Jaap E. Doek is an Emeritus Professor of Family and Juvenile Law at Vrije Universiteit, a Deputy Justice in the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam, and the Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001 - 2007). Earlier in his career he was a Juvenile Court Judge in the District Court of Alkmaar and The Hague (1978-1985) and the Dean of the Law Faculty at Vrije Universiteit (1988 –1992).

Prof. Doek was a founding member of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and Board Member from 1976-1992. He was a member of an ISPCAN/DCI (Defence for Children International) working group on Child Labor, which conducted a large study in 1994-1997; served as President (1982-1984) and Vice President for Developing Countries (1984-1992). As Vice President, he was involved in establishing the African Network for Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN). Prior to that, Prof. Doek was instrumental in the creation of DCI in 1979 and the Dutch Section of that organization, in 1984. He also was a member of the Board of the International Association of Juvenile and Family Court Magistrates, 1982-1986, President of the European Law Faculties Association (ELFA) (1999-2000), and a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (1999 – 2007).

In 1993, he was a Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University Law School in Washington DC and Michigan University School of Law in Ann Arbor, and in 1999, he was a Visiting Professor at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago.

Prof. Doek has published numerous books, chapters and articles on various topics in the area of children’s rights and family law in national (Dutch) and international journals, including chapters in Children on the Move, How to Implement Their Rights to Family Life, 1996, and Child Sexual Abuse: What Can Governments Do?, 1998.

ISPCAN is proud to call Prof. Jaap E. Doek a member.