Gerard-René de Groot (born 1951) is a Professor emeritus of
Maastricht University
Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; nl, Universiteit Maastricht) is a public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen Dutch universities.
In 2021, 22,383 students studied at ...
in Comparative Law and Private International Law. He studied law at
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...
(the Netherlands) and at the Westfälische
Wilhelmsuniversität Münster (Germany). De Groot obtained the degrees Magister iuris and Doctorandus iuris at
Groningen University
The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is the ...
and taught there 1974–1982. He also obtained the degree of Doctor iuris at Maastricht University. In 1982 de Groot started to teach at Maastricht University and was subsequently appointed as a professor (retired in 2016). Since 2007 he has taught at the
University of Aruba (West Indies).
Gerard-René de Groot has published books and articles on
nationality law,
comparative law
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law (legal systems) of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal "systems" (or "families") in existence in the world, including the ...
,
private international law
Conflict of laws (also called private international law) is the set of rules or laws a jurisdiction applies to a case, transaction, or other occurrence that has connections to more than one jurisdiction. This body of law deals with three broad t ...
, legal translation and the protection of regional and minority language
He is the President of th
Netherlands Comparative Law Association
De Groot is a Consortium member of the Global Citizenship Observatory
GLOBALCIT and a co-Director of the Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development
MACIMIDE.
As a Scientific Expert of the
Council of Europe's Group of Specialists on
Nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
, de Groot has participated in the efforts of the Council in the development of regional standards relating to the regulation of nationalit
De Groot also prepared the Background Papers for the two Expert Meetings convened by the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees (
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR) on interpreting the
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
The Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is a 1961 United Nations multilateral treaty whereby sovereign states agree to reduce the incidence of statelessness. The Convention was originally intended as a Protocol to the Convention Relat ...
, i.e. on Avoiding
Statelessness resulting from Loss and Deprivation of Nationality (Tunis, Tunisia, 31 October-1 November 2013) and Preventing Statelessness among Children (Dakar, Senegal, 23–24 May 2011).
Gerard-René de Groot was involved in the project on
loss of nationality entitle
Involuntary Loss of European Citizenship (ILEC)co-financed under the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
which led to the publication of th
ILEC Guidelines Involuntary Loss of European Citizenship' (2015)an
other materials.Among others, de Groot has promoted the limitation and regulation of “quasi-loss” of nationality which is a withdrawal of nationality based on the change of nationality status and other causes which are not explicitly stipulated in the relevant laws.
In 2016, de Groot with Olivier Vonk published the book entitled ''International Standards on Nationality Law: Texts, cases and materials'
with the assertion that while grant and withdrawal of nationality - done based on domestic law - has been traditionally considered a matter of State sovereignty and discretion, the developments in international law over recent decades have produced a growing body of “international standards” setting limits to such State discretion. The book offers the first comprehensive collection of international treaties and instruments, caselaw and other materials.
Since December 2016, de Groot is a member of the Committee of Experts of the
Council of Europe, monitoring the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groot, Gerard-Rene de
Dutch legal scholars
1951 births
Living people
Scholars of citizenship
Academic staff of Maastricht University
University of Groningen alumni
University of Münster alumni
Academic staff of the University of Aruba
Council of Europe people