The Netherlands: Two decades of the CRC in Dutch case law

Abstract

This chapter addresses the influence of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) on Dutch case law in the past two decades. What impact has the CRC had on the practice of the Dutch judiciary since its ratification? Has it had any effect on legal proceedings in the Netherlands? If so, what does this tell us about the functions, challenges and limitations of the CRC as a legal instrument in such a context? While the CRC’s influence has grown, that influence has followed divergent paths in different fields of Dutch law and among different courts and judges. In the Dutch courts the CRC has led to a special interpretation of both national and international law, but has also given rise to the duty transparently to balance the child’s best interests in decision-making. Children’s rights are taken more seriously in the Dutch courtroom. Future challenges include deploying the CRC in substantive, meaningful ways instead of as a piece of abstract magic, and preventing it from being used to over-protect children.