Fully-funded PhD position in AI, Law and Public Power (4.5 years)

Introduction

Erasmus School of Law, department Law & Markets, is looking for a fulltime PhD researcher in AI, Law and Public Power (4,5 years with 20% teaching tasks).

Job description

PhD AI, Law and Public Power

Are you curious about how artificial intelligence is changing state actor powers? Do you want to conduct critical and in-depth legal research at the intersection of technology, law and power? And would you like to combine that with academic teaching?

Then this PhD position at Erasmus School of Law is for you. Within the Law & Markets team, you will spend 4.5 years researching the legal regulation of AI in the public sector. How do we protect fundamental rights when algorithms help decide on who receives public benefits, how to perform enforcement or how to enact environmental policy? What is the role of the state, and where is the limit of government power in a data-driven society?

You will have plenty of space to choose your own research angle and work in a multidisciplinary team with a focus on social impact. At the same time, you will teach (20%) academically. Your teaching activities will take place within the programmes and courses of the Law & Markets Department. The particular teaching tasks will be decided on the basis of the expertise of the candidate as well as the needs of the Department, but will focus on courses of public law both in the bachelor and master’s programs and possibly the Master Law & Technology.

What will you research?

The use of AI in the public sector is growing rapidly: from detecting fraud to predicting nitrogen emissions. These applications can speed up and objectify procedures, but also raise fundamental questions about rule of law, transparency and discrimination - especially when algorithms lead to erroneous or unjust decisions.

In this PhD research, you will legally analyse how AI is changing the public domain. You will look at national and European legislation, oversight, compliance and fundamental rights, as well as the role of private tech companies in public decision-making. In doing so, you will investigate how the law legitimises and limits public power in an age of algorithmic governance.

There is plenty of room for your own focus within this broad theme. We encourage a critical, independent attitude - your perspective matters.

Co-supervisor: Dr. S (Sascha) van Schendel,  supervisor: Prof. dr. mr. P. (Pim) Jansen

Job requirements

We are looking for a candidate who:

- has completed or is about to complete a master's degree in law (LL.M);

- is interested in legal-scientific research and social impact;

- wants to teach alongside performing doctoral research;

- has excellent writing and communication skills, both in Dutch and in English.  Candidates must be capable of teaching in English and in Dutch. Candidates who have at least B2 proficiency in Dutch at the moment of application and are willing and able to master the Dutch language throughout the first year of the PhD are also welcome to apply.

Are you planning to complete your master's the coming months? Then we encourage you to apply. Your degree must be obtained no later than 3 weeks before the start of the contract.

Candidates who have already obtained a Dutch doctoral degree - or the degree 'Doctor of Philosophy' (PhD), or an equivalent - or are preparing to obtain such a degree elsewhere, in principle cannot be admitted to the doctoral programme at EUR.

Employment conditions and benefits

What do we offer:

• A fully funded 4,5 year PhD-position (fulltime), starting on 1 November 2025
• Gross month salary with a minimum of € 2901 and a maximum of € 3707 (CAO-NU, P-scale). Every PhD candidate starts in step 0 of the P-scale.  
• Guidance from an enthusiastic team of researchers and Erasmus Graduate School of Law
• A professional work environment on Campus Woudestein in Rotterdam
• A temporary contract of 18 months, that will be extended after a positive evaluation

Next to that, we offer you:

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 29 days of paid leave with a 38-hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME, QuEUR, or Young Erasmus Academy.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget, foreign exchange opportunities with most costs paid by EUR, and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare. 

Erasmus University Rotterdam aspires to be an equitable and inclusive community. We nurture an open culture, where everyone is supported to fulfill their full potential. We see inclusivity of talent as the basis of our successes, and the diversity of perspectives and people as a highly valued outcome. EUR provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, functional impairment, citizenship, or any other aspect which makes them unique. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Department

The selected candidate will be embedded within the Law & Markets department, home of a vibrant and diverse academic community. The overarching mission of the Department Law & Markets is to develop and deliver cutting-edge, high-quality research and teaching on legal institutions shaping markets and their implications for socio-economic justice and sustainability. The research group specifically studies legal and societal problems generated in the complex dynamics of international, European and domestic laws regulating technology, trade, industry, investment, money, and more generally markets. The focus is on how to make the law in any form socially, environmentally and financially sustainable, how to deal with technological innovation on an inclusive basis and how to combine private and public interests responsibly. Researchers have different profiles, including law and technology, public law, international and EU law, legal theory, and commercial law. The Department is keen on multidisciplinary research. 

Faculty 

Erasmus School of Law employs 500 members of staff and is attended by around 5000 students. Erasmus School of Law offers bachelor programmes in Law, Tax Law and Criminology. Next to that, Erasmus School of Law offers a wide variety of master programmes and several postgraduate tracks.

At Erasmus School of Law, the fundamental premise of academic research is that law cannot be considered in complete isolation or as an end in itself. It is embedded in an economic and social context that shapes law. At the same time, law shapes society and defines economic relationships. In line with this vision, the mission of Erasmus School of Law is to carry out innovative research on the function of law in its economic and social context. The overarching theme of Erasmus School of Law is therefore 'Where law meets business': Erasmus School of Law is all about the interplay between law, practice and society. Both research and teaching at Erasmus School of Law have a strong social and business orientation. Erasmus School of Law is committed to promoting international and interdisciplinary research, as evidenced by its participation in various international research collaborations.

Additional information

Feel free to contact us if you want to learn more about the vacancy:

• Dr. Sascha van Schendel (co-supervisor) – s.vanschendel@law.eur.nl
• Prof. dr. mr. Pim Jansen (supervisor) - jansen@law.eur.nl
• Erasmus Graduate School of Law – egsl@law.eur.nl

More information about Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Law and Erasmus Graduate School of Law can be found on the websites.

Applying

Deadline for application is 3 September 2025.

Applicants are invited to submit a set of application files (in English):

• EGSL application form including a research proposal (max 2000 words), merged in 1 document,
• motivation letter (max 2 pages),
• CV,
• copy Master’s diploma and transcripts

The application form and more information can be found on the  EGSL-website. Please apply via the Erasmus University’s application portal.

Interviews will be held between 15 and 18 September 2025. Please be aware that invitations for interviews will be send a very short time before, so make sure you are available in this week. If there are days/times in this week that you are not available, please inform EGSL (egsl@law.eur.nl) about this before the application deadline. We will try to take this into account.