Law and Criminology Fellows

Olivier Slosse is a VUB alumnus and a psychologist by training. In 1995 he joined the Brussels police, going on to become responsible for the Elsene police zone’s Documentation and Training Department. Since 2017 he has been managing director and a member of the management team of the largest police zone in the country. 

Tania Dekens studied law at Ghent University and graduated in 1995. From 2012 to 2019 she was administrator general of Famifed, the then federal social security institution for child benefits. Since 2019, she has been CEO of Iriscare, which advises citizens and professionals on issues such as family allowance and care for the elderly and people with disabilities and pays allowances to citizens like child benefits. She also has extensive experience as adviser and chef de cabinet to several ministers.

Axel Desmedt graduated from VUB in 1996, before obtaining a Master of Laws from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). After working as a lawyer for a leading Belgian and US law firm, he moved to the public sector in 2009. As a member of the decision-making body of the BIPT, Belgium’s telecoms and postal regulator, he has been setting the regulatory lines in these key economic sectors for the past 13 years. His second (and last) mandate at the BIPT expires soon and he is ranked first to become chair of the Belgian Competition Authority. He is one of the top players in competition law and economic regulation, having made his mark on many important cases in the sector.

Lieven Wostyn graduated in 1982 from the University of Leuven with a doctorate in medicine, surgery and obstetrics. As medical director of AZ Delta Roeselare and delegate of the National Council of the Order of Doctors at the World Medical Association, he occupies a prominent position in Belgium’s healthcare landscape. His unique profile makes him the ideal bridge-builder between medical law and practice and between the Faculties of Law & Criminology and Medicine & Pharmacy.

Wostyn has been involved in VUB’s Health Law programme as a voluntary academic staff member since 2011, in which capacity he contributes to research and education. He gives guest lectures on the organisation of Belgian healthcare and the status of doctor, and supervises and evaluates master’s theses on health law. His Fellowship provides a good framework for his strong relationship with VUB.

Mireille Delange studied law at ULB and became a social law lawyer at the Brussels Bar. She is currently a councillor at the Court of Cassation, the highest court in Belgium. In that capacity, she is a leading magistrate in social law and has published, among others, work on the jurisdiction of the court in social security law matters. She is also a member of the academic editorial board of the Tijdschrift voor Sociaal Recht.

With her Fellow title, Delange can help shape lectures and expert classes on social law in general and social procedural law in particular. With her broad expertise, she will be able to assist the law school and the master after master in social law as a commissioner of theses.

Ludo Vermeulen studied law at KU Leuven and specialises in labour and social security law. He is the founder of a social law firm and a deputy judge at the Labour Tribunal of Antwerp, Turnhout section. He is also a guest lecturer for the Pension Law course at KU Leuven’s Faculty of Law and founded the Belgian Pension Lawyers Association with a number of other specialists in 2010.

Vermeulen is a driven expert in social law, with excellent publications focused mainly on non-discrimination law to his name. As a Fellow, he can give guest lectures on various topics within social law based on his extensive practical experience. Every year, his office organises internships for students of the VUB Law School.

Florence Delogne gained her diploma in law in 1998 from the Université catholique de Louvain. She then followed various specialisations in social law, fiscality and pension law. With her particular knowledge of supplementary pensions, she was an advisor to Pensions Minister Alexander De Croo from 2012 to 2014. She then became deputy director of cabinet to his successor, Daniel Bacquelaine. Florence Delogne has various publications to her name and regularly addresses conferences.

Under the influence and guidance of Florence Delogne, the subject of supplementary pensions has been added to the diverse master’s programmes in law at VUB. With her experience as a lawyer and consultant she will develop cases. In collaboration with Proximus Guido Van Limberghen she will give expert guest lectures for the Public Law department.

Professor Surya Prasad Subedi obtained a doctoral degree in law with a prize from the University of Oxford in 1993. He has been Professor of International Law in the UK, US and the Netherlands. He was called to the Bar of England in 2007 and appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2017. Professor Subedi has published eight books and written more than 60 scholarly articles on all major areas of international law in leading international law journals. In 2019 he was awarded the highest degree, the Doctor of Civil Law, by the University of Oxford. He was also elected by the UN Human Rights Council in 2009 to serve as an expert member of the Task Force on Investment Policy of the World Economic Forum.

As a member of the Task Force, he participates in policy options for investments that can be used by international organisations such as the OECD, EU and UN.

Surya Prasad Subedi has already worked with Professor Kim Van der Borght on research projects at VUB. Because of his expertise, he will be asked to advise on the study of economic justice in international economic law and sustainable development with special attention to human rights.

Diana Wallis studied history at the university of London. She was member of the European parliament from 1999 till 2012 and vice-president of the European Parliament between 2007 and 2012. She became the first president of the European Law Institute. She has played a leading role in the development of European law, in particular in mediation and dispute resolution, and in European contract law. She strives for a strong Europe and strong regions with their own competences.

