Our mission

Law structures society and is at the heart of social change. In an era of profound societal and ecological transformation, as well as backlash against the values of democracy and the rule of law, the Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance seeks to advance the understanding and development of European law and governance to foster just, democratic, and sustainable European societies.

To achieve this mission:

• We facilitate and promote innovative, independent, high-quality research and critical thinking on emergent questions of European law and governance.
• We adopt an interdisciplinary approach to study the role of law in shaping and governing various socio-political and ecological phenomena in the EU and beyond including climate change, digitalization, the crises of democracy and rule of law, spreading military and geopolitical tensions, and perduring economic inequalities including across gender, class and racial lines in Europe. To do so, we foster close collaboration among scholars working on different areas of EU law advancing them through doctrinal, theoretical, empirical and historical perspectives. Our researchers engage with and develop insights from non-legal disciplines to enrich and advance debates about the EU and its law.  
• We support and promote a new generation of EU legal scholars developing novel approaches to European law and governance.
• We contribute to research-based, high-quality education for a new generation of critical thinking and independent EU law professionals in our Master programs in European Union Law and European Competition Law and Regulation.
• We host visiting scholars and collaborate with national and international research groups on European law, fostering a global exchange of knowledge.
• We engage with societal actors such as policymakers, civil society organizations, think tanks, and the broader professional community working on issues of European law and governance, and disseminate our knowledge widely.

Our values:

As an internationally recognized research group, we are committed to:

• Curiosity-driven research and academic freedom: Our research agenda is driven ‘bottom up’ by the interests and activities of our members. We ensure academic freedom and independence is upheld in all our pursuits.
• Scientific integrity: We uphold the highest standards of scientific integrity, ensuring our research is rigorous, transparent, and ethical.
• Diversity of perspectives, collaboration, and collegiality: We value diverse perspectives integrating insights from various disciplines as well as diverse methodological, normative, and political viewpoints. We foster spaces for collegial discussion within and beyond ACELG.
• Societal responsibility: We ensure our research addresses real-world challenges and benefits society at large. To do so we engage with societal actors and share our knowledge to demonstrate how law can contribute to positive social change and defend democratic values.