The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies

The center of Leiden University is dedicated to research, teaching, and training in public international law. The Centre has activities that take place in Leiden as well as in The Hague. In The Hague, where the center forms part of the Campus Den Haag, the Centre is near important international legal institutions.

At the Grotius Centre, Leiden University's Faculty of Law's expertise is combined with The Hague's position as the City of Peace and Justice. The academic expertise of Leiden University is paired with the everyday practice of the various international legal organizations in The Hague, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

The purpose of the Grotius Centre is the dissemination of knowledge on all fields of international law through two LLM programs in Public International Law, various courses in the Law Faculty's Bachelor's program, the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition, summer schools for students and professionals, high-quality training courses, lectures, seminars, and insightful 

yearly conferences.

Research

The Centre is committed to producing research of the very highest standard. Our academic expertise covers various aspects of public international law, including international criminal law, international human rights law, the law on peace and security, international institutional law, and the law on sustainable development. The Leiden Journal of International Law, one of Europe's leading journals in the field, is published in association with the Grotius Centre. We believe it is crucial to maintain a dialogue between research and practice, which is reflected in the close ties we have to institutions situated in The Hague, such as the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Court of Justice, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Legal Power of Attorney Forms (Free Use)

The Grotius Centre is home to two journals, the Leiden Journal of International law and the Criminal Law Forum. We also collect and organize various legal forms and templates so that our community access and create high-quality documents. Some power of attorney (POA) forms for Texas residents are listed below. Do not hesitate to look through them and select the appropriate one.

A power of attorney is a legal document that is better to have in place before you may need it. This document is designed to appoint another person (known as an agent or attorney-in-fact) to act on behalf of the principal (you). You may use a Texas Power of Attorney if you need a general POA. This document will allow you to grant your agent a wide range of powers, including real property, insurance, litigation, retirement plans, and tax matters.

If you want your POA to stay effective even if you become incapacitated, you must use a Texas Durable Power of Attorney. As a rule, a general POA loses its effectiveness in case the principal becomes incapable of making decisions independently. A durable POA will remain in effect even after these circumstances. 

Texas Financial Power of Attorney will help you appoint a trusted person to handle your funds and deal with your property. This document is a great way to ensure that your assets are addressed according to your wishes, as stated in the document. You should specify all the matters the agent will be responsible for. The agent’s duties may include paying bills, depositing money in the bank, and collecting insurance benefits. A financial POA can be durable and non-durable.

It’s highly recommended to have a Texas Medical Power of Attorney since it can ensure that you will be treated according to your wishes in an emergency and if you are incapable of making medical decisions. This power of attorney is usually durable, so it’s necessary to choose a trustworthy attorney-in-fact and specify all your health-related desires in detail. 

Sometimes, you need to designate a representative for a specific event or for a short period of time. That’s when you should use a Texas Limited Power of Attorney. A limited POA is a legal document stating an agreed-upon matter the principal is delegating, specific conditions, and time limits. This document will be a perfect solution for a single transaction and short-term deals.

If you are looking for a temporal guardian for your children, you may have to use a Texas Child Power of Attorney. This legal template can also appoint the second parent as a sole temporal guardian, for example, if they go abroad alone with the child. When completing the document, remember to mention the information about both parents. If the second parent cannot sign the form, you must indicate why.

Texas Vehicle Power of Attorney will come in handy when you need to settle some vehicle-related matters but cannot do it by yourself. It’s especially relevant if you are a busy person and travel frequently. As a rule, this power of attorney is temporary and grants your agent authority to buy and sell vehicles, transfer a car’s title, and pass the inspection if required.

A real estate power of attorney allows a person to designate a representative who will handle property-related affairs. In Texas, you may use a Texas Real Estate Power of Attorney to be sure that you manage your property according to the state’s laws. This power of attorney will give your attorney-in-fact the power to sell, purchase, mortgage, and acquire a property. It’s recommended that you choose a representative more qualified in these matters.

Texas Comptroller Power of Attorney is a document appointing an agent to represent you in tax-related matters. You must use the template presented by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. You must also identify the tax categories and periods you are allowing the agent to handle. Your agent will be responsible for signing and submitting tax paperwork with this document.

