As of 18 May 2020, Prof. Pieter Verrest becomes full-time Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. He is also appointed as chair of the Criminal Law department at Erasmus School of Law.
Since 2015, Prof. Verrest combined his professorship with a position as legislative council and program director for the new Code of Criminal Procedure at the Dutch Ministry of Justice. Prof. Verrest succeeds Prof. Paul Mevis as chairman of the department.
About Prof. Verrest
In 2011, Prof. Verrest obtained his doctorate at Radboud University with his research on the role of the investigating judge in criminal proceedings. This dissertation was written during a time when the role of the investigating judge was an important topic of debate in science, practice and legislation.
Prof. Verrest has been a professor of Criminal (procedural) Law at Erasmus School of Law since 2015, with a specialization in European and International Criminal Law. He teaches and conducts research on socially relevant issues in the field of criminal law and procedure. His research has an interdisciplinary character and is based on insights obtained from comparative law and European law. In 2016, Prof. Verrest held his inaugural speech titled ‘European ideals’. Prof. Mevis and Prof. Verrest collaborated in writing a book dedicated to comparative insights for the modernization of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure that was published in 2018, as result of an international conference organized in Rotterdam.
Activities at the Ministry of Justice
During a long period of time, Prof. Verrest worked as a legislative council at the Ministry of Justice. Over the past two years, he was the program director responsible for the modernisation of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure. He previously worked as a legislative advisor on a wide variety of topics in the fields of criminal law and criminal procedure, as well as international judicial cooperation. In this function, he often participated in the drafting of new EU-legislation in Brussels and in negotiations on international conventions and bilateral treaties.
The Board of Erasmus School of Law thanks Prof. Mevis for his work and dedication as chair of the department. She congratulates Prof. Pieter Verrest with his new position and wishes him the best of luck.