As of 1st January 2013, Robine de Lange – Tegelaar is President of the Court of Rotterdam. Robine graduated in 1985 and started her career at the Council of State.
In 1989, she became a trainee judicial officer at the District Court of The Hague, with a two-year stay as deputy public prosecutor in St Maarten.
She started as a criminal law judge at the District Court of Rotterdam in 1993 and then made the switch back to the District Court of The Hague where she worked in the civil, family, youth and criminal law sectors.
From 2003 to 2010 she was chairperson of the family and juvenile law sector, during which period she also served as Liaison Judge for the International Child Protection Agency.
In 2010, she became chairwoman of the criminal law sector of The Hague District Court.
Since her transfer to the Rotterdam District Court in 2012, she has been acting as a judge in criminal, family and youth law cases in addition to her work as chairperson of the court’s management committee.
Robine is a member of the Executive Committee of the Presidents’ Meeting and chair of the national Council for the Innovation of the Judiciary.
What our Clients Say About Us
Lawyer Tim de Greve, partner at Stibbe.
I regularly engage the IJI in cases where PIL aspects play a role. The institute has existed for over 100 years and can therefore boast a long history and experience. There are prominent people associated with it. Not least Mr Strikwerda. They support you from the outset, immediately understand the question you are faced with and suggest possible solutions. They have the right connections at home and abroad to answer questions within a reasonable timeframe. Apart from that, it is very pleasant to work with the people of the IJI.
Lawyer Channa Samkalden, Prakken d'Oliveira
We have received advice from the IJI on several cases. One example is a case brought by a number of Nigerian farmers against Shell concerning oil pollution in Nigeria. That case is about the application of Nigerian law by the Dutch court. The IJI looked into the framework of tort law in Nigeria for us. We used that advice in the proceedings and also submitted it to the court and it showed, for instance, that our plaintiffs were also entitled to claim against Shell under Nigerian law. The IJI is extremely useful in all such cases because you receive very sound advice on the basis of which you know whether you should have a number of things investigated further. It’s very useful advice at an early stage of your procedure.
Attorney Ria van Seventer, Meesters aan de Maas Advocaten
Our law firm is based in Rotterdam, a city of more than 170 nationalities, so we regularly have to ask the IJI for advice. For example, I had to deal with the recognition of a child by an Italian man, to which Italian law had to be applied. I don’t speak Italian so I could not do that myself. Nor did I have access to the sources which the IJI has.