Jade Vaneerdewegh

Dutch police may only use a taser in the situations listed in Article 12c Ambtsinstructie. What does that mean for the delivery driver tasered in Amsterdam?

Sexual assault (aanranding) means performing sexual acts that do not involve sexual penetration with someone who does not want them. Since 1 July 2024, coercion or violence no longer has to be proven; for acts committed before that date the old law applies in principle, unless the new law is more favourable to the suspect

An ordered index of every guide we have written on Criminal law in the Netherlands.

A Dutch certificate of conduct (verklaring omtrent het gedrag, VOG) is issued by Justis on the basis of Dutch judicial data, so a conviction outside the EU usually does not show up. The exceptions: convictions in other EU member states can reach Justis through ECRIS, and the IND weighs foreign convictions for your residence permit

A case of this kind in the Netherlands usually starts with an informative conversation at the police, followed by a reflection period, a formal report, an investigation led by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) and, if the prosecutor proceeds, a trial. Since 1 July 2024 the Wet seksuele misdrijven (Sexual Offences Act) has replaced Title

After an arrest in the Netherlands, a suspect can be held by the police for up to about six days, must see an examining magistrate within three days and eighteen hours, and can then be kept in pre-trial detention for up to 104 days before the case must come before the trial court. In practice,

A criminal conviction can cost a foreign national their Dutch residence permit, but not automatically: the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) compares the unconditional sentence with the length of your lawful residence under the sliding scale (glijdende schaal) in Article 3.86 of the Aliens Decree 2000 (Vreemdelingenbesluit 2000, Vb). After ten years of lawful residence

Confiscation of proceeds of crime in the Netherlands works in two stages: during the investigation the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) seizes assets to secure later payment, and after a conviction the court can order you to pay the State an amount equal to the estimated unlawfully obtained advantage (Article 36e of the Dutch Criminal

Assault (mishandeling) under Dutch law is intentionally causing someone pain or injury, or intentionally harming their health; under Article 300 of the Dutch Criminal Code (Sr) it carries up to three years’ imprisonment. The penalty rises sharply if serious injury results, if the act was premeditated or if the victim is a partner, child or

What a criminal lawyer costs you in the Netherlands depends mainly on who pays. If you are arrested for a serious offence or remanded in custody, the state pays for an assigned lawyer (Article 43 of the Legal Aid Act, Wet op de rechtsbijstand), although the Legal Aid Board can reclaim that fee after a

A Dutch criminal case reaches the court through a summons (dagvaarding) from the public prosecutor, served at least ten days before a hearing at the district court (Article 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Sv). At the hearing the presiding judge, not the lawyers, does most of the questioning; there is no jury and

Owning or trading cryptocurrency is not a criminal offence in the Netherlands; criminal law comes in when the origin of the assets is criminal or when crypto is used for fraud. In practice, cases run along four routes: money laundering under Articles 420bis to 420quater of the Dutch Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht, Sr), fraud

An NVWA inspection becomes a criminal case when the violation is serious, intentional or repeated, and the NVWA’s own investigation service (NVWA-IOD) starts a criminal investigation for the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie, OM). The main exception is the una via rule: once an administrative fine has been imposed for the same conduct, criminal prosecution

In Eindhoven you report a crime (aangifte doen) online, by calling the police on 0900-8844 for an appointment, or at a police station; in an emergency you always call 112. Online reporting is only possible for less serious offences without violence, such as bicycle theft or online fraud; for violence, threats, a home burglary or

Illegal weapons possession means having a weapon or ammunition without the permit or exemption the Weapons and Ammunition Act (Wet wapens en munitie, Wwm) requires; it is a criminal offence that can lead to up to four years in prison for a firearm. The main nuance: not every knife or object is prohibited, and for

When a self-driving or highly automated car causes an accident in the Netherlands, criminal liability still lies with a person or a company: in most cases the driver, and in some cases the operator or the manufacturer as a legal entity. The car itself cannot be prosecuted; the main exception to driver liability is when

At an OM hearing (OM-zitting), a public prosecutor discusses the offence you are suspected of and may then impose a penalty order (strafbeschikking) without a judge. If you disagree with that penalty order, you can object to it within 14 days, after which a court will hear the case. An OM hearing looks less formal

The Dutch police may use force, but only when the aim justifies it, when there is no lighter way to reach that aim, and when the force stays reasonable and moderate. If an officer goes beyond those limits, you can complain, claim compensation from the government and, where there is injury or death, the officer

After a serious traffic accident, the punishment depends mainly on two things: the degree of fault (ordinary carelessness or recklessness) and the consequence (injury or death). Causing an accident through your fault that kills or seriously injures someone is a crime under Article 6 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 (Wegenverkeerswet 1994, WVW), even if

Demonstrating is a fundamental right — but not a free pass. Read what you may and may not do at a demonstration, what the police may do and what the Dutch Supreme Court ruled on this in 2025–2026.