Research stay at VU Amsterdam on inter-municipal cooperation in the Netherlands (R-13102)

In her doctoral research, Marie DeCock evaluated the Belgian legislation on inter-municipal cooperation. The legal framework is no longer 'fit for purpose' (as recently demonstrated again by e.g. the Publifin affair). The legislation is no longer adapted to today's society, in the light of social evolutions such as the rapprochement between 'government' and 'undertaking', federalization, and European influences. In the (final) normative part of her research, Marie made recommendations to the legislator to improve this legal framework. To seek inspiration for the foundation of these recommendations, Marie conducted a (functional) comparative law analysis with the Netherlands. In order to be able to carry out this research properly, she went on a research stay at the VU Amsterdam, where she could call on the expertise of the scholars of the Expert Centre for Public Contract Law & Governance (CPC) (within the Kooijmans Institute).

Keywords:Comparative law, Inter-municipal cooperation, Legal comparison, Local Government, Public private law divide

Disciplines:Civil law, Constitutional law