The Kavien Justice Award will honor outstanding bachelor’s theses from Leiden University College (LUC) that connect academic research with justice, human rights, peace, and accountability at an award ceremony on Friday, July 3, at the Circustheater in The Hague, the Netherlands.

This year’s nominees for the 2026 Kavien Justice Award are Will Chan, Uriel Banchik Almasia, Madelyn Smith, Daphné Gelot, and Juliette Pariente.

Their theses explore a wide range of issues related to human rights and justice, including discrimination, forensic evidence, protest movements, humanitarian aid, and environmental rights. Together, they examine how laws, institutions, and social structures shape the protection of fundamental rights.

The second recipient of the Kavien Justice Award will be announced on July 3.

Read More: Dutch Student Receives Kavien’s Justice Award

Milena de Roode Torres Georgiadis won the inaugural edition of the award in 2025. This year’s winner will receive a trophy and a cash prize of €2,000.

Kavien’s Justice Foundation honors the memory of former LUC student Kavien Begikhani. Begikhani began his studies at LUC in 2016 and passed away on November 27, 2021, at the age of 27. He was born in the Kurdistan Region and raised in the Netherlands after his parents fled from the genocidal Anfal campaign conducted against the Kurds by Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime.

Alongside his studies, he was actively engaged in promoting peace and international justice, particularly in support of the Kurdish cause.