SIM Peter Baehr lecture by Jolien Schukking: A House of Stories
75 years of protecting human rights through the European Convention of Human Rights
This year's SIM Peter Baehr lecture is entitled “A House of Stories: 75 years of protecting human rights through the European Convention of Human Rights”. On the 75th birthday of the ECHR, Jolien Schukking, towards the end of her nine years’ term as judge at the European Court of Human Rights in respect of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, will look back at how the ECHR has protected human rights in those past years and will identify some current challenges. The event will be held in Utrecht on Thursday 14 November 2025.
Jolien Schukking is Judge at the European Court of Human rights elected in respect of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in office since April 2017. She is Vice-President of a Section and one of the five so-called Duty Judges (deciding on requests for interim measures). By virtue of her position, she is also member of the Dutch national group of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 2020. Previously, she was Judge at the Dutch Supreme Administrative Court for Trade and Industry, judge at a Regional Court in criminal law and administrative law matters (including asylum and migration law), member of the Bar of The Hague, and Senior Legal Adviser at the international law department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting – inter alia – as the agent for the Government of the Netherlands before the ECtHR.
Schukking has been a guest lecturer on human rights law at the Netherlands Institute for training of Magistrates (SSR), at the High School of Justice (HSoJ) of Georgia and at several universities in the Netherlands and abroad. She has also been member and chair of various groups of experts, advisory and editorial boards, such as the Committee of Experts for the development of Human Rights (DH-DEV) and the Group of Specialists on Human Rights and Fight against terrorism (DH-S-TER) of the Council of Europe, the Dutch Section of the International Commission of Jurists, the Netherlands Human Rights Law Journal, the International Association for Refugee and Migration Law Judges, and the foundation “Judges for Judges”.
This year, at the occasion of 75 years ECHR, we will also organize a mini-symposium on that theme, preceding the lecture, in collaboration with the College voor de Rechten van de Mens, the Montaigne Centre for Rule of Law and Administration of Justice, and the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research. The symposium is from 14h00 to 15h30.