After a career in trade diplomacy Andreas Ziegler became a professor in international economic law and environmental law at the universities of Zurich and Lausanne. He is president of the Swiss section of the International Law Association and a member of the Board of the European Law Faculties Association. Apart from his professional activities Andreas Ziegler is an advocate for gender equality and rights. He is also an expert for the Council of Human Rights of the Council of Europe.

Lola Boeykens studied law at VUB and has considerable experience as a magistrate in the labour courts, where she has built up a wide and in-depth expertise in social law and has become a top magistrate. She was project leader of the workload measurement project in courts and tribunals in 2008 - 2009 and became first president of the Antwerp labour court, and therefore charged with the management of the court. She was first president of the provisional College of courts and tribunals, then a member of the College. She is a member of the board and chair of the executive committee of the Association for Employment Law in Antwerp.

Lieve Verboven studied law at KU Leuven and obtained a master’s in European law at VUB. She specialised in social dialogues, conflict resolution and collective negotiations. After her studies she began an international career in Canada, Senegal and elsewhere. In 2011 she began working as a Federal Employment Agent with the Belgian FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue. The most challenging collective labour conflict she had to handle was the closure of the Ford Genk plant, with more than 8,000 employees. In 2018 she became Director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the EU and Benelux, which mediates between governments, employers and employees.

Rudy Van De Voorde is an alumnus of VUB. He first studied psychiatric nursing then criminology. An internship brought him into contact with the prison system. But he first worked for nine years in a psychiatric hospital before he became director of various prisons in 1992. Since October 2018 he has headed the Directorate-General Penitentiary Institutions.

The faculty of Law and Criminology has always been able to count on the support of Rudy Van De Voorde to carry out empirical research in the Belgian prison system. This easy access to prisons for researchers and students has raised envy with international scholars.

 

Jef Gorrebeeck has had a rich career as a specialist in maritime transport insurance. He also possesses an exceptional knowledge of insurance and commercial law. Since 2002 he has been engaged as a consular Judge at the Ondernemingsbank (Company Court) in Antwerp where he also acts as supervisor in bankruptcy cases. During his career he has always had a particular interest in legal theory and its teaching. The result is many publications, scientific engagements in diverse organisations and guest lectures at UAntwerp and the Antwerp Maritime Academy.

Michèle Coninsx is currently Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate of the United Nations. Its mission will be to make UN member states cooperate more closely against terror, in addition to monitoring anti-terrorist measures. She was appointed President of Eurojust by the Council of Ministers of the European Union, after her election by the College of Eurojust, in May 2012. Michèle Coninsx has a Master's Degree in Law, a Master’s Degree in Criminology and a degree in Air Law and Aviation Security (UK – USA).

Michel De Gols is director-general of the directorate of individual labour relations at the federal service for employment, labour and social dialogue. This department’s task is preparing, promoting and implementing individual employment relations policies. In this capacity he represents the labour minister in the National Labour Council. He is also a member of the management committee of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, director of the non-profit Promotion de la diversité ethnique et culturelle sur le marché du travail, and of the Belgian Association for Labour Relations. He is a lawyer by training.

Erik Derycke graduated as Master of Law at the University of Ghent in 1972. He worked as a lawyer for more than 30 years while building a career in politics. His political career started in his hometown, Waregem, where he was OCMW councilor from 1976 to 1988 and thereafter municipal councilor until 2001. Hereafter he had different political positions from 1978 to 1995. He was also active in European politics as member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, of the Assembly of the Western European Union and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. In 2001, he was appointed a judge in the Constitutional Court. He remains connected to VUB as chair of the board of management at UZ Brussel since 2004.

Patrick Hofströssler got his law degree in 1990 at the VUB. He received the René Marcq-prize, TPR-award and the Pierard-Prize. Member of the Brussels and Antwerp Bar and former director of the Flemish Bar (Orde van Vlaamse Balies), former president of the study department of this professional association, and a former member of the commission on deontology of the Dutch Bar Association Brussels (Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten te Brussel).

Véronique Pertry is partner at Eubelius since 2007. She graduated in 1986 in a degree in Law from the VUB and holds a postgraduate degree in Labor Law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (1988). She is a member of the Brussels bar since 1998. She started her career as an assistant teaching labor law at the VUB. As from 1989, she worked as a legal consultant and then as a lawyer, specialized in Labor law (individual and collective), social security and fringe benefits for employees.

Chris Reniers obtained a Master’s in Law at VUB. She started her career in 1984 at the trade union ACOD as a legal adviser, became head of the legal service and was elected general secretary in 2000. She also serves on the management committee of the HZIV (Hulpkas voor Ziekte- en Invaliditeitsverzekering), is a member of the Flemish Port Commission and has a mandate in the office of the Flemish and the Belgian Federation of Labour (ABVV Brussel). Since 2010, she has been a member of the board of directors of the VRT.

