NCJ Number
195108
Date Published
March 2002
Length
103 pages
Annotation
This first phase of the evaluation of the Netherlands' Preliminary Judicial Investigation Revision Act reviews the history of the law and examines the reasons for and background of the legislation.
Abstract
The act introduced changes in the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure regarding the preliminary judicial investigation and search and seizure. The changes have been in force since February 1, 2000. There are two kinds of pretrial investigation in the Netherlands: the police investigation under the direction of a public prosecutor and the judicial investigation by an examining judge. Some powers can only be exercised by the examining judge within the framework of a judicial preliminary investigation. In order to reduce the number of preliminary judicial investigations, the law now allows some of these powers to be exercised outside preliminary judicial examination. The law has transferred some powers to the public prosecutor that were formerly accorded to the examining judge and has given more powers to the police. It is now possible for the suspect to ask for an inquiry by the examining judge outside the preliminary judicial examination, even before a formal charge has been made. In order to determine the first indications of the consequences of the law in practice, interviews were conducted with those who apply the law, namely, judges, public prosecutors, clerical staff, police, and lawyers. Eighteen persons in three court districts were interviewed during May-June 2001. Findings indicate that the law has not presented any great problems in its implementation. The role of the examining judge, i.e., the weighing of the interests of the suspect against the interests of the investigation, has not changed; the way it can be exercised has changed. 34 references