Inaugural lecture of Wannes Vandenbussche at the Leiden University in the framework of the TPR Exchange Chair 2022-23.

The title of his lecture was “The EU dimension of the law of evidence: a mosaic of opportunities and pitfalls” and focused on the impact of EU legislation (including rules on access to evidence, the burden of proof and the protection of confidential data) and the case-law of the Court of Justice on national rules of evidence in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Wannes Vandenbussche's thesis was that the EU dimension of the law of evidence has far greater significance and has even caused greater disruption than assumed so far. Provided that a number of preconditions are met (including careful legislative work by both European and national legislators and well-considered harmonisation), Wannes Vandenbussche considers this to be a good thing. EU law has thus brought a number of innovations that would not have happened otherwise. Moreover, the EU challenges our legals systems to constantly rethink our law of evidence, an area of law too often ignored.

Since 1998, the Tijdschrift voor Privaatrecht has annually awarded one, and since 1999 two, Belgian-Dutch Exchange Chairs. Every two years, it allows Belgian academics to lecture in residence in the Netherlands, and vice versa. Of more recent date (2012) are the Exchange Chairs with South Africa, where every two years a Belgian or Dutch researcher goes to South Africa, and vice versa. Forty-eight Belgian-Dutch Exchange Chairs and 14 South Africa Exchange Chairs have thus already been awarded by TPR..

Besides staying in residence, the exchange chair holder always gives a number of lectures to students and a formal speech to accept the exchange chair. This year, for instance, Wannes Vandenbussche lectured to the Leiden students of the toga practicum, of the master's course in civil procedure and of the advanced master in civil and commercial law.