About us

Prof. Dr. An Cliquet

Prof. dr. An Cliquet is a full professor of international environmental and biodiversity law at Ghent University, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Department of European, Public and International Law (where she started as professor in 2004).
She has a Master in Law and an Advanced Master in Port and Maritime Sciences (Ghent University). In 2001 she became Doctor in Law on the subject of “Nature conservation in the marine and coastal environment, with specific reference to the Belgian marine and coastal environment”.
Her main expertise is international and European environmental and biodiversity law. The research of An Cliquet encompasses both marine and terrestrial biodiversity law. She is involved in research or supervising PhD research on topics such as: ecological restoration law, climate change and nature conservation; international and EU biodiversity law; ecological refugees; gender and biodiversity; protection of ecosystem services; a rights-based approach to conservation; the protection of the Congo basin; health and biodiversity; wildlife trade, the legal protection of urban biodiversity and the protection of transboundary watercourses under biodiversity law.
An Cliquet has been involved in several commissions or working groups on nature policy. She is the head of the faculty environmental commission, member of the sustainability committee of Ghent University, as well as a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law.
An Cliquet currently teaches courses on international and European environmental and biodiversity law, law and ethics on marine nature conservation, international law and sustainability, as well as a general course on public international law.

Prof. Tom De Waele

Prof. Tom De Waele is guest professor of spatial planning law in at Ghent University, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Department of European, Public and International Law (since 2018, formerly assistant).
He has a master’s degree in law (Ghent University, 1988) and a master's degree in urban design, spatial planning and development (Ghent University, 1990).
His main expertise is spatial planning law.
Tom De Waele is also first auditor at the Council of State and guest professor in the MSc in Urban Design and Spatial Planning at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is the chief-editor of two reviews on spatial planning and environmental law, TROS en STORM, and gives several lectures per year in the area of spatial and planning law on the occasion of renowned seminars, congressional meetings and conventions.
In 2021, he was the chairman of the taskforce ‘bouwshift’ created by the Flemish government in order to examine the legal possibilities to protect the open areas in Flanders against further unnecessary urban development.
He teaches spatial planning law and legal and administrative aspects of spatial planning and urbanism.

Prof. Dr. Hendrik Schoukens

Prof. dr. Hendrik Schoukens is professor of environmental law in the Faculty of Law and Criminology at Ghent University, Department of European, Public and International Law (since 2021).
He graduated as a Master in Law at the Catholic University of Leuven in 2005 (magna cum laude). He was a member of the team that represented the Catholic University of Leuven at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington in 2004. In 2007, he graduated as Master in Environmental Law (summa cum laude) at Ghent University. In 2010, he received his complementary Master’s Degree in Environmental Law at the Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis and the Catholic University of Louvain (magna cum laude). In 2017, he obtained his PhD in Law at Ghent University on the legal aspects of ecological restoration.
His main expertise is international environmental law, European environmental law, biodiversity law, Flemish environmental and planning law. In 2011, he co-authored the first edition of the handbook of Biodiversity Law within the Flemish Region. He was the first author that addressed the topic of nitrogen deposition in Flanders, which resulted in a first co-edited book on the theme, which has in the meantime gained major societal relevance. In 2015 he wrote one of the first legal analysis of the potential for climate litigation in Belgium. Hendrik has written countless scientific articles, books and opinion pieces on a wide array of topics related to environmental governance and law (a.o. EU nature conservation law, EIA, access to justice, climate litigation etc.), both in leading national and international legal journals.
Hendrik has actively taken part in numerous projects regarding the drafting of new environmental legislation in the Flemish Region and the analysis of administrative environmental practices, amongst others in the field of mining law, nature conservation, marine protection, EIA and planning law.

Hendrik is part of the editing board of the Journal for European and Environmental Plannning Law (JEEPL) and Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht (TMR).

He regularly contributes op ed’s for newspapers (De Standaard) and weekly newsmagazines (Knack.be).
Since January 2006, he has also been working as environmental attorney, first associated at the bar of Ghent, later at the bar of Brussels. He focuses on strategic litigation in the field of biodiversity litigation, public participation, climate mitigation and environmental impact assessment.
Since 2018, Hendrik is elderman competent for the environment, planning and sustainable development in the Belgian Municipality of Lennik
Hendrik teaches Environmental Law.

