Education and career

Arjen van Rijn is an administrative law specialist and highly experienced in decision-making processes and procedures in which the government is involved as a party. Prior to joining the team at De Clercq in 2013 as an attorney and partner, he served as senior counsel with Spigt Litigators in Amsterdam, and was a partner at Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn (the firm of the State Advocate) in The Hague from 1995 to 2012. Arjen also has strong ties to the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, and in this capacity is Special Professor in Constitutional Law and Constitutional Renewal at the University of Curaçao. He also served as interim dean of the Faculty of Law there in 2016-2017. Arjen served as President of the Hague Bar association from July 2018 to September 2021.

Arjen’s daily practice

‘You can come to me for legal assistance in constitutional and administrative law matters. This complex but interesting area of law covers everything concerning the way the state is organised, how the government functions, and the relationship between the government and citizens. Within this field, I specialise in the constitutional law of Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and the Dutch Caribbean (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), as well as in Kingdom Relations (i.e., the Statute). The other areas I focus on include monument law, food law, integrity and governance, and fundamental rights.’