In the 15 years since the first edition of this work was published, there have been many important changes in Dutch law. In the 1980s, the Dutch criminal justice system lost some of its liberal characteristics of the 1970s, in 1983 the Dutch Constitution was revised, the impact of European law has increased considerably, and the new Civil Code has entered into force. A continuous stream of case law and legislation also required the update of this book, which should be of interest to foreign law students and lawyers.