Marieke joined the Criminal Law section at the end of 2021. She has been working at the VU for the past twelve years, where she also obtained her PhD in 2015. Marieke specializes in international and national criminal law, and she also has a background in international law and human rights.

International crimes
Marieke: 'My dissertation The Law and Politics of the Crime of Aggression combined it all. My research focuses on the complexities of justice for crimes committed in the context of conflict. Hence my interest in international and national prosecution for international crimes. But also the interaction with other forms of justice, both in the field of Transitional Justice and through proceedings against states and companies.'

‘Because all those aspects play a role in MH17, I find this situation very interesting. The day after the disaster in 2014, I was asked by members of the House of Representatives to advise on the legal options and then in a number of hearings. I started publishing on the basis of that research and I follow the procedures closely. Due to the longstanding relationship with relatives, I was allowed to accompany them to Strasbourg last week for the case at the European Court of Human Rights between Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia. Here I learned a lot about what a process does to them and what can and cannot be followed for a layman and why.'