Elco Nab wrote his dissertation under the supervision of Prof P.H.P.H.M.C. van Kempen and Prof M.I. Fedorova and defended it cum laude at Radboud University on 23 October 2023.
The Modderman Prize is awarded by the Prof A.E.J. Modderman Foundation, affiliated to Leiden University, to encourage research in the field of criminal law. The prize is awarded once every two years to the person who, in the two preceding calendar years, has defended a dissertation at a Dutch university that relates to criminal law and related sciences as far as they are relevant for a good understanding of criminal law and that testifies to an exceptional scientific quality.
This year, the selection committee consisted of Prof E. van Sliedregt (Tilburg University), Prof D. Abels (Open University), Prof J.W. de Keijser (Leiden University) and Prof J.H. Crijns (Leiden University).
The award will be motivated by the selection committee during the presentation ceremony on Thursday 14 November 2024 in the Academy Building of Leiden University. The prize consists of a bronze medal designed by sculptor F. Letterie.
The medal
On the front, the medal features an image of the head of Prof A.E.J. Modderman (1838-1885), professor of criminal law at Leiden from 1870-1879 and then minister of justice. The reverse of the medal features the motto of Leiden University and an artistic image.
A.E.J. Modderman studied law in Leiden and obtained his doctorate there in 1863 with a thesis entitled ‘ The reform of our criminal law’. He became a professor at the predecessor of the University of Amsterdam in 1864, followed by a professorship in Leiden in 1870. From 1870, he was a member of the State Commission for the composition of a Penal Code. As minister of justice (1879-1883), among other things, he managed to bring about a new Penal Code.