Prize for best legal Master's thesis

August 10, 2009 6:06 AM

Shaïda Martis has this year written the best legal Master’s thesis of the Dutch Antilles and Aruba.   For the ninth time, the Van Eps Kunneman VanDoorne prize was recently awarded at the University of the Dutch Antilles.  The prize is awarded for the best Master’s thesis of the Faculty of Law at the University of the Dutch Antilles.

Martis won with her thesis entitled ‘Herziening ten nadele nader bezien: Verkenning van de strafvorderlijke regeling met aantekeningen vanuit Nederlands-Antilliaans oogpunt’ [A closer look at reviews with a negative outcome: An examination of the Criminal Law Regulation with notes from a Dutch-Antillean perspective].   The thesis covered a topical subject, i.e. the review of final judgements.

For example in the ‘Puttense’ murder case, a review of the judgement produced a favourable outcome for those who had already been convicted.  This resulted from the use of new methods of investigation that were not available at the time of the conviction.  The question arose, whether the review of a judgement could also be conducted to the disadvantage of a person who has already been convicted.

Should someone who has already been convicted, and for whom the appeal period has expired, be let out of jail as a consequence of new methods of investigation, for example?  But what if the situation changes to the disadvantage of the person convicted?

In her thesis, Martis thoroughly examines current Dutch and international discussion on the subject and, according to the panel of judges, successfully applied the discussion to the Dutch-Antillean legal system.

(Source: www.ekvandoorne.com)

August 10, 2009