Jeroen Chorus, Ewoud Hondius and Wim Voermans (eds), Introduction to Dutch Law
| Pages | 179-180 |
| Date | 01 January 2018 |
| Author | |
| DOI | 10.3366/elr.2018.0478 |
| Published date | 01 January 2018 |
This is a very welcome updated edition which continues to provide an extremely comprehensive and accessible overview of Dutch law, following the fourth edition in 2006. Produced under the auspices of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association, the range of authors is impressive, both spanning generations of legal academics (from PhD candidates to Emeritus Professors) and including practitioners, who may also hold academic posts throughout the Netherlands. As such, the volume is important for highlighting notable commentators in diverse areas.
This volume follows a similar structure to the previous edition, but has seen some refocusing of subject areas covered. This reflects the ongoing pervasive European influence, whether via EU law, or judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as changes in Dutch society which have necessitated new or modified legislation. While the five parts of the volume are expansive in their coverage, individual chapters provide sufficient detail to cover aspects such as historical development of, and European influence on, the current substantive law.
Part I, “Dutch legal system”, opens with an informative chapter on history (Chorus), encompassing modern political history, the courts, historical sources of Dutch law, and legal learning. The chapter on Dutch legal culture (Van Rossum) is wide-ranging, but sets the scene with allusions to well-known aspects of Dutch culture, such as
Part II, “private law”, represents the largest section of the volume with ten chapters. These elaborate the relevant books within principally the Dutch Civil Code (
To continue reading
Request your trial