NCJ Number
196022
Journal
Judicial Explorations (Justitiele verkenningen) Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: 2002 Pages: 26-35
Date Published
2002
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the legal limitations for both the police and courts in a Dutch criminal procedure in establishing the truth and punishing the guilty and protecting the innocent.
Abstract
To punish the guilty and prevent an innocent person from being punished is the ultimate goal in a Dutch criminal procedure. For this to occur, it is essential to establish the truth. Criminal law establishes legal limitations in the manner in which the truth is obtained. In the investigation of a case the police are restricted by conditions laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure and in the case-law of the Dutch Supreme Court. Suspects have the basic right to remain silent. They cannot be forced to tell the truth. Based on how material or evidence is obtained, it may or may not be valuable or admissible. Even though the police attempt to obtain the real truth, there seems to be a pattern in reducing the truth so that it fits into the text of an indictment.