19-02-2026
The Carnegie Foundation, owner and manager of the Peace Palace, welcomes Prof. Mr. Carla Sieburgh as a new member of its Board. She has been appointed by Royal Decree as of 1 February 2026. Sieburgh officially began her duties at the board meeting on 16 February and will be responsible for the legal portfolio for the coming years.
Academic expertise and international experience
Prof. Mr. Sieburgh is a leading legal scholar with extensive experience in the judiciary, academia and international legal cooperation. From 2017 to 2024, she served as Justice of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and, in that capacity, also as an extraordinary State Councillor in Extraordinary Service at the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State. She was also a member of the Commission on Legal Uniformity, in which the highest Dutch courts work together to ensure consistency between civil law and administrative law.
In addition to her judicial career, Carla Sieburgh has built a long academic record. Since 2003, she has been Professor of Civil Law and since 2010, Research Professor of Civil Law at Radboud University Nijmegen. She has been a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2010. Her academic work largely takes place in an international context and includes publications in the fields of European law and private law. At her initiative, Sieburgh, together with a diverse group of international researchers, developed the Ius Commune Casebook European Law and Private Law, which combines European law and private law.
In the field of international law, Sieburgh holds various administrative and advisory positions. She is, on behalf of the Netherlands, a member of the Governing Council of UNIDROIT (the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) and chairs the Asser Advisory Council.
Commitment to the mission of the Peace Palace
Carla Sieburgh’s career has been characterized by collaboration and connecting diverse experts and disciplines. At the Supreme Court, she served not only as Justice but also as liaison officer between civil, criminal and tax law, a role in which she brought together different perspectives to reach joint solutions. Sieburgh looks forward to contributing her experience and expertise to the Peace Palace:
“I am deeply aware of the great importance, for international public and private law, of the institutions housed in the Peace Palace – the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law and the Library. It is both a privilege and a responsibility to contribute to good governance, social responsibility, the future-proof preservation of cultural heritage, and the support of the goals and values of these institutions.”
Board of the Carnegie Foundation
The Carnegie Foundation board consists of six members who are jointly responsible for the management and maintenance of the Peace Palace and for supporting the institutions located there. Prof. Carla Sieburgh was appointed to the board by royal decree effective February 1, 2026, and was officially welcomed at the board meeting of February 16, 2026. She succeeds Els Wesseling-van Gent, whose term of office has ended. The Board expresses its gratitude for her valuable dedication and involvement during this past period.