Dr P.P. Rijpkema (1962) has been named Professor of Jurisprudence in the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

Peter Rijpkema performs research at the interface of law and ethics. His research includes the relationship between lawfulness and the appropriateness of government actions. Rijpkema also researches the importance of social normative beliefs regarding the legitimacy of legislation and the administration of justice at the national and European level, and the role of moral values in the judicial legislation. Rijpkema is co-author of Ombudsprudentie. Over de behoorlijkheidsnorm en zijn toepassing (Boom, 2004) for which he conducted research into adequacy testing conducted by the National Ombudsman in the Netherlands. In Rechtersrecht. Over de rechtsvormende rol van de rechter in een democratische rechtsstaat (Boom, 2001), he explores the foundations and limits of the judicial legislation.

Rijpkema has worked as Senior University Lecturer and researcher in Theory of Law in the Faculty of Law of the Utrecht University since 2000. In addition, he was Director of the selective honours study programme in law at the Utrecht Law College (ULC), a programme he helped establish in 2004. Rijpkema previously worked as a research assistant at VU University Amsterdam and as Chief Scientific Assistant at the University of Aruba. Rijpkema studied law and philosophy at UvA and New York University. He obtained his doctorate with a thesis entitled State Perfectionism and Personal Freedom under the supervision of Govert den Hartogh (UvA) and Thomas Nagel (New York University).