ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the practices of legal assistance at the investigative stage in what is considered a strongly ‘inquisitorial’ procedural setting. It also describes the role of a lawyer in the Dutch criminal process, and the developments concerning early access to legal assistance. The chapter summarizes the findings of the fieldwork in the Netherlands. Defence lawyers have several participatory rights, including the right to request the hearing of witnesses, to request a complementary investigation, to direct questions to witnesses to participate in suspect interrogations. The right to legal assistance in the context of custodial suspect interrogations was first introduced by the landmark 2009 post-Salduz judgment of the Dutch Supreme Court. At the time of the fieldwork, lawyers could attend interrogations of juvenile suspects, although in practice, they often delegated this task to ‘trusted persons’. Judges in the Netherlands are professionals appointed for life. There is no system of a jury or lay participation in criminal adjudication.
