The Neukom Center for the Rule of Law welcomes Judge Esther de Rooij from the Netherlands as its first Rule of Law Speaker in the new year. Esther de Rooij practiced law as a solicitor and barrister for seven years, and for the past thirty years she has served as a judge at several courts in the Netherlands. She is currently vice-president for international cooperation and rule of law in the District Court of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. She is a member of the board of the Dutch foundation Judges for Judges, which provides support for judges abroad who find themselves in difficult circumstances because of their profession. As a teacher in the Dutch national school for the judiciary she gives classes to newly appointed judges on the core values for the judiciary.

Besides her work as a court manager, she is on behalf of the Court of Amsterdam and the Dutch Council for the judiciary leader of several long-term projects in for instance Bosnia, Armenia and Ukraine, where she lived until the full-scale invasion started. These projects are focused on strengthening the position of the judges and improving the trust of society in the judiciary. Her projects are focused on judicial integrity, rule of law and communication and are carried out in cooperation with the relevant institutions and courts in Ukraine. She is still actively part of the bench in Amsterdam and sits in administrative, criminal and civil law cases.

The Rule of Law Speaker Series invites speakers from nations under democratic stress to share their experience in promoting and safeguarding the rule of law within their respective legal systems. This forum provides an unparalleled opportunity for the Stanford community to engage in dialogue and foster a deeper understanding of the major challenges associated with the rule of law on a global scale.