The Dutch Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system of the Netherlands offers an introduction to our fascinating legal system from a criminal law angle. It is recommended to students taking an introductory course on Dutch criminal law or on comparative criminal law and is also an excellent starting point for foreign researchers who wish to explore the Dutch criminal law system.

The Dutch criminal justice system has, for some time, been famous for its mildness. This mildness, which has been reflected for example in a strikingly low prison rate has both impressed and shocked foreign criminal law scholars and criminal justice officials. This traditional mildness is now at stake. Crime has increased considerably and so has the prison rate. Major changes have taken place in Dutch society, and these require a new criminal justice policy. In 1985 the Minister of Justice submitted to the Parliament a new policy plan called Society and Crime, and a policy plan called Law in Motion was published in 1990. These new criminal policy plans propose a step-by-step approach in order to raise the level of criminal law enforcement and to intensify crime prevention. The statutory powers of the police to investigate organized crime will be expanded, the efficiency of the prosecution service will be improved, the capacity of prisons will be increased, and crime prevention programmes will be intensified. Whether the relative mildness of the Dutch criminal justice system will be maintained in the future or not, is a difficult question to answer. However, since the mildness is built into the system itself (as is demonstrated in this criminal justice profile) it is most probable that this mildness will be at least partly preserved in the future as well.

This book covers both the organization of the present Dutch criminal justice system and the main procedures used within the system.

The Dutch criminal justice system has, for some time, been famous for its mildness. This mildness, which has been reflected for example in a strikingly low prison rate has both impressed and shocked foreign criminal law scholars and criminal justice officials. This traditional mildness is now at stake. Crime has increased considerably and so has the prison rate. Major changes have taken place in Dutch society, and these require a new criminal justice policy. In 1985 the Minister of Justice submitted to the Parliament a new policy plan called Society and Crime, and a policy plan called Law in Motion was published in 1990. These new criminal policy plans propose a step-by-step approach in order to raise the level of criminal law enforcement and to intensify crime prevention. The statutory powers of the police to investigate organized crime will be expanded, the efficiency of the prosecution service will be improved, the capacity of prisons will be increased, and crime prevention programmes will be intensified. Whether the relative mildness of the Dutch criminal justice system will be maintained in the future or not, is a difficult question to answer. However, since the mildness is built into the system itself (as is demonstrated in this criminal justice profile) it is most probable that this mildness will be at least partly preserved in the future as well.

During the last decades of the 20th century, a consensus has emerged that the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), which had entered into force in 1926, had become dysfunctional in connection with both main objectives of criminal procedure. The research project ‘Strafvordering 2001’ aimed at answering the question how a CCP would look which meets contemporary needs and corresponds to state of the art doctrinal views, and is coherent in the sense that it offers a systematic criminal procedure approach. The Dutch government responded to the research findings by means of the introduction of several legislative acts. The contributions in this book discuss the question of whether the legislator has succeeded in improving the law of criminal procedure.

In the international penitentiary world, the Dutch prison system has long been seen as a shining example. In the last decades, however, prison provisions were demolished rapidly. In 30 years, the prison rate increased fivefold which is, in relative numbers, comparable to the growth in the United States. This increase in numbers came together with substantial changes to typical aspects of the Dutch prison system - the legal position of detainees, rehabilitation efforts, and medical care. This volume presents an overview of these changes in different sectors of the prison system including adults, youth, the mentally disturbed, alien detainees, and persistent offenders. The book provides insight from both inside as well as outside the system and presents an international perspective as well.

This is the first volume that directly compares the practices of adversarial and inquisitorial systems of law from a psychological perspective. It aims at understanding why American and European continental systems differ so much, while both systems entertain much support in their communities. The book is written for advanced audiences in psychology and law.