Prof. Dr. Frederik Vandendriessche

Prof. dr. Fredrik Vandendriessche is professor of energy law in the Faculty of Law and Criminology at Ghent University, Department of European, Public and International Law (since 2008), where he teaches the course of Energy law.
He graduated as a Master in Law (Ghent University, 1997) and obtained a PhD in Law on public and private legal persons (Ghent University, 2003).
His main expertise is energy law (and public law) with a special focus on on- and offshore renewable energy projects, energy efficiency projects, grid operation and construction, pipelines, mining, nuclear energy, energy commodity trading, CO2 emission trading, and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). He is involved in legal research and is supervising PhD research on related to local energy communities,(inter)connection of the Belgian offshore wind farms, and demand-side management.
Since 1997, he has also been working as an lawyer specialized in energy law (and public law).
He is a member of the ENERLEX-research community.

Prof. Dr. Geert Van Hoorick

Prof.dr. Geert Van Hoorick is a full professor of environmental and administrative law at Ghent University, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Department of European, Public and International Law (where he started as professor in 2001). He is Director of the Centre for Environmental and Energy Law (since 2021) and he is Head of the Department of European, Public and International Law (since 2022).

He has a master’s degree in law (Ghent University, 1993) and a master's degree in urban design, spatial planning and development (Ghent University 1994). He obtained his PhD in law (summa cum laude, Ghent University, 1999) with a dissertation on legal instruments for nature conservation and landscape management policy. His PhD was awarded the VDK prize for sustainable development in (2001).

His main expertise is European and national nature conservation, wildlife law, animal welfare law, and spatial planning law. He is currently involved in research or supervising PhD research on legal protection of ecosystems, heritage law and, animal welfare law/animal rights, and integration of environmental law. He is author of more than 150 academic publications and research reports.
He was also a lawyer at the Ghent Bar in the period 1992-2019. He is a member of the Environmental Law Commission of the IUCN and of the European Environmental Law Forum (EELF). He is an editorial staff member of the NJW. In the period 2012-2018 he was president of Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen vzw.
He teaches courses in environmental law (including nature conservation and wildlife law), notarial administrative law, agricultural law and animal welfare law.

Em. Prof. Dr. Luc Lavrysen

Em.Prof. dr. Luc Lavrysen was a full professor of environmental law at Ghent University, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Department of European, Public and International Law (where he started as professor in 1998). He was Director of the Centre for Environmental and Energy Law from 2000 till 2021, when he was admitted to emeritus status. However he stays an active member in the Centre for Environmental and Energy Law.

Luc Lavrysen obtained his master in law in 1979 at the University of Ghent. In 1997 he obtained a doctorate in law at Ghent University, with the dissertation ‘The development of European, Belgian and Flemish environmental law in a changing institutional context. Research into the development of environmental law from a public law perspective’.

He was Legal Secretary at the Court of Arbitration in Brussels from 1985 to early 2000. After that he was Councilor of State for a while. He has been a Judge of the Constitutional Court since February 2001 and President of the Constitutional Court since September 25, 2020. He combined these positions with his position at Ghent University.

He was secretary of the Center for Sustainable Development and member of the Council of the Center Environmental Science & Technology, a member of the Interuniversity Commission for the Review of Environmental Law in the Flemish Region, editor-in-chief of the Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, member of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development and chairman of the Working Group on Product Standards of that Council. He was also member of Environmental Law Network International and the Avosetta group of European Encironmental Law Professors. He chairs the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment, is member of the board of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment.

He was in charge of the environmental law course in the Master of Law and the Master of Bio-Engineering Environmental Technology. The course was also offered as an elective in various other programs in other faculties.

Em. Prof. Dr. Frank Maes

Prof.Dr. Frank Maes was a full professor of public international law in the Faculty of Law and Criminology at Ghent University, Department of European, Public and International Law (where he started as professor in 1998), and has been guest lecturer at several foreign universities. He was Head of the Department of European, Public and International Law (2014-2022), Director of the Maritime Institute, Program Director of the Msc in Maritime Science and Program Director of the Permanent Training in Port Management.
Frank Maes studied Diplomatic Sciences (Ghent University), Shipping Law (UFSIA) and obtained a PhD in Law (Ghent University).
His main expertise was international environmental law, climate change, law of the sea, protection of oceans and seas and maritime spatial planning. He supervised PhDs and promoted of research projects, and authored more than 250 academic publications and research reports. He was involved in research or supervising PhD research on blue economy: offshore renewable energy and aquaculture, multiple use of marine space, air pollution from ships and MARPOL, deep-sea mining.
He was an honorary president of the Flemish/Belgian Association for the United Nations, member of the International Advisory Board of the Chinese Journal of Environmental Law, member of the Editorial Board of Marine Policy, member of the IUCN International Council of Environmental Law (CEL), Specialists Group on “Oceans, Coasts and Coral Reefs” and member of the Royal Belgian Marine Academy.
He taught Environmental Legislation, Diplomatic Law and Multilateral Negotiations and was the responsible teacher for the UGent Jessup Moot Court Competition team. He was co-teacher for the course Air and Space Law.