As a rule, you can revoke your power of attorney using a Texas Revocation Power of Attorney. This may happen if you cannot trust your agent anymore, or you do not need to be represented in the specified matters and can handle them on your own. You will have to state your name, the agent’s name, and the date of signing in the document. It’s not required to indicate the reason for your decision. Note that the revocation must be signed in the presence of a notary public. 

Education

We offer a range of general and specialized courses at the Bachelor's level and two LLM Programmes in Public International Law. The Regular LLM and the advanced program include specializations in International Criminal Law and Peace, Justice, and Development.

Our students do not only benefit from the expertise of Leiden University’s academics but also from our unique location at the heart of the international legal practice. We host a wide range of lectures, seminars, and conferences throughout the year. We also organize and host the annual Telders International Law Moot Court Competition.

Training

Our fourth area of expertise is training for professionals. Staff from international organizations, courts, and tribunals can receive training through our tailor-made training courses. Past training has included a course for the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC. 

News

Jus Post Bellum Project

On 31 May and 1 June 2012, the Jus post-Bellum Project was proud to host its launch conference, "Jus - Post - Bellum: Mapping the normative foundations." It was held at the Peace Palace. The conference aimed to clarify the meaning and content of the concept, including contemporary understandings and criticisms and historical and modern approaches toward the definitions of critical notions. The launch conference included five panels: Situating the Concept, Mapping the Normative Framework(s), the Politics and Practice of Jus Post Bellum, and Temporal Dimensions of Jus Post Bellum. There was also a roundtable discussion on "At War's End by Larry May."

The papers and presentations frequently revealed research unavailable elsewhere in the literature on Jus Post Bellum. The interventions from the floor were extremely helpful in clarifying and connecting the ideas presented. The digest of the abstracts and biographical notes of the presenters is available here.

The conference was facilitated using the "Virtual Research Environment" concept supported by Leiden University, which includes the ability for conference participants to continue their research efforts online.

Leiden Appointment of Professor William Schabas

As of March 2012, Professor William Schabas has been appointed as a new part-time Chair in International Criminal Law and Human Rights at the Leiden Law School. The new Chair is embedded in the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies and focused on the interaction between international criminal law, human rights, and general international law, in line with the research profile area of the Leiden Law School (Interaction between Legal Systems). The Chair will complement Leiden's research and educational strengths in these fields.

As the author of more than twenty books and 300 articles, Professor Schabas is one of the leading academics on the international and domestic dimensions of criminal law and human rights. He will teach in Leiden LLM programs and supervise Ph.D. candidates under the Grotius Ph.D. Track. The Appointment Committee concluded that Professor Schabas is 'exceptionally well qualified to assume the position. Professor Schabas said: "I am delighted about the chance to work with wonderful colleagues at Leiden and to be associated with an academic institution that is so close to the international justice institutions in The Hague."

Events

Upcoming Events 

September 26-27 | "The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court: Achievements, Impact, and Challenges"

Place: Peace Palace, The Hague, The Netherlands

The Grotius Centre organizes them for International Legal Studies with the support of the Open Society Justice Initiative and the MacArthur Foundation.

With the International Criminal Court a decade into its operations, this two-day conference seeks to evaluate the ICC's institutional and jurisprudential developments, in addition to reflecting upon some of the challenges it has faced in securing state cooperation and meeting its ambitious mandate. To that end, Leiden, in partnership with the Open Society Justice Initiative and with the support of the MacArthur Foundation, has designed this conference to address a set of key themes of critical importance to the Court at this juncture. In addition to bringing together critical academics and practitioners within the field of international criminal law, the conference will feature presentations from organizations and individuals working within such ICC situation countries as Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The conference will also involve tribunal actors and the broader diplomatic community.

Past Events 

6 February | Annual Winter Lecture - Prof. Yoram Dinstein 

To celebrate the start of the second semester, the Department of Public International Law and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies invited their LLM students and staff to the Annual Winter Lecture. Prof. Yoram Dinstein delivered this year's lecture on Preventive and interceptive self-defense in international law.

Inaugural Lecture

On Monday, 31 October 2011, Prof. dr. C. Stahn delivered his inaugural lecture on the occasion of accepting his appointment as Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice. He will speak on the theme: Between “faith” and “facts”: By what standards should we assess International Criminal Justice?

The lecture took place in the Academy Building of Leiden University.

