Pauline Jacobs works as an Assistant Professor in criminal (procedure) law at the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology of Utrecht University (UU). 

Research

Her research activities encompass themes on the field of criminal law and criminal procedure and human rights, with a special interest in penitentiary law, the field of law that focuses on the execution of criminal sanctions and measures. Areas of expertise include pre-trial detention, the legal position of prisoners, the life-term prison sentence, hunger strike in prison, the complaints and appeal procedure and the international human rights norms in the are of penitentiary law (such as developed by e.g. the ECtHR and the CPT). 

Recently finished research projects include an EU-financed research project on pre-trial rights for remand prisoners within the EU ('pre-trail rights for remand prisoners') and an EU-financed research into the use of alternatives to pre-trial detention ('DETOUR, towards pre-trial detention as ultima ratio'). Current research includes a research on transgender prisoners, in which legal research methods are combined with empirical research methods. More information on this project can be found here. This research is performed within the research cluster Empirical Research Institutions for conflict resolution (ERI). 

Pauline Jacobs is a member of the editorial board of 'Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Mensenrechten' (the leading Dutch Human Rights Review) and Utrecht Law Review. She is affiliated with the Montaigne Center for Rule of Law and the Administration of Justice. She is also a fellow of the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) at Utrecht University.

Teaching

Pauline Jacobs gives the course Criminal Sanctions ('Strafrechtelijke sancties') in the bachelor of law and coordinates the bachelor's thesis in the field of criminal (procedure) law. She also supervises students writing their bachelor and master thesis in the field of criminal (procedure) law.

Pauline also provides postgraduate education on penitentiary law to lawyers and other professionals.

Impact 

Pauline Jacobs is a member of the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (Raad voor Strafrechtstoepassing en Jeugdbescherming, RSJ), department administration of justice. She is a member of the board of the Association for Penitentiary Law and Penology ('Vereniging voor Penitentiair Recht en Penologie') and a member of the editorial board of the knowledge center for supervisory committees ('Kenniscentrum Commissie van Toezicht'). Besides, Pauline is a coordinator of the UU Legal Aid Clinic for Prisoners in the prisons of Nieuwegein, Nieuwersluis and Zeist. Winner of the Societal Impact Award of Utrecht University in 2019. Furthermore, Pauline is a member pf the expert pool of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

Management

From 2019 to 2021, Pauline Jacobs was the Chairperson of the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance. As of September 1, 2022, Pauline will be the ambassador of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance for Community Engaged Learning (CEL), aiming to enrich and strengthen classical university-based teaching through direct dialogue with society.