Naming for kin and the development of modern family structures

It is generally assumed that the conjugal family—the family that lived independently from extended kin—came into existence in the Netherlands relatively early, and that a new attitude towards children, characterized by an emphasis on the individuality of the child, developed at more or less the same time. To test whether this more narrow range of kin and the stronger emphasis on the individuality of the child translated itself also in a deviation from the traditional practice of naming newborn children for kin, the article analyzes naming patterns in a rural area of the Netherlands during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The conclusion is that the rise of the conjugal family and the new attitude that recognized the child as an autonomous individual had no impact on the degree of naming for kin. In a more general sense, the findings raise doubts about the idea that changes in family structures and mentality directly express themselves in changes in naming practices.     

Influence of the Code Civil in the Netherlands

The subject of this paper is the influence of the Code Civil in the Netherlands. First, the history of the codification in the Netherlands is examined. Then, attention is paid to the Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW) of 1838, the predecessor of the Dutch civil code of the present day. It is investigated whether this BW is a copy of the Code Civil or a work on its own. Within this framework, the reasons why the Code Civil had an extraordinary influence are shortly mentioned. Finally it is explained how this BW has developed to our BW of 1992. The Code Civil was the model for the BW of 1838. This does not mean that the BW is a copy of the Code. It was not simply a translation. The BW is influenced by the Code Civil, but this does not justify the view that the Netherlands adopted French law. On the contrary: some French rules were removed. Former Dutch law was inserted instead of the French rules or as a supplement to the BW. A large part of the Code is based on joint roots, and the most important common background is Roman law. Those rules cannot be qualified as French law. Besides this there are also typical French provisions, some originated by the French Revolution. With regard to this rules the question is whether these are French rules or universal rights. It can be argued that the BW of 1838 is an improved version of the Code Civil.     

Data processing by police and criminal justice authorities in Europe – The influence of the Commission's draft on the national police laws and laws of criminal procedure

The proposal for a fundamental reform of the European data protection law, published by the EU Commission on 25 January 2012 is composed of two elements. Apart from a General Data Protection Regulation, the Commission proposes a second regulatory instrument, namely a Directive with regard to data processing by police and criminal justice authorities that shall supersede the Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA. This paper seeks to analyse the draft Directive in the context of the entire reform approach and scrutinizes a number of specific issues in regard to the scope, the requirements of data processing, notification duties and data transfer to third countries.     

The Netherlands

European Journal of Political Research -