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THE NETHERLANDS
Introduction
The Netherlands is one of the most highly populated countries in Europe; 15 million inhabitants live in an
area of only 200 by 300 kilometres. Rotterdam, the second largest city has a population of approximately
600.000. The city of Rotterdam is famous as the biggest port in the world and being the gateway of Europe.
It has a central location being an hour or less by train to other interesting places such as Amsterdam (the capital), Den Haag (parliament and beach) and Utrecht. Furthermore, the historical towns of Schiedam,
Delft and Gouda are in the immediate vicinity. Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Cologne and other interesting
European cities are only a couple of hours by train. Apart from being an industrial city, Rotterdam itself is known for its startling architecture. And there are ample opportunities to enjoy a good social life.
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam and Centre for Computers and Law
The Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam was founded in 1913 and was named after the humanist Desiderius
Erasmus Roterodamus (1469-1536). The Law School started in 1963, while the Centre for Computers and
Law began in 1985. The university has a student population of over 20.000 students; 4.000 of them study
law. Of the 4.000 people employed by the Erasmus Universiteit, approximately 300 work at the School of
Law. The Centre for Computers and Law has 8 full time staff members and 3 part time members.
The university is spread over two locations, both very modern and to be found along the river Maas. The
location called Hoboken, where the faculty of medicine and the academic hospital is located, is close to the city centre. The other location called Woudestein, is further from the centre. Both locations are on the same underground line. The city centre can be reached by tram, bus and underground.
The law degree
The law degree in the Netherlands is in principle four years, although on average it takes a student five years to graduate. It is possible for Dutch students to specialise in a variety of law subjects; private law, administrative law, company law, criminal law and tax law. Each area of specialism will be noted on the degree. The Erasmus University uses a modular system. Each course ends with examinations. There is no final exam at the end of the study.
Computers and Law courses
In the first semester, the course Computer Use for Lawyers is given. The maximum number of participants
allowed is 200. In this course, students learn to work with the most important (legal) computer software
packages available in the Netherlands. A Computer Law course is also taught in which legal aspects of
automation are dealt with: legal protection of software, computer crime, computer contracts, etc. Both
courses are taught in Dutch.
In the second semester three courses are available: Computers and Law, Jurimetrics and Management
Information Systems. These courses are given in English. They start at the beginning of March and last till the end of May. The courses are open for ERASMUS students, but are also taken by Dutch students.
In the course Computers and Law students are taught how to build legal computer applications. Part of the
course is a four week programming tutorial in Turbo Pascal. Furthermore, attention is paid to the
development of legal information retrieval systems and legal computer advice systems, in which the analysis of a legal domain plays an important role. The JURICAS shell, developed by the Centre for Computers and Law itself, is used for developing legal computer advice systems.
In the Jurimetrics course an empirical view is taken of the law. Central to the course is the development of models which can describe, analyse and predict legally relevant phenomena. This course is not about how
the law should work, but about the effects of the law. Jurimetrics is basically a legal course, but other
academic disciplines are also used; statistics (probabilities), economics (game theory) and computer science. Knowledge of these disciplines is not presumed!
In organisations the supply of information has become more and more important. Nowadays the processing
and distribution of data is included in every organisation plan. Information analysis is no longer the preserve of information specialists, but has become part of the task of the general management. Lawyers, who are often part of a management team, are confronted with new questions which can only be answered if they are familiar with information processes. The course Management Information Systems offers an overview of management information systems and the effects of such systems on organisations. Other topics on the
course are the consequences of automation for an organisation; the planning of automation projects; and an
introduction to data management en data bases.
In the summer, students will be supervised and guided with respect to their dissertation project. Seminars
will also be organised.
Languages
Most people in the Netherlands speak several languages besides Dutch. English is spoken by almost everyone, and many people can also speak German and French.
Facilities
The Erasmus University has an up-to-date library with language labs. Good sports facilities are available as well: tennis, squash, indoor soccer, basket ball, etc. Also 50 PC's are available, all connected in a Banyan Vines network for communication with the outside world.
Accommodation
The Erasmus University provides accommodation for ERASMUS students. Accommodation is only available on a monthly basis and costs about 550 Dutch guilders a month. Reservations must be made two months in advance. Cancellation of reserved accommodation must be done one month in advance, otherwise the accommodation must be paid.
Cost of living
It is not less or more expensive to live in Rotterdam than in most other countries in Europe.
Whom to contact for more information
If you need more information do not hesitate to contact Leo van der Wees at the Centre for Computers and
Law:
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Centrum voor Informatica en Recht
Kamer L04-46
PO Box 1738
3000 DR ROTTERDAM
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 10 4082184
FAX: +31 10 4532920
Email:
vanderwees@rrj.frg.eur.nl(vanderwees@rrj.frg.eur.nl)