Introduction

The Board of the Netherlands Comparative Law Association is glad to announce the opening of its own web site on the pages of the Electronic Journal of Comparative Law. It expects to use the site to present its activities and to publish its reports. In this introductory note, a brief presentation of the Association’s past activities will be given.

The Association was founded in 1968 as the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Rechtsvergelijking. It was to serve as the Dutch Chapter of the International Academy of Comparative Law. Indeed, one of the Association’s most conspicuous activities has always been the selection of national reporters for the congresses of the Academy. At present, the Association is calling for jurists who are willing to serve as national reporters at the forthcoming congress in Brisbane, Australia, to be held from 14 to 19 July 2002. The Association will see to the publication of the reports, both in print and in electronic form. Since 1970, the reports have been published in printed national volumes (Pescara 1970, Teheran 1974, Budapest 1978, Caracas 1982, Sydney/Melbourne 1986, Montreal 1990, Athens 1994, Bristol 1998). The Bristol reports are also available on the Internet. Since such national volumes are rather difficult to handle for those who are interested in only one topic, the Association supports the publication of vertical volumes with the general report and all national reports on a specific subject.

Less known than the Academy is the International Association of Legal Science, for which the Association also serves as its national Chapter. The next congress of the IALS is to take place in New Orleans, from 1 to 4 November 2000. It will commemorate the well-known Congress of Comparative Law held in Paris 1900.

Another activity of the Association is the publication of two reports (preadviezen) for its annual meetings. In this issue of the EJCL, the 1999 report by Professor Esin Örücü can be found (to read the article, please click on the button ‘To Article’ at the bottom of this page). The other report, by Ewoud Hondius on legal education, was published in Dutch. The forthcoming annual meeting will be held in The Hague, on 15 December 2000. The subjects on the agenda are ne bis in idem (reporter Dr. Hans Lensing) and the reservation of property (reporter Professor Paul Nève). In between, the Association will organise meetings to discuss recent questions of interest. The next such meeting will be in Utrecht on 22 November 2000, at which matrimonial property law in Europe will be discussed.

One of the problems in writing about Dutch law is an inconsistent way of translating. The lowest Dutch court, the kantongerecht, has at various times been translated into ‘magistrates’ court’, ‘subdistrict court’ and ‘justice of the peace’. Under the auspices of the Association, a four-language guide in Dutch, English, French and German has been published so as to provide guidance with regard to these translations. At present, a third edition, also covering Russian and Spanish, is in preparation.

Another way to help foreign jurists study Dutch law is through an Introduction to Dutch law. The Association has published such an Introduction in English. A similar volume in German is at present in preparation.

Finally, the Association gives financial support to various comparative law activities of other organisations.

The Board of the Association is, at present, constituted as follows:

– Professor Ewoud Hondius (Utrecht University), President

– Professor Katharina Boele-Woelki (Utrecht University), Secretary-General

– Dr. Carla Joustra (The Hague), Adjunct Secretary-General

– Dr. Gert Steenhoff (Utrecht University), Treasurer

– Dr. Sophie van Bijsterveld (Tilburg University)

– Professor Filip De Ly (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

– Professor Sjef van Erp (Maastricht University)

– Professor Piet Hein Gerver (University of Amsterdam)

– Professor René de Groot (Maastricht University)

– Professor Alis Koekkoek (Tilburg University)

– Professor Dick Lubach (Groningen University)

– Dr. Hans Nijboer (Leiden University)

– Professor Rick Verhagen (Nijmegen University).

The address of the Adjunct Secretary-General is: Dr. Carla Joustra, Hoge Raad der Nederlanden, P.O. Box 20303, 2500 EH The Hague, The Netherlands.

The Association has never published a newsletter of its own. From 1968 until the present, the Nederlands Juristenblad has served as an intermediary between the Association and the Dutch legal community. The Board hopes that it will continue to do so. The Board is also happy that the Electronic Journal of Comparative Law will add to its channels of communication with the legal community at large.

Ewoud Hondius,
President