On 27 June 2025, the Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law (ACMRL) held a special farewell symposium in celebration of Professor Thomas Spijkerboer's career.
From 2000 to 2024, Thomas worked as a professor of migration law at VU Amsterdam, during which time he founded the Migration Law Section — an ever-growing group of scholars that came to be known as the Amsterdam Centre for Migration and Refugee Law. Colleagues, students, and friends joined us for a day of tribute and inspiring discussions honoring his scholarly work.
Following an opening speech by the head of the section, Martijn Stronks, friends and colleagues presented a variety of talks, ranging from personal anecdotes — for example, 'The Thomas Effect' by Johanne Søndergaard — to academic contributions to Thomas's field of research. Janna Wessels and Younous Arbaoui explored The notion of ‘protection’ in gender-related asylum claims: game-changing developments at the European Courts?, with Hemme Battjes acting as respondent. In her talk, titled 'Decolonising Migration Research', Amanda Bisong shared reflections on practical ways to create the space for decolonising migration research. Tamara Last, the respondent, enriched the conversation with thoughtful commentary and dialogue. Following an intermezzo presented by the VU choir, Jordan Dez concluded the academic sessions with a presentation on Migrant Voting in Bonaire, for which Guno Jones acted as respondent. The event closed with a drinks reception at Café Living, which provided an open, informal setting on the VU campus for further conversation, farewells memories and networking.
The highlight of the event was the publication of the Liber Amicorum, 'Critical Spijkerboer Studies', edited by Hemme Battjes, Betty de Hart, Lieneke Slingenberg and Martijn Stronks, in honour of Thomas Spijkerboer. This Liber Amicorum was compiled to celebrate Thomas Spijkerboer's retirement as Professor of Migration Law at VU Amsterdam. It contains 45 contributions from colleagues and friends as a tribute to his work and his critical perspective on law and migration.
We would like to thank all the authors who contributed to the book: Pieter Boeles, Younous Arbaoui, Janna Wessels, Bahija Aarrass, Veni Naganathar, Greta Albertari, Yussef Al Tamimi, Juan M. Amaya-Castro, Mónica Ávila Currás, Amanda Bisong, Evelien Brouwer, Galina Cornelisse, Ben Crum, Paolo Cuttitta, Gareth Davies, Karin de Vries, Jordan Dez, Fadi Saher Fahad, Roel Fernhout, Nina Fokkink, Karen Geertsema, Halleh Ghorashi, Kees Groenendijk, Betty de Hart, Guno Jones, Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach, Jessica Klüger, Lisa-Marie Komp, Tesseltje de Lange, Tamara Last, Susan Legêne, Isabella Leroy, Audrey Macklin, Louis Middelkoop, Gregor Noll, Younes Saramifar, Bas Schotel, Lieneke Slingenberg, Johanne Søndergaard, Elies Steyger, Martijn Stronks, Ashley Terlouw, Orçun Ulusoy, Wouter Veraart, Ben Vermeulen, Wouter Werner, Karin Zwaan.
