The Paul Scholten Centre for jurisprudence is the research hub for legal philosophy, legal history and (doctrinally oriented) legal sociology at the Amsterdam Law School. The research is substantively connected by a shared interest in the problem of the ‘law in contexts’ of the researchers.

The famous jurist and professor Paul Scholten is the name giver of the centre (1875-1946). A recent biography of the erstwhile Rector Magnificus of the UvA is composed by Rogier Chorus.

Central to the works of Scholten is the ‘jurist’s conscience’: a jurist, whether he or she is a lawyer, judge or MP, on the one hand is obligated to respect the system of the law, but may on the other hand not be blind to societal needs and moral issues. Finding a balance between both is the most important task of the members of the PSC.

The PSC has close cooperations with C-LAB and the ACLPA. The director of the PSC is dr. Jacob Giltaij.