Rotterdam Institute of Law and Economics (RILE)
Address
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Faculty of Law
Department of Law and Economics
Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
The Netherlands
E-mail: Rile@law.eur.nl
Director
Prof. Dr. Roger Van den Bergh
Tel: +31 10 408 1616
E-mail: R.Vandenbergh@law.eur.nl
What is the RILE?
Established in the year 2000, the Rotterdam Institute of Law and Economics (RILE) is set to carry out the task of promoting and furthering the development of Law and Economics across the Netherlands and Europe.
For this purpose, a twofold strategy has been devised. First, a comprehensive training programme is offered for scholars ranging from undergraduate level to specialised teachings and the option for Ph.D. studies. Second, the RILE aims at proliferating the academic discourse on Law and Economics through organising conferences and workshops, as well as publications in books and leading journals. Also, the Institute invites senior and junior researchers to join its growing number of affiliates.
These goals have become within reach as the RILE enjoys the unique support of Rotterdam's Erasmus University, which in 1998 vowed to sponsor Europe's first full Law and Economics-professorship. In thereto attracting Professor Roger Van den Bergh, the Erasmus University secured as Director for the RILE the European Association of Law and Economics' (EALE) long-serving President. Wicher Schreuders is the Institute's Assistant Director.
The Institute furthermore consists of Professor Michael Faure, Associate Professors Alessio Pacces and Louis Visscher, Assistant Professors Alessandra Arcuri, Luit Bakker and Peter Camesasca, as well as Research Assistants Michael Coleman, Sonja Keske, Hanneke Luth, Sharon Oded and Katarina Svatikova. Together, they co-ordinate the research and teaching activities in Rotterdam and communicate with scholars in Law and Economics throughout the world.
Currently, areas of study cover both Old Law and Economics (competition law and economic regulation) and New Law and Economics (constitutional law, contract law, tort law, insurance law and corporate law). Besides the analysis of rules of substantive law, attention is also paid to methodological problems of Law and Economics.
In its diverse fields of activities (also see the Activities Report), the RILE's working languages span Dutch, English, French, German and Italian.
The Institute's training programme first of all offers mandatory courses in the Law Faculty's regular Dutch curriculum, passing on the basics of the economic analysis of law throughout the undergraduate levels of young lawyers' initiation to their profession.
In addition, the RILE is involved in the European Master Programme in Law and Economics (EMLE), a conglomerate of 12 partner universities across Europe and the world, including the University of Aix-Marseille III, the university of Bologna, the Law and Economics Center of the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Ghent, Hamburg University, Haifa University, Linköping University, the University of Madrid, Manchester University, Stockholm University and the University of Vienna. The EMLE Programme has been recognized by the European University Association (EUA) as a top ten Socrates-programme and was selected by the European Commission as an Erasmus Mundus masters course (see the website of the European Commission). Prof. Van den Bergh is the Erasmus Mundus Coordinator of the EMLE programme.
Finally, the RILE participates in the European Doctorate in Law and Economics (EDLE).
Proliferating Law and Economics as part of the academic discourse is the RILE's second major assignment. Its members publish their scientific work in books and the leading journals of their respective specialisation. Also, the RILE organises and participates in a number of conferences and smaller-scale seminars on particular issues. Regular events consist of the European Association of Law and Economics' annual conferences, as well as the jointly organised meetings of the European Association of Law and Economics with the Geneva Association for the Study of Insurance Economics. Members of the RILE actively correspond and co-operate with a wide span of individual contacts, which is ameliorated by the Institutes' scheme of senior and junior affiliates. The current round of senior affiliates consists of Richard De Mulder (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Annelies Huygen (Twijnstra Gudde), with Claudio Signorotti (University of Bologna) and Markus Wenzel (Arthur Andersen) qualifying as junior affiliate.