Gunther Sleeuwagen was born in 1958 and obtained a master International Law at VUB. Where he was President for the Student “Circle for International Relations”. Diplomatic Service (started in 1986), stationed successively in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, New York, United States (United Nations), Nairobi, Tanzania, Genève, Switzerland (WTO), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Head of Mission), Director Eastern and Southeastern Europe / Central Asia in Brussels, Tokyo, Japan and now Ambassador of Belgium to Los Angeles, covering the West Coast of the US.

Lutgarde Sommerijns is registered as a lawyer-member of the New York bar and of the Brussels bar (earlier with Linklaters and Loyens & Loeff). She regularly publishes articles and books on pensions and is often invited as a guest speaker at conferences both in Belgium and abroad. Via active participation in workgroups, she contributes to the development of the pension legislation. She was Secretary General of the Belgian Association of Pension Institutions (2007-2010), Member of the HR Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium (member since 1994 and Vice-Chair from 1994 to 2006). She is member of the International Pensions and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association - IPEBLA (since 1997) and lector at the Leergang Pensioenrecht (KU Leuven).

Nic Van der Marliere graduated from VUB as a Master of Law. He started his career as an advisor in the domains of education, training and scientific research for the Flemish liberal party. In 1999, he became deputy head of cabinet and spokesperson for Marleen Vanderpoorten, the Flemish minister of education, scientific research and training. From 2002 to 2008, he was a representative of the Flemish government in the UK. After an interval of representation in France, with Unesco, with the OECD and in the Council of Europe from 2008 to 2014, he returned as general representative. He was a member of the board of directors of VUB and a member of the municipal council of Blankenberge, where he was also chair of the liberal group. He was chair of VLD West-Vlaanderen and bears the title of Commander in the Order of the Crown of Belgium.

Stefan Yee holds Masters degrees in Law and Business Administration from the Universities of Brussels (VUB and ULB Solvay Business School) and graduated as a BAEF Fellow from the University of Chicago (see above). He was Senior Auditor of KPMG (1985-1987), Lawyer in the Corporate Department of Linklaters De Bandt (1988-1991), Assistant Contract Law at the then Faculty of Law of the VUB (1989-1995) and has more than 25 years of experience in audit, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and private equity with companies (see above). He is a Hoover Foundation Fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation.

Paul Nemitz currently serves as the principal advisor in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. In his previous post as director for fundamental rights and union citizenship, he led negotiations on the code of conduct against hate speech on the internet, the EU-US Privacy Shield and the EU General Data Protection Regulation, which contains the right to be forgotten. He launched a justice policy workstream on democracy, freedom of speech and press plurality in Europe, starting with the Colloquium of Fundamental Rights hosted in November 2016 by Frans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the European Commission. Nemitz has published extensively on EU law and holds a position as visiting professor of law at the College of Europe in Bruges.

Bruno Luyten studied law and notarial law at the VUB. He was first sollicitor and became a judge in a civil law chamber at the tribunal of first instance in Mechelen in 1991. Between 1996 and 1999 he dealt with seizure proceedings. In 1999 he became a judge at the Antwerp Court of Appeal. In 2014 he was appointed president of the Antwerp Court of Appeal. At the VUB he held the 9th Gommaar van Oosterwyck Chair.

Ricardo Ramirez was judge of the highest court on international trade, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO), for more than 8 years (2009-2017). He was the first Mexican to be part of the WTO’s Appellate Body and was elected for two consecutive terms as Chair. In 2017, he was appointed by the Chairman of the Administrative Council of the World Bank to the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for a period of 6 years. In the private practice, he was head of the International Trade Practice for Latin America at Chadbourne & Parke, S.C. and is the founding partner of RRH Consultores S.C., which provides legal advice in the field of international trade law. Ramirez is Professor at the Faculty of Law of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Chairman of the International Trade Professors Association of UNAM. He holds a Law Degree by the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico and an Master of Laws on International Legal Studies by the American University.

After gaining a master’s degree in history, Anne Vanderstappen started her career as a teacher. After a short time, she joined the organisation for the self-employed that later became known as Unizo. She began in the marketing department and after a few years became an advisor on social affairs. She represented her organisation on many public consultative bodies, thereby contributing to the improvement of social rights for the self-employed entrepreneurs. From 1999 until 2012 she was chair of the Overall Management Committee for the Social security of the Self-Employed. This public committee advises the government and the legislator in matters of the social well-being of self-employed people. In 2013, she became general administrator of the National Institute for the Social security of the Self-Employed.

Brigitte Vermeersch is a respected notary with a great network. She has an academic interest as well, since she has a history as an assistant at the VUB Law Faculty. She was appointed as academic director for the Notarial Congress in Ghent in 2017.