Through the sector plan for law, the Netherlands invests in innovative empirical legal research and academic talent. At the various law schools, new research groups have been created in which legal scholars often collaborate with social scientists and do interdisciplinary research. Researchers from Leiden University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Groningen, Utrecht University, and VU Amsterdam are collaboratively shaping and strengthening the expanding national and international research agenda on empirical legal studies.

Research within this legal science theme is diverse, both in terms of topics and the empirical research methodology that is used. At the heart of our research is the empirical examination of legally relevant questions. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we do research on law in action and examine what works. Empirical research on the functioning and the effects of law in practice offers fundamental insights into (behavioral) assumptions underlying various laws and regulations and it can contribute to achieving the goals of the legislator.