Bernard Hubeau is a full professor in Sociology and Sociology of Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Antwerp since early 2008. He is a professor in Urban Planning Law (Master Course in the Law Faculty of the University of Antwerp) since early 2008. He lectured during 10 years at the Architecture Institute (Henry Vandevelde-Institute, Antwerp). He teaches “Sociology and Sociology of Law”, “Sociology of Law” and “Legal aspects of the relation Administration-Citizen”. He teaches “Legal Aspects of Social Work” at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Antwerp. He also teaches “Sociology of Law” at the University of Brussels (Faculty of Law and Criminology). He was professor at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) from 1991 to 1996 and Lecturer in a School for Architecture and a School of Police Studies. In the faculty of law of the University of Antwerp he is a member of the research groups “Law and Government”. His main research interests are: Housing Law and Urban Planning; Sociology of Law; Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Ombudsmen; General Principles of Good Administration; Fundamental Rights and Social Work. He’s the editor of a Handbook on Spatial and Urban Planning (2004 and 2011), a Code with comments on the legislation (yearly edition, fifth edition forthcoming), chief editor of a Book Collection on Spatial and Urban Planning, author of a Student book on urban planning (Spatial and Urban Planning for Beginners, fourth edition), chief editor of a Book Collection with practical books on urban planning topics (Praktijkreeks) and the editorial board of “Ruimte”. He was the editor in chief of a scientific review (TROS, Review on Spatial and Urban Planning Law) from 1994 to 2015. In 2012, the Spatial Planning Act had its 50th anniversary: two books were realized to commemorate this event. He’s editor in chief of a Legal Journal (Juristenkrant). The subject of this doctoral thesis (1993) was the right to housing and the consequences of multilevel governance on the position of the citizen on the housing market (“Housing Law from a Regional, Federal and Community Perspective”, Bruges, Die Keure, 1994: for this book the author obtained the “Prize of Administrative Sciences” in 1995). He is the author of a Code with comments on the housing legislation (yearly edition), chief editor of a Book Collection on Housing Law (every five years a book is published about recent developments in housing law, since the new Flemish Housing Code was voted; 1999, 2002, 2007, 2012). Hubeau also had the opportunity to deliver some policy reports on land use policy (1997) for the Flemish minister of Spatial Planning. He also is supervisor of research realized for the “Steunpunt Wonen” (Research Unit on Housing, 2010-2015), funded by the Flemish government on the transfer of some parts of housing law towards the regional level and an legislative evaluation of the regulation on private renting. For the period from 2016 to 2020 he’s the supervisor of the work package on the legal aspects of housing. He’s president of the board of a Social Housing Company and of the Flemish Housing Council. He’s a member of the Bureau of Integrity of the city of Antwerp. He is the former Ombudsman of the City of Antwerp (1996-1999) and of the Flemish Parliament (1999-2007). Hubeau is the research director at the University of Antwerp since 2008 and responsible for the research policy of the Law Faculty. From 2008 to 2015 he also was the research vice-dean and research director of the Law Faculty. He was the president of an interdisciplinary group of lawyers and planners between 1997 and 2005 (Commissie Juridisch-Planologische Dialoog): the debates and papers delivered two special editions of two journals on urban planning (TROS and Ruimte): one on Subsidiarity and one on Flexibility (1997). Bernard Hubeau is supervisor for several PhD-projects on the role of justice in society, the socio-legal aspects of the right to housing and specific fields like the role of the ombudsman. He also supervises of co-supervises four PhD-projects, embedded in the Renato Treves-network, a network on research into Law and Society with ten European Universities. He’s member of the Board and active member of an international scientific network on Law and Society (with a masters’ and PhD-program). He’s one of the partners in the INDIGO-project, funded by IWT/FWO (Innovating Spatial Development Planning by Differentiating Land Ownership and Governance (partners are: KULeuven, Harokopio University Athens, Studiegroep Omgeving en Research Group Government and Law University of Antwerp) (2015-2018).
