About
Wouter de Zanger is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University's Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance, specifically affiliated with the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology and the Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law (Ucall). His academic career is focused on criminal law and criminal procedural law, with specialization in financial and economic criminal law.
Dr. de Zanger completed his Legal Research Master at Utrecht University in 2012 with cum laude honors. During his studies, he worked as a student assistant at the Willem Pompe Institute, interned at the scientific bureau of the Dutch Supreme Court, and served as an editor of Ars Aequi, a national legal journal. He worked as a PhD candidate and lecturer at Utrecht University from November 2012 to May 2018, defending his PhD thesis on criminal confiscation on June 1, 2018.
His research expertise spans Economic Criminal Law, Financial Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Substantive Criminal Law. Dr. de Zanger is part of a research group dedicated to advancing empirical legal studies in the Netherlands. His work often examines asset recovery, confiscation procedures, and money laundering prevention within the Dutch and European legal frameworks. He has developed particular expertise in the procedural aspects of confiscation, financial crime enforcement, and the intersection of regulatory compliance with criminal law.
Dr. de Zanger's scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on practical applications of criminal law, particularly in financial contexts. His recent work shows increasing attention to interdisciplinary approaches, empirical legal studies, and the practical challenges faced by legal professionals in implementing complex regulatory frameworks. His publications span journal articles, book chapters, and edited volumes addressing confiscation law, money laundering prevention, and criminal procedure reforms.
- NJV Publicatieprijs 2015 (Dutch Jurists Association Publication Prize)
Dr. de Zanger actively engages with both academic and professional legal communities. He regularly provides presentations for academic audiences as well as practice-oriented groups including police, public prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers, and judges. He serves as chair of the Platform Empirical Legal Studies and has participated in various committees related to criminal law reform and empirical legal research. He is also actively involved in legal practice, having been admitted to the bar in 2020. He has worked at Franken van Kampen Groenhuijsen Advocaten in Amsterdam and, since 2023, at Kuyp Baar Advocaten in Laren, combining his academic expertise with practical legal experience.
