News
The Hague, June 28, 2005
Prof. Dr. A.F.M. Brenninkmeijer appointed to National Ombudsman of The Netherlands
Professor A.F.M. (Alex) Brenninkmeijer has been appointed by the lower house of the Dutch Parliament (the House of Representatives) to the post of National Ombudsman of the Netherlands. The appointment was made on 28 June 2005 and Professor Brenninkmeijer is to take up his duties on 1 October 2005. As National Ombudsman, Professor Brenninkmeijer will aim to provide a service that is easily approachable and confidence-inspiring for members of the public with complaints against government. He hopes to encourage authorities to pay more attention to the way they deal with individual citizens in concrete cases.
Throughout his career, Alex Brenninkmeijer (b. Amsterdam, 1951) has invariably combined academic work with the practice of law. He is currently employed as professor of constitutional and administrative law at the University of Leiden and at the same time holds the Albeda Chair in public sector labour relations and ADR (mediation). Brenninkmeijer is also editor of several legal publications in the Netherlands, including the weekly legal journal Nederlands Juristenblad, and is a regular contributor to the Staatscourant (government gazette). In the past, he has occupied various judicial posts at district court level in Arnhem and at the court of appeal. Until a few years ago, he was vice-president of the Central Appeals Tribunal for social security and public service cases in Utrecht and he is now a deputy justice at that tribunal and in the tax division of the court of appeal in Den Bosch. Brenninkmeijer took his law degree at the University of Groningen in 1976 and was subsequently employed at the University of Nijmegen and the University of Amsterdam. He gained his doctorate in 1987 at the University of Tilburg for research on the importance of judicial independence in a state subject to the democratic rule of law.
Alex Brenninkmeijer is a specialist not only in relations between citizens and government, but also in conflict analysis and methods of conflict resolution. He has published widely in this area and has set up a number of research projects. He is currently heading a project for the Dutch Knowledge centre for larger towns and cities (KCGS) on the possible role of mediation in the lengthy decision-making processes involved in urban development in the Netherlands. He is a pioneer in the mediation field and has contributed to the professional development and quality assurance programme of the Netherlands Mediation Institute. He has also developed a master's course in mediation for the Amsterdam ADR Institute. He regularly acts as a mediator in relation to complex conflicts in the sphere of public administration and in conflicts arising within situations requiring institutional cooperation. He has advised various public sector bodies in the Netherlands and abroad on the application of conflict management and mediation techniques in the public sector and the judicial system.
Recent publications: Effectieve conflictoplossing bij individuele arbeidsconflicten, Oration, Leiden 2003; Handboek Mediation, The Hague 2003; Op de grens van rechtsorde en rechtschaos, in the Krom~recht, special issue of law student periodical Ars Aequi, no. 7/8 2005.Curriculum vitae
University education:
- University of Groningen (1971-1976), Master's-level degree in Dutch law, majoring in public and private law, and secondary school teaching qualification in economics;
- University of Tilburg 1987: Doctorate for a thesis on access to justice and the importance of judicial independence in a state subject to the democratic rule of law.
University career:
- 1976-1980 University of Nijmegen (now known as Radboud University), lecturer in constitutional law
- 1980-1984 University of Tilburg, lecturer in constitutional and administrative law
- 1992-1995 University of Amsterdam, part-time professor of civil procedure
- 1995-present University of Leiden, professor of constitutional and administrative law
- 2003-present University of Leiden, holder of the Albeda Chair in public sector labour relations and ADR (mediation)
Judicial career:
- 1978-1984 Deputy Registrar of the Appeals Tribunal for social security and public service cases in Arnhem
- 1984-1987 Vice-President of the Appeals Tribunal for social security and public service cases in Arnhem
- 1987-1995 Justice at the Central Appeals Tribunal for social security and public service cases (the highest judicial authority in this area)
- 1995-2002 Vice-President of the Central Appeals Tribunal (idem)
- 2002-present Deputy Justice at the Central Appeals Tribunal (idem)
- 1999-present Deputy Justice in the tax division of the Court of Appeal in Den Bosch
Editorial posts:
- Rechtspraak sociale verzekeringen (annotated law reports in the social security field)
- Administratiefrechtelijke beslissingen (annotated law reports in the administrative law field, until 2002)
- Tijdschrift voor de rechterlijke macht (journal for the judiciary, until1997)
- Nederlands Juristenblad (weekly journal for Dutch lawyers)
- Handbook on the General Administrative Law Act
- Handbook on Mediation