Opening Lecture LL.M. Programmes' International Law in the Age of Adjudication

On 26 September 2011, Judge Christopher Greenwood gave the 'Van Vollenhoven Lecture,' opening the LL.M. programs in Public International Law.

Judge Greenwood addressed the theme 'International Law in the Age of Adjudication.' He reflected on significant international legal developments since the 1970s, including expanding international litigation and the multiplication of international courts and tribunals with different jurisdictional regimes and growing caseloads. He presented a vision of cautious optimism regarding the future of international dispute settlement while recalling that 'in law,' as in medicine, prevention may be 'better than cure.' His lecture attracted a capacity audience, including Judges, members of the international community, and students.

Book Launch Kalshoven & Zegveld: “Constraints on the Waging of War”

On 22 September 2011, the Grotius Centre and the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum on International Humanitarian Law hosted the book launch of the new edition of Leiden Professors Frits Kalshoven's and Liesbeth Zegveld's textbook on the "Constraints on the Waging of War." After a welcome by the Academic Director of the Grotius Centre, Professor Nico Schrijver, in which he highlighted the achievements of both authors, and a short presentation of the book by Professor Zegveld, honorary guest Judge Alphonsus Orie from the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, gave an insight into the past and future challenges of the work of the Tribunal, especially about the enforcement of international humanitarian law (IHL). In the ensuing panel discussion, Professor Kalshoven highlighted some of the new developments we faced in the area of IHL due to new technologies and new methods of warfare and stressed the need for states and other parties to armed conflicts to implement the law and "to prevent violations, and where this failed, to cope with the violation." Finally, Professor Horst Fischer raised the question of which way international criminal justice alone can ensure the enforcement of IHL or whether we do not need other means of enforcement. The audience consisted of Judges, representatives from the ministries, the Red Cross, academics, and students, who participated actively in the discussion.

Book launch The Tokyo War Crimes Trial Revisited

On 28 June, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers organized a reception to launch the 30th volume in the series: Beyond Victor's Justice? The Tokyo War Crimes Trial Revisited. The volume was presented to H.E. Judge Kuniko Osaki, Judge at the International Criminal Court. The volume has been edited by Yuki Tanaka, Tim McCormack, and Gerry Simpson.

Lecture on 21 June by Prof. Michael J. Scharf: Universal Jurisdiction and The Crime of Aggression

Michael Scharf is a Professor of Law and Director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. In 2004-05, Scharf served as a member of the international team of experts that provided training to the Iraqi High Tribunal judges. In 2006 he led the first training session for the investigative judges and prosecutors of the newly established U.N. Cambodia Genocide Tribunal.

In February 2005, Scharf and the Public International Law and Policy Group, a Non-Governmental Organization he co-founded, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by six governments and the Prosecutor of an International Criminal Tribunal for the work they have done to help in the prosecution of major war criminals, such as Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor, and Saddam Hussein.

Conference/expert seminar on the 'Sources of International Investment Law.'

Dr. Eric De Brabandere (Grotius Centre, Leiden University) and Dr. Tarcisio Gazzini (V.U. University Amsterdam) organized a Conference/expert seminar on the 'Sources of International Investment Law.

The Conference/expert seminar took place at the Kammerlingh Onnes Building of the Law Faculty of Leiden University on 15 and 16 June 2011.

7th Annual Workshop of International Criminal Lawyers

On Friday, 17 June, and Saturday, 18 June 2011, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies hosted the annual meeting of approximately 100 German-speaking International Criminal Lawyers ("Arbeitskreis Völkerstrafrecht") who discussed new developments in International Criminal Law, including topics such as "Terrorism as an International Crime," the "Recent Jurisprudence of ICC, ICTY, and ICTR," "International Criminal Law in the Practice of the U.N. Security Council" and "The conflicts in Libya and Cote d'Ivoire and the Idea of the Responsibility to Protect."

Participants of the workshop were academics as well as practitioners, including Prof. Claus Kress, Prof. Kai Ambos, Judge Albin Eser, Judge Hans-Peter Kaul, and Judge Hans Henrik Brydensholt, as well as representatives from ministries and staff members from the International Criminal Court and the International Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Ruanda.

This Site Authored by Power of Attorney Texas updated: November 11, 2022