History of the UVA Amsterdam Law School
First female dean at the UvA
Derkje Hazewinkel-Suringa was the first Dutch woman to be appointed professor at a law school in 1932. Seven years later, she also became the university's first female dean. During the early years of the Second World War, Hazewinkel-Suringa opposed the growing influence of the German occupiers on university policy. In 1942, when several Jewish professors were dismissed, she and Professor M.W. Woerdeman submitted a proposal to close the university in protest. This proposal was not accepted, and shortly afterwards, Hazewinkel-Suringa was dismissed from her position. After the war, she was reinstated as a professor of criminal law and criminal procedure. She retired in 1959.
In 2018, the Amsterdam Law School unveiled a portrait of the former dean and professor in the faculty room. This was an important first step towards raising the profile of female legal scholars. The following year, the City of Amsterdam named a bridge on the Roeterseiland campus after her.
Roeterseiland
Since the end of 2017, the Amsterdam Law School has been based in building REC A on Roeterseiland in the centre of Amsterdam. Roeterseiland is named after Hendrik Roeters (1617–1699). He was initially an alderman and became sheriff of the city in 1673. At the time, he owned the island.
The Roeterseiland campus is now home to the Amsterdam Law School, the faculty of Economics and Business Administration, and the faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
Justice and Injustice: 1,000 years of law in art
When the Amsterdam Law School moved to Roeterseiland, artist Barbara Broekman created Justice and Injustice, a monumental 30-metre artwork depicting 1,000 years of Western legal and art history. Featuring over 300 figures – from Adam and Eve to Frida Kahlo and Thomas Aquinas – it shows how justice and morality are shaped not only by laws, but also by artists and philosophers. Installed in the REC A atrium, Broekman’s collage is a journey through power, vulnerability, and unexpected connections between art and law.
The statue of Minerva
When the entire Law School moved from the Oudemanhuispoort to a building on the Roeterseiland campus, both students and staff missed the statue. Minerva, also known as Menerva, is a personification of divine powers such as reason, resourcefulness, the human spirit, and wisdom.
Ultimately, relocating the statue proved to be very challenging. First, the casting floor had to be tested to ensure that it could support the sculpture and its pedestal. The pedestal weighs 2,000 kilograms and the statue weighs 1,600 kilograms. Minerva has been given a prominent place in the faculty's hall.