ABSTRACT
A successfully pleaded defence of provocation or diminished responsibility has the effect of reducing the offence of murder, carrying a mandatory life sentence, to that of manslaughter which has a discretionary sentencing range. First, some general characteristics of Dutch substantive criminal law will be briefly discussed. Dutch homicide law will then be explained. After several general remarks about defences and mitigation grounds have been made, the notions of provocation and diminished responsibility will be examined at length. In addition, a few other offences falling in fact under the category of homicide offences and referred to as 'privileged offences' basically contain mitigation grounds. Self-defence and provocation can therefore go hand in hand, but that does not have to be the case. Because self-defence involves the right to avert injustice, it is deemed a justificatory defence. The foregoing suggests that there are both similarities and differences between excessive self-defence and provocation.
