De dood van de Libische dictator Kadhafi is aanleiding voor een korte beschouwing over het leerstuk van de tirannenmoord, zoals dat werd ontwikkeld door de hugenootse monarchomachen in Frankrijk na de Bartholomeusnacht. Onder welke condities kan tirannicide gepaard gaan met een gematigde opstelling die erop gericht is geweld te minimaliseren en de binding aan een voor alle partijen geldende overkoepelende wet te bevestigen?

This article develops a victimological perspective on international criminal justice, based on a review of the main victimological characteristics of international crimes. These include the complicity or active involvement of government agencies, the large numbers of victims and the peculiar position of international crime victims who, at the time the crimes are committed, are usually not viewed as victims by the perpetrators, but placed outside the moral sphere or even depicted as perpetrators rather than victims.Key elements of this perspective concern the external coherence of the criminal justice reaction - the interlinking of criminal justice with other reparative efforts - as well as its internal coherence - the extent to which the procedures of international criminal justice are aligned with what it realistically can and should achieve. With internal coherence in mind, the article examines the victimological findings relating to the main rights of victims in the criminal procedure (recognition/acknowledgement, information/participation and compensation/reparation) and subsequently analyzes how the specifics of international crimes moderate them.

By expanding preventive powers, the Dutch criminal justice system is increasingly aimed at detecting risky people and groups as soon as possible. This so-called actuarial justice is accompanied by a great deal of discretionary power in the hands of those who have to enforce the law, bearing the risk that such powers may be carried out (in part) on the basis of generalizations relating to race, ethnicity, religion or nationality instead of on the basis of individual behavior and/or objective evidence. By presenting the results of an exploratory study into the perceptions of minorities with regard to racial profiling, the main conclusion of this article is that there is a clear necessity for further empirical research into this area.

Early this year, a bill was introduced proposing mandatory minimum sentences in the Netherlands. Despite harsh criticism from within the legal complex, the bill has not been withdrawn, instead its scope has been broadened. This article states that the reasons given for the introduction of mandatory minimum sentences have no empirical foundation and that the objectives of the bill will not be reached: mandatory minimum sentences will not contribute to the prevention of crime. The reason for the introduction of the bill is nothing less than a textbook example of penal populism.

In the past decades the social intuitionist approach to moral psychology has eclipsed rationalist models. The social intutionist approach considers emotions to be a driving force in moral judgement, while reasoning most often functions as a post hoc rationalisation of the initial emotion. This article argues that the social intutionist approach is also applicable to the choice and preferences victims make and have while navigating the criminal justice system. This is illustrated through two recent evaluations of victims experiences in the Netherlands: an evaluation of the Dutch victim-offender encounters and the oral and written Victim Impact Statements (VIS). It is shown that participation in the former programme is a function of low emotional impact, while participants in the VIS-schemes present with high levels of anxiety and anger, and exhibit signs of possible posttraumatic disorder. The implications of these findings are discussed and framed in terms of the social intuitionist model of moral psychology.

The position of victims of crime has shown marked improvement over the past 30 years. The rise of the victim has been associated with the growth of a unified ‘victim movement’; a social movement that strives to improve the position of victims of crime. However, it is questionable whether the victim movement should be viewed as a unitary phenomenon. Instead of one movement, there appear to be a number of victim movements. There are differences between the victim advocates in the United States, Victim Support in Europe, the violence against women movement and proponents of restorative justice.. In this article, reasons for these differences are sought in victim-endogenous factors: differences in victims’ characteristics and the idealtypes employed by the different movements are an important explanation for the divergent development in organisations representing victims interests, which in turn influences their policy preferences. It is argued that advocates of restorative justice would benefit from understanding both the reality and the distortion involved in the idealtypes, including their own. This would allow proponents of restorative justice to adapt their practices in a manner that is both suitable and convincing to the representative and target group of the different victim movements.

If one listens to what the authorities say about matters such as female circumcision and terrorism, Islam has nothing to do with it. These authorities are supported in this opinion by the work of many scientists. A cross section of the Dutch scientific literature on female circumcision and terrorism is discussed here. The upshot is that, regarding female circumcision, the literature is plagued with factual inaccuracies while the question of Islamic terrorism is dealt with in a one-sided and over-simplified way. The article concludes with an alternative research agenda that would help fill the gaps in our knowledge about the role of Islam in the behaviour of Islamic terrorists.

Signs that a more or less substantial group of people in Dutch prison experience problems as a result of an intellectual disability, suggest that it makes sense to track this group and subsequently offer them the support they need. The reason this does not happen in practice is a lack of knowledge on various fronts. As it is, it is not clear how large the group of people with an intellectual disability in Dutch prisons is, what problems they face, and what could aid them. This article highlights what we do know and what we do not know with regards to this group.

In this feature authors review recently published books on subjects of interest to readers of Beleid en Maatschappij.

