As of 1 January 2025, Pieter Desmet has been reappointed as Professor on the joint chair of Quantitative Empirical Legal Studies at Erasmus School of Law. This chair, which Desmet has held since 2021 together with Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko, is part of the externally financed Sector Plan for Law. Desmet is one of the spearhead leaders of Empirical Legal Studies, advancing the prominence of Empirical Legal Studies in research and practice.
The traditional application of law focuses primarily on doctrinal analysis—examining how laws are structured, interpreted, and applied to specific cases. Empirical legal research, on the other hand, examines a different set of questions, such as: ‘How is the law actually applied in practice? What are the effects of certain laws? And how do people interact with the legal system?’ For years, this approach to evaluating law has stood in contrast to the traditional legal method. A divide that in these past years seems to be narrowing, for legal empiricism has been steadily gaining ground. It has become part of the educational curriculum at Erasmus School of Law and law schools around the world, alongside its presence in a growing number of empirical legal publications. This aligns closely with our School’s ambition to strengthen our position as a leading research institute with regard to empirical legal studies. Desmet remains at the forefront of these developments.
Proof in practice
Desmet’s research explores decision-making across various legal domains, including the decision-making of victims, perpetrators, judges and jurors. In addition, his work examines behavioural ethics, managerial and consumer decision-making, and nudging—subtle interventions designed to influence people’s behaviour. A notable example is his research done in collaboration with Franziska Weber, Professor of Law and Economics, which examines the willingness of infringers to pay a fine and compared this to their willingness to pay compensation to the victim.
During his professorship Desmet has made substantial investments in advancing legal research, culminating in the founding of three research centres: the Erasmus Center for Empirical Legal Studies (ECELS), the Netherlands Academy for Empirical Legal Studies and the European Society of Empirical Legal Studies. These and other foundational efforts lay the groundwork for high-quality research in the future. Regarding the focus of these research areas, Desmet states: “One of the areas that has not received much empirical attention, and that I particularly aim to expand, deals with how characteristics of economic and legal institutions interact in shaping compliance and ethical behaviour.” This underscores the chair’s ongoing dedication to uncovering new insights in the field and allows for exploring real-world applications of the law. Ongoing educational efforts, including the development of new empirical legal studies courses and the founding of ECELS, are cultivating expertise and paving the way for a new generation of empirical legal scholars.
Building towards evidence-based law
Legal empirical research is opening new opportunities to understand how laws function in practice, using data-driven insights to improve policy and decision-making. Although it may appear separate from traditional legal methods, it can serve as a complementary approach. A key focus of the chair remains to build bridges between these perspectives.
Desmets research aligns with Erasmus School of Laws vision that law should be studied in its social and economic context. His efforts to embed empirical legal studies in the curriculum follows the ambition of Erasmus School of Law to strengthen the position of empirical legal research in education.
The Board of Erasmus School of Law congratulates Pieter Desmet on his appointment and wishes him all the best with his activities.
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