This book describes the development of the criminal law of evidence in the Netherlands, France and Germany between 1750 and 1870. In this period the development occurred that the so-called system of legal proofs was replaced with the (largely) free evaluation of the evidence. The system of legal proofs, which had functioned since the late middle ages, consisted of a set of strict evidentiary rules which predetermined when a judge could convict someone. In this book an explanation is given of the question why between 1750 and 1870 the strict evidentiary rules were replaced with the free evaluation of the evidence. The thesis of this research is that the reform was induced by a change in the underlying epistemological and political-constitutional discourses which together provided the ideas which inspired a significant reform of the criminal law of evidence.
Ronnie Bloemberg, PhD (2018), performed his PhD between 2014 and 2018 at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands. He has published several articles on the history of the criminal law of evidence in Dutch and international journals, and is currently working as a lawyer.
âAcknowledgements
â1Introduction
â1.1The Connection with the Criminal Justice System as a Whole
â1.2The Theoretical Framework
â1.3The Approach and Limitations
â1.4The Periodization
â1.5The Structure and Content of the Chapters
Part 1: The Theoretical Framework and the Development of the Criminal Law of Evidence in France and Germany
â2The Characteristics of the System of Legal Proofs
â2.1Introduction
â2.2The Abandonment of the Ordeal and the Development of the Inquisitorial Procedure
â2.3The Central Characteristics of the System of Legal Proofs
â2.4The Thesis of Langbein
â2.5Conclusion
â3The Theoretical Framework
â3.1Introduction
â3.2The Political-constitutional Discourse
â3.3The Epistemological Discourse
â3.4Conclusion
â4The Reform of the Criminal Law of Evidence in France 1750â1870
â4.1Introduction
â4.2The Regulation of the Criminal Law of Evidence in France until 1789
â4.3The Reform Discussion on the Criminal Law of Evidence between 1750 and 1789
â4.4The Discussions in the Constitutional Assembly (1789â1791)
â4.5The Development of the Criminal Law of Evidence between 1791 and 1814
â4.6The Criminal Law of Evidence between 1815 and 1848
â4.7Conclusion
â5The Development of the German Criminal Law of Evidence 1750â1870
â5.1Introduction
â5.21750â1812: The Abolition of Judicial Torture and the Start of the Reform Debate
â5.3The German Discussion between 1812 and 1848
â5.4The Discussion on the Criminal Law of Evidence between 1848 and the 1870s
â5.5Conclusion
Part 2: The Development of the Criminal Law of Evidence in the Netherlands 1750â1870
â6The Criminal Law of Evidence in the Dutch Republic between 1600 and 1795
â6.1Introduction
â6.2The Regulation of the Criminal Law of Evidence in the juridical Literature
â6.3The Practice of the Criminal Law of Evidence in the Dutch Republic
â6.4Conclusion
â7The Criminal Law of Evidence under Discussion: 1750â1795
â7.1Introduction
â7.2Criticisms on the Use of Judicial Torture 1600â1750
â7.3The Reform-literature between 1750 and 1795
â7.4Reforms of (criminal) Ordinances in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century
â7.5Conclusion
â8The Criminal Law of Evidence in the Franco-Batavian Period 1795â1813
â8.1Introduction
â8.2The Reform of the Criminal Law of Evidence in the National Legislation 1795â1810
â8.3The Juridical Literature between 1795 and 1810
â8.4The Incorporation of the Netherlands into the French Empire 1810â1813
â8.5Conclusion
â9The Criminal Law of Evidence in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1813â1830
â9.1Introduction
â9.2The Development of the Discussion in the Juridical Literature between 1813 and 1830
â9.3The Attempts to Create New Substantive and Procedural Criminal Codes 1813â1830
â9.4The Consequences of the Belgian Separation from the Netherlands
â9.5Conclusion
â10The Criminal Law of Evidence in the Netherlands between 1838 and 1870
â10.1Introduction
â10.2The Discussion on the Criminal Law of Evidence between 1838 and 1860
â10.3The Discussion Regarding the Abolition of the Negative System of Legal Proofs in the 1860s
â10.4Changes in the Criminal Law of Evidence after 1870
â10.5Conclusion
â11Conclusion
â11.1Introduction
â11.2The Theoretical Framework
â11.3The Connection with the Criminal Justice System as a Whole
â11.4A Comparison between the Netherlands, France and Germany
â11.5The Developments in the Late Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
âBibliography
âIndex
All interested in the history of the criminal procedural law and the law of evidence, and anyone concerned with the history of epistemological and constitutional ideas in the 17th-19th centuries.