While recreational use,possession and trade of non-medicinal drugs described by the Opium Law are all technically illegal under Dutch law,official policy since the late 20th century has been to openly tolerate all recreational use while tolerating possession and trade under certain circumstances. This pragmatic approach was motivated by the idea that a drug-free Dutch society is unrealistic and unattainable,and efforts would be better spent trying to minimize harm caused by recreational drug use. As a result of this gedoogbeleid,the Netherlands is typically seen as much more tolerant of drugs than most other countries.
Tilburg University is a catholic research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences,economics,law,business sciences,theology and humanities,located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands.
Adarsh Sein Anand was the 29th Chief Justice of India,serving from 10 October 1998 to 31 October 2001.
Hedwig "Hedy" d'Ancona is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and political activist.
The Ministry of Justice and Security is the Dutch ministry responsible for justice,imprisonment and public security. The ministry was created in 1798 as the Department of Justice,before it became in 1876 the Ministry of Justice. In 2010,it took over the public safety duties from the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and became Ministry of Security and Justice. In 2017 the ministry was renamed to Ministry of Justice and Security.
Ricardo Luis Lorenzetti is an Argentine judge graduated from the National University of the Littoral,Argentina,with a long national and international career. He used to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Argentina (2007–2018),proposed by President Néstor Kirchner and approved by the Senate,assuming his position on December 12,2004,covering the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice Adolfo Vázquez. On November 7,2006,he was appointed Chief Justice,officiated as of January 1,2007. Currently,he is one of the five Justices of the Supreme Court. He was President of the Commission for the preparation of the Parliamentary Act to reform,update and unify the Civil and Commercial Codes of the Argentine Nation,Presidential Decree 191/2011.
Christine,Baroness Van den Wyngaert is a Belgian jurist and judge. She served as international and comparative criminal law expert from 2009 to 2018 as a judge on the International Criminal Court. She served in the Trial Division Chamber. On 8 July 2013,Van den Wyngaert was ennobled by King Albert II of Belgium as a baroness for her services as a judge. From 2003 to 2005 she was a Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,and from 2000 to 2002 an ad hoc judge on the International Court of Justice.
Nebahat Albayrak is a retired Turkish–Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and jurist. She is a corporate director at Upstream International a division of Royal Dutch Shell since 5 November 2012.
Sarah Hull Cleveland,an American judge,lawyer,law professor,and former State Department official,is a judge on the International Court of Justice and the Louis Henkin Professor of Human and Constitutional Rights at Columbia Law School.
Elisabeth Maria Josepha "Lilianne" Ploumen is a Dutch politician and activist who served as Leader of the Labour Party from January 2021 until April 2022. She had been a member of the House of Representatives since 2017,as well as parliamentary leader since 2021,leaving the House of Representatives upon her resignation as party leader. Ploumen previously served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation from 2012 to 2017.
Willem J.M. van Genugten is Professor em. of International Law at Tilburg University. Since 2008,he has been Extraordinary Professor of International Law at the North-West University,South Africa. He has published extensively on a variety of issues in international law.
Christiaan Willem Anton Timmermans is a Dutch law professor and judge. He was a judge at the European Court of Justice between 2000 and 2010.
Johannes "Jos" Silvis is a Dutch law professor and judge. He was a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1 November 2012 through 1 September 2016. He subsequently became attorney general at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.
Ernst Maurits Henricus Hirsch Ballin is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist.
Judith C.M. Swinkels is a Dutch politician,she was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Democrats 66 from 3 November 2015 to 23 March 2017. Previously she was a lawyer and judge.
Katarina Barley is a German politician and lawyer who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019,serving as one of its Vice-Presidents. She served as Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection in the fourth Cabinet of Angela Merkel. Prior to that,she had served as Federal Minister of Family Affairs,Senior Citizens,Women and Youth and since 28 September 2017 also as the acting Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs,both until 14 March 2018.
RenéBarents is a Dutch European Union law scholar. He has been a judge at the General Court since 6 october 2011. He previously served as a judge on the European Union Civil Service Tribunal from 2011 until 2016
Cynthia Valstein-Montnor is a Surinamese judge. She was the acting president of the High Court of Justice of Suriname from 2011 until 2014. Alongside this role she was also the presiding judge officiating the Military Court,regarding the murder-trial of President Desi Bouterse and his role in the December murders.
Petra Stienen is a Dutch human rights advocate with more than thirty years’experience in diplomacy,international relations,civil society,social entrepreneurship and politics.
Alex Brenninkmeijer was a Dutch lawyer,judge and academic,national ombudsman between 2005 and 2014,and member of the European Court of Auditors from 2014 until his death in 2022 in Luxembourg at the age of 70.
