Loulou van Vulpen has worked in the Migration Chamber at the Council of State for almost 2 years. The human side of the law has been instilled in her. Her parents both have work experience in civil society organizations. Her mother works at The Netherlands Refugee Foundation; her father worked at Oxfam Great Britain. 'When I had to choose a study, I quickly came to law. It's a cliché answer, but I wanted to do something with my studies to benefit the world.'

What does the Council of State do?

Loulou took the Master's degree in Public International Law at the UvA. When she started applying, she was searching. 'Everyone was focused on the Zuidas. I heard about the Migration Chamber, but I had to google the Council of State: what exactly do they do?

The Council of State is an independent advisor to the government and parliament on legislation and administration and the highest general administrative court in the country. 'Within the Council of State, the Administrative Law Division is divided into 3 chambers. One of these is the Migration Chamber, which handles all alien appeals and appeals from the Minister of Asylum and Migration. “Aliens” sounds slightly harsh, but we use the term because we apply the Aliens Act. The designation comes from that.'

Human Rights

The appeal cases are diverse. 'It can be about asylum cases, but also about family reunification, a deportation or the legality of a detention.' Loulou explained that her work had to do with human rights. 'Almost 80 per cent of my work concerns international law or European law because the Netherlands is bound by it. For example, Dutch legislation must align with European directives and often cannot be stricter. I deal extensively with the European Convention on Human Rights and various European directives and regulations. However, there are also many Dutch laws, such as the General Administrative Law Act, which I often work with.'

Loulou is assigned cases directly as a junior lawyer and receives the full file. 'I check whether the court ruling is correct. Based on that, I draft a ruling for the state court in consultation with my senior lawyer. That's pretty daunting at first. But the more often you do it, the easier it becomes.'

Every case sharp

'Many cases are similar. For example, when lawyers see an entry in a court ruling, appeals can look alike. But every case can be different. That's why I always put in the necessary time. For example, if a foreign national has been detained, the period of detention may have been exceeded. Then you have to look carefully at when this measure was imposed.'

Initially, Loulou found it challenging to handle cases that affected her personally. 'At a certain point, you better understand when something is right or wrong. But an outcome can still be difficult to accept. And some stories stick with you. But at the end of the day, legal development is the great interest you do your part to support. By shaping case law, we help ensure that people can better exercise their rights.'

Average age is 35

Loulou suspects that many people think few young people work at the Council of State, but the average age is only 35. 'It's nice to work here because everyone is listened to, no matter how old you are. For example, everyone can voice their opinion during the weekly work meetings. For instance, I suggest writing down specific sentences more from a human point of view instead of a legal point of view. There is more room for the human dimension of law.'