On 16 and 17 January the Expert Group of the Rethinking SLIC project gathered for the first time in Amsterdam. On the first day, all the participants came to the faculty room of the Amsterdam Law School for a plenary session. The principal investigator of the project, Göran Sluiter, first briefly introduced the project, after which he and Sergey Vasiliev elaborated on some practical aspects of the project as well as lessons learned from their previous project ‘International Criminal Procedure: Principles and Rules’ which used a similar structure to that of the current one.

Göran Sluiter opening the meeting (photo by Monique Kooijmans)

Subsequently, Merel Alstein from Oxford University Press gave a talk on OUP’s publication process, specifically in regard to open access, with much relevant information for the book which will be the end result of the project. In the last session before lunch, the Expert Group had an elaborate discussion on the project’s methodology chaired by Nancy Combs. After lunch, each of the working groups had half an hour to present the work they had done thus far and to ask for input and further guidance. The day ended with drinks and a dinner at Kapitein Zeppos.

The next day, all working groups gathered individually or with other working groups to coordinate and plan their research. Finally, to end the conference, Göran Sluiter shared some closing remarks in which he reflected on the discussions that had taken place during the meeting and presented a plan for the remainder of the project.   

Group picture with members of the Expert Group  (photo by Monique Kooijmans)