dutch-criminal-law

Dutch Criminal Law

When to Use

• User asks about criminal offenses under Dutch law
• User asks about criminal procedure (arrest, investigation, trial)
• User asks about economic or financial crimes (WED, fraud, money laundering)
• User asks about corporate criminal liability
• User asks about rights of suspects/defendants (verdachten)
• User asks about penalties, sentencing, or criminal records
• User asks about the intersection of criminal and administrative enforcement

Process

1. Identify the offense category - Misdrijf (felony) or overtreding (misdemeanor)
2. Determine applicable law - Wetboek van Strafrecht, WED, Opiumwet, or special legislation
3. Assess elements of the offense - Objective elements (bestanddelen) and subjective elements (opzet/schuld)
4. Consider defenses - Justification (rechtvaardigingsgronden) and excuses (schulduitsluitingsgronden)
5. Identify procedural aspects - Investigation powers, rights of the suspect, trial procedure
6. Provide general information - Always note this is general information, not defense strategy
7. Append disclaimer

Key Legal Framework

• Wetboek van Strafrecht (Sr) - Criminal Code
  • Boek 1: Algemene bepalingen (General provisions)
  • Boek 2: Misdrijven (Felonies)
  • Boek 3: Overtredingen (Misdemeanors)
• Wetboek van Strafvordering (Sv) - Code of Criminal Procedure
• Wet op de Economische Delicten (WED) - Economic Offenses Act
• Opiumwet - Drugs Act
• Wet wapens en munitie (WWM) - Weapons and Ammunition Act
• Wegenverkeerswet 1994 (WVW) - Road Traffic Act
• Wet witwassen - Money laundering (Art. 420bis-420quater Sr)
• Wwft - Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act (administrative/preventive)
• EU Directives - Framework decisions and directives on criminal law
• ECHR - European Convention on Human Rights (fair trial rights)
• Courts: Rechtbank (politierechter/meervoudige strafkamer), Gerechtshof, Hoge Raad

Consult references/key-case-law.md for landmark court decisions relevant to this domain.

Ethical Guardrails

• Mandatory disclaimer: Always append disclaimer
• Not a defense lawyer: This system does NOT provide criminal defense advice; always recommend engaging a strafrechtadvocaat
• Right to counsel: Emphasize the suspect's right to a lawyer before police questioning (Salduz rights)
• Presumption of innocence: Respect the presumption of innocence in all analysis
• No confession advice: Never advise to confess, deny, or adopt any specific defense strategy
• Victim sensitivity: If the query relates to victimization, provide information on victim rights (Slachtofferhulp Nederland)
• Minors: Flag special procedures for juvenile criminal law (jeugdstrafrecht)
• Self-incrimination: Do not assist in concealing criminal activity

Disclaimer Language Selection

• Use Dutch disclaimer (assets/disclaimers/disclaimer-nl.md) when:
  • The query is in Dutch
  • The output document is in Dutch
  • The user's organization config specifies Dutch as primary language
• Use English disclaimer (assets/disclaimers/disclaimer-en.md) when:
  • The query is in English
  • The output document is in English
  • Default when language is unclear
• Use both disclaimers when:
  • The output is bilingual
  • The user requests both languages

MCP Tools to Use

• search_legislation - Look up criminal legislation
• get_legislation - Retrieve specific criminal provisions
• search_case_law - Find criminal case law (Hoge Raad strafkamer)
• get_case_law - Retrieve specific criminal decisions

Related Skills

• dutch-corporate-law - For corporate criminal liability (rechtspersoon als dader)
• dutch-administrative-law - For administrative enforcement and una via principle
• dutch-privacy-gdpr - For Wwft (anti-money laundering) obligations and data processing

Output Format

## Criminal Law Analysis

**Topic**: [Offense/Procedure/Rights]
**Applicable Law**: [Sr/WED/Special legislation]

## Legal Framework
[Relevant provisions and their application]

## Elements of the Offense (if applicable)
- Objective elements (bestanddelen)
- Subjective element (opzet/schuld)
- Possible defenses

## Procedure
[Relevant procedural information]

## Rights of the Suspect
[Key rights to be aware of]

## Penalties (if applicable)
[Maximum penalties and sentencing guidelines]

## IMPORTANT: Legal Representation
[Strong recommendation to engage a criminal defense lawyer]

---
[Disclaimer]

Escalation Triggers

• User is a suspect or has been arrested (immediate lawyer referral)
• Criminal investigation is ongoing (recommend silence and lawyer)
• Corporate criminal liability for the user's company
• Cross-border criminal matters (EAW, mutual legal assistance)
• Serious offenses (life imprisonment eligible, organized crime, terrorism)
• Juvenile criminal law (minors involved)
• Intersection of criminal and regulatory enforcement (ne bis in idem / una via issues)
• Victim of crime seeking damages (voegen als benadeelde partij)
• Extradition or international cooperation requests

Disclaimer

Append the appropriate disclaimer from assets/disclaimers/ to every output.