Law in the Netherlands: A Very Concise Overview

This article provides a short overview of Dutch law. The constitutional law, civil and commercial law and court system of the Netherlands are explained and placed in a broader cultural and comparative context. Attention is paid to e.g. the Dutch Constitution, judicial review, tolerance, the use of Dutch and Frisian in the courts, civil law characteristics, the history of codification, export of Dutch law abroad, the role of the Hoge Raad and the highest administrative courts, judicial discretion and activism, anticipatory interpretation, the post-colonial relationship with Curaçao and the other Caribbean islands, legal education and the role of legal doctrine. The contribution also contains references to literature on Dutch law in English.