During this presentation Dr Elke Olthuis will give a brief oversight of her dissertation “The Human Element in Judicial Decision-Making: The Role of Personal Attitudes”. In her dissertation she builds on legal theory and social psychology and explores the role of personal attitudes in the professional judicial decision-making process through interviewing 77 first instance court judges and by conducting an experiment. The role of personal attitudes touches upon fundamental values, such as impartiality and autonomy, which are cornerstones of the rule of law. The interdisciplinary approach that Dr Olthuis employed provides new insights in an important aspect of all areas of law.
In addition to her presentation, distinguished panelists—including Francis Delaporte from the Constitutional Court of Luxembourg, Paul Nihoul from the General Court of the European Union, and Dr Randi Ayman from the LCEL, along with participants from the Luxembourg Centre for European Law, will join Dr Olthuis for a discussion, offering diverse perspectives on this crucial topic.
This talk is jointly organised with UCLouvain.
Dr Elke Olthuis
Dr Olthuis is an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam. In 2024 she obtained her doctorate in law and social psychology and specializes in the judicial decision-making process. She is currently working on new research, for example how the general population evaluates and perceives digital dispute resolution versus judicial decision-making. She is part of an interdisciplinary research group on Digital Citizenship, part of the Center for Law and Behaviour and treasurer of the Dutch and Flemish Law and Society Association. She also teaches all Dutch judges in training about her research.
Paul Nihoul
Born in 1963 in Brussels (Belgium), Mr Paul Nihoul obtained a degree in law from the Université catholique de Louvain (University of Louvain, Belgium) in 1988 and a Master of Laws from Harvard University (USA) in 1989. He pursued doctoral studies in law at the Université catholique de Louvain, where he defended his thesis in 1998. In 1984, he also obtained a degree in philology and philosophy from that university.
Admitted to the New York Bar (USA) in 1990, he practised as an Attorney and Counselor at Law. Upon return to Europe, he joined the Court of Justice of the European Communities, from 1991 to 1995, as a Legal Secretary to Judge René Joliet and then to Judge John Murray.
Mr Nihoul held, from 1999 to 2009, a Jean Monnet Chair awarded to him by the European Research Council. He taught at the université Paris-Dauphine (Paris Dauphine University, France) as a visiting professor from 2013 to 2016. From 2010 to 2011, he was a Fulbright scholar at the American University (Washington DC, USA). He chaired the Academic Society for Competition Law (Ascola) from 2013 to 2016.
Mr Nihoul was appointed as a Judge at the General Court on 19 September 2016.
Francis Delaporte
Francis Delaporte is a distinguished legal professional with an extensive career in law and judiciary. He obtained his Master’s degree in Law from Robert-Schuman University in Strasbourg and later earned notary and judiciary internship certificates with top honors.
His career spans several prestigious judicial roles. Since 2015, he has served as the Vice-President of the Constitutional Court and President of the Administrative Court of Luxembourg. Prior to that, he was a Counselor at the Constitutional Court and Vice-President of the Administrative Court. His expertise also extends to international legal matters, having served as a judge at the European Nuclear Energy Tribunal (OECD) and the Benelux Court of Justice, where he hold the position of Vice-President. Additionally, he has been a Luxembourgish judge at the Appeals Committee of the Moselle Commission since 2008.
Beyond the judiciary, Delaporte has contributed significantly to public administration and human rights, previously acting as the UNHCR correspondent in Luxembourg and as Government Commissioner for Foreigners. He also presided over the National Council for Foreigners.
His academic contributions include teaching at the University of Luxembourg and formerly lecturing at the University of Lorraine, the National Institute of Public Administration, and various legal training programs. Throughout his career, Delaporte has played a vital role in shaping Luxembourg’s legal landscape, particularly in constitutional and administrative law.
Dr Randi Ayman
Randi Ayman is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Luxembourg Center for European Law (LCEL) and a lawyer specializing in international law and dispute resolution. Before joining LCEL, Randi was a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg. Randi’s expertise focuses on public international law, the law of treaties, investment law & policy, and space law. She obtained her Ph.D. with the highest distinction from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne for her thesis on the denunciation and renegotiation of treaties, later published as a monograph. Previously, Randi was Legal Counsel at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) where she administered investor-state arbitration proceedings. Prior to that, she worked at the international arbitration practice of multinational law firms in Paris and at a United Nations specialized agency in Madrid. Dual-qualified lawyer in Egypt and France, Randi holds law degrees from Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and from Cairo University.