The Legal Affairs department provides support and advice to the University of Amsterdam’s Executive Board, the management of the faculties and the central units. It is in charge of processing objections and appeals submitted by UvA staff and students, and advises the UvA’s many and diverse departments on the implementation and interpretation of laws and regulations and of case law in a range of areas, including:

• education law (interpretation of laws and regulations connected with higher education such as the Higher Education and Research Act [Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek], advisement on teaching and examination regulations, preparation and assessment of UvA-wide regulations)

• civil servants law (advisement and guidance in employee affairs)
• contract law (preparation and assessment of various contracts, settlement of conflicts)
• right of participation in decision-making
• legal entities (advisement regarding the establishment or dissolution of legal entities, preparation and amendment of articles of association)
• intellectual property law (advisement regarding copyright, patent and trademark law, settling copyright disputes
• procurement law (assessment of tender documents, legal guidance during tender procedures, settling tender disputes)
• real estate (assessment and preparation of lease and building agreements, settling disputes)
• privacy protection (advisement on the use of personal details for research and business purposes)

In addition, the director of Legal Affairs  serves as the departmental contact person for legal matters outsourced to external parties (legal advisers, lawyers) by the faculties and organisational units.

The team is made up of 10 lawyers and 3 legal assistants.