Recent scientific studies have shown that a major part of juvenile delinquency is due to the incomplete development of adolescents and will stop before the age of 23. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the accompanying General Comment Children’s rights in juvenile justice give detailed guidelines about juvenile justice. This article focuses on an advice of the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles, according to which both of these developments require adjustment of the lower and upper age limit of criminal responsibility for juvenile offenders and justify a special criminal law for adolescents.

In this contribution the author discusses the broad question whether religious commitment does – or does not – stimulate violent types of criminal behaviour. Based on a review of relevant literature (criminology and religious studies), it is first specified that religious commitment in many respects functions as a protective factor to prevent people from criminal behaviour. By contrast, many orthodox and fundamentalist groups consider defensive violence (self-defense) and punitive violence (retaliation) to be legitimate options. In the final section the author discusses some of the assumed relationships between crime, violence and muslim-radicalism in the Netherlands.

Combatting honour related violence forms an important topic of criminal justice policy in the Netherlands. This article analyzes this policy, in particular the prosecution guideline on honour related violence, thereby focusing on victims and perpetrators, and the difficulties of dealing with the cultural background of honour related violence in criminal justice policy.

The master thesis Meditation inside the prison system describes the role of mindful meditation practises inside the prison environment. This article shortly summarizes the positive effects of (vipassana) meditation on the mental well-being of prisoners as set out in foreign studies and elaborates on the potential context for meditation programmes inside the Dutch prison system. This context can be found in the legal aim of individual rehabilitation including more intrinsic notions of internal growth and in certain insights of criminological nature. Interviews with several prison managers reveal an open attitude towards the practical integration of meditation programmes.

How can a Christian be devoted to Jesus Christ and his kingdom, while being a good citizin of an earthly kingdom at the same time? Theologians like Bernhard Reitsma and John Howard Yoder argue that this is only possible when a Christian restrains from politics and power. Together with thinkers as Douglas J. Schuurman and John Calvin, this article has a more positive evaluation of the Christian impact on Western culture and encourages Christian responsibility. God does not leave his world alone, therefore Christians should also commit themselves to politics that wants to work on a peaceful society. It is the narrow way between apathy and lust for power.

The fact that the Netherlands have abolished the death penalty in 1870 does not imply that this criminal sanction doesn't affect the Dutch legal order anymore. As a member of the international ‘legal family’ The Netherlands are confronted regularly with the continuing existence of capital punishment abroad, for instance when a Dutch national is sentenced to death in a foreign country. The (threat of a) death penalty is an important factor when Dutch administrative or judicial authorities have to decide on matters concerning the admission or expulsion of foreign citizens or the extradition of suspects to countries where they run the risk of being sentenced to death. In the Netherlands the enforcement of life sentences can get the character of a suspended death sentence when time and again pardon is denied and the convict will die a prisoner. Long-term prisoners suffer a kind of civil death, being cut off from their families, friends and other social contacts. In sum: enough reasons to focus once more on the ultimate criminal sanction.

Offenders can be deprived from their profession or office by a court. The Dutch legislator has recently increased possibilities for the judge to disqualify offenders who committed certain crimes within their professional occupation. This article discusses a study on the penalty of expulsion from a profession or an office. It appears that this penalty is not often imposed. Most cases concern sex crime cases and fraud cases. Although it is a penalty, the prosecutors and judges general aim at preventing new crimes when considering a disqualification. It is not known whether convicted persons comply to this penalty. The prosecution does not actively supervise observance. Respondents in this study fear that relapse into new crime within a profession happens, but figures are lacking on this point. Positive and negative sides of the disqualification are discussed in the article.

What does a religious perspective imply for the justification of the state imposing punishment on perpetrators of criminal offences under criminal law? As religion is experiencing a revival, it is not a strange idea to examine what a religious perspective can teach us in relation to criminal law. What religious fundamentalism and conservatism have to offer in this respect seems quite clear, namely retributive action by the state, as God's representative on earth, against conduct contrary to the dogmas of the Holy Scriptures. Nevertheless, research shows that conventional believers also often recognize the value of forgiveness and reconciliation. What is not clear, however, is what mysticism has to offer in relation to criminal law. In contradiction to conventional criminal law, from a mystical perspective there is no call for intentional infliction of pain in responding to crime. To avenge evil with evil is dismissed for both moral and practical reasons. Encouraging the spiritual awakening of man forms the alfa and omega of a mystical approach to crime.

This contribution aims to understand the right things when doing justice. Restorative justice is an approach to crime that, properly pursued, focuses not merely on the lawbreaking behaviour of the offender but also on the effect of that behaviour on victims and communities. Restorative justice seeks accountability on the part of offenders in such a way that the harm done can be addressed and repaired to the extent possible. Restorative justice allows the parties to a crime to participate directly and voluntarily in considering the harm and fashioning a resolution that addresses that harm. It is also important that the right thing about restorative justice and about democracy be understood. Crucial is respectful dialogue during which people who disagree listen to one another, speak from the heart and mind, identify common values, recognize the importance of the others, and work toward a common solution.