmonisation of Private Law within Europe, Conference Principles of European Contract Law Part Three, lecture Universitat de Lleida, 7-8 May 2004
Scots Law Resurgent?: Scots Law in Europe and the Wider World, lecture Conference Scots Law and Scotland’s Identity, University of Aberdeen, 28 February 2004
De doorwerking van grondrechten in het vermogensrecht, lecture staff seminar Maastricht 28 January 2004
Constitutionalisering van het vermogensrecht, lecture Nederlandse Vereniging voor Rechtsvergelijking, Amsterdam 16 December 2003
Commentator J.B.M. Vranken, Springen met lemen voeten, Rotterdam 12 December 2003
The contribution of Scotland as a mixed jurisdiction to the development of European private law, lecture conference ‘Scotland and the Netherlands: Workshops on Private law and the Ius Commune’, Edinburgh, 19-20 June 2003
Introduction & Chair workshop Europeanisation of Law, Conference Epistemology and Methodology of Comparative Law, KU/VU Brussels & European Academy of Legal Theory, Brussels 24-26 October 2002
Darwin en het recht: het belang van de evolutieleer voor het (privaat)recht, lecture Maastricht 13 March 2003
The Future of Contract Law in Europe: Coherence or Chaos?, lecture Rechtswissenschaftliche Fakultät Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (Centrum für Europäisches Privatrecht), 23 January 2003
Contractuele remedies, lecture Universiteit Utrecht, 10 October 2002
Directive 99/44 on consumer sale: implementation in selected member-states, lecture Seminar EU Consumer Law: Vehicle or Obstacle for a European Civil Code?, EIPA Antenna Luxembourg/European Commission, 1 October 2002
Lecture (Round Table presentation), conference European Contract Law, Academy of European Law (ERA), Trier 14-15 March 2002
Omzetting van de Richtlijn in het buitenland, lecture Workshop Nieuw Kooprecht, KU Leuven 5 March 2002
Tegen Europese beginselen van privaatrecht, lecture Amsterdams Juridisch Genootschap, Amsterdam 5 February 2002
A Multi-Layered Contract Law for Europe, lecture Conference on Communication from the Commission on European Contract Law, SECOLA/KU Leuven, 1 December 2001
The Future of European Contract Law: on Diversity and the Temptation of Elegance, lecture conference Towards a European Ius Commune in Legal Education and Research, Maastricht 25-26 October 2001
Kopstuk-college contractuele remedies, Universiteit Utrecht 11 October 2001
The Development of European Private Law, lecture University of Stellenbosch, 25 September 2001
European Contract Law, guest lecture in LLM course Comparative Law of Obligations, University of Stellenbosch, 19 September 2001
Towards a European Private Law by Survival of the Fittest Rule?, lecture University of Aberdeen, 1 May 2001
Fairness in Business Transactions, lecture Universiteit Göteborg, 21 March 2001
Onderzoeksprogramma Europees privaatrecht, lecture UNISA Pretoria, 7 March 2001
Onderzoeksprogramma Europees privaatrecht, lecture University of Stellenbosch, 7 March 2001
The Maastricht approach, lecture University of Torino (Gaius Program), 29 January 2001
De waarde van de Principles of European Contract Law voor het Belgisch en Nederlands recht, lecture Ius Commune Congres V, Leuven 23 November 2000
A European Ius Commune on the Liability of the Good Samaritan: of Moral Monsters and Legal Principles, Institut für internationales Privatrecht und Rechtsvergleichung, lecture Universität Osnabrück, 16 November 2000
Europees privaatrecht en een Europees BW, lecture Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam 7 November 2000
The Inner Relationship between Unjust Enrichment, Negotiorum Gestio and Implied Contract, lecture Bregstein Congress The Law of Unjust Enrichment and Contract in the Context of European Private Law, Amsterdam 19-20 October 2000
Civil Law, Common Law and the Duty to Rescue, lecture Universität Regensburg, 15 December 2000
How to Predict the Differences in Uniformity in a Future European Private law?, lecture, Hart Workshop Comparative Law in the 21st Century, London 4-6 July 2000
Two lectures at the Seminar The Community Law Impact on Civil Law, Lodz (Poland) 28-29 June 2000, MATRA/EIPA
On Legal Transplants, Remedies and European Private Law, lecture GAIUS programme, Maastricht 13 July 2001
Rechterlijk overgangsrecht: op zoek naar consistentie, lecture BW-dagen, Leiden University, 22 June 2000
How to Predict the Differences in Uniformity between Different Areas of a Future European Private Law? An Evolutionary Approach, lecture Workshop The Economics of Harmonisation of Law, University of Corte (Corsica), 25-27 May 2000
Remedies bij teleurstellende overeenkomsten: naar een nieuwe regeling van onvoorziene omstandigheden, dwaling, gedeeltelijke ontbinding en beperkende werking van de redelijkheid en billijkheid?, lecture, Juri Sacrum, Leiden 16 February 2000
Een Europees privaatrecht als gemengd rechtsstelsel: mogelijkheden en grenzen, lecture Dispuut voor rechtsvergelijking en IPR, Amsterdam 21 December 1998
De Bataafse Staatsregeling en het Burgerlijk recht, lecture Conference Tweehonderd jaar Bataafse Staatsregeling 1798, Utrecht-Nijmegen 10-11 December 1998
How to Mix Legal Systems in a Fruitful Way?, lecture seminar Towards a European Private Law by Competition of Legal Rules, Maastricht 19 November 1998
Recente ontwikkelingen in het privaatrecht, lecture Alumnidag Maastricht University, 17 October 1998
De blijvende betekenis van Eggens voor de moderne privaatrechtsbeoefening, lecture at the presentation of the Eggens-bundel, Agnietenkapel Amsterdam 13 October 1998
‘Wrongful birth’, lecture Utrechtsch Juridisch Dispuut `Antonius Matthaeus', Utrecht 21 January 1998
Fiduciaire eigendomsoverdracht in het Nederlandse recht en het Sogelease-arrest, lecture Faculty of Law, Leuven University, 14 January 1998
Towards a Framework for Legal Rules in European Private Law, lecture 4th Benelux-Scandinavian Symposium on Legal Theory, University of Turku, August 1998
Naar een Europees privaatrecht door vrij verkeer van rechtsregels, lecture Ius Commune conference, Leuven University 14 November 1997
Privaatrecht en postmodernisme, lecture conference of the Werkgroep Rechtsgeschiedenis 19de en 20ste eeuw, Utrecht University 20 June 1997
Waarom Rechtstheorie?, lecture PhD-researchers network on legal theory, Amsterdam 28 May 1997
Two lectures, course Methodologie van het privaatrecht, University of Amsterdam 27 March and 3 April 1996