Cassation in criminal cases
Cassation is the name of the procedure before the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, the country's highest court. Cassation lawyers are specialised criminal defence lawyers who conduct these proceedings for defendants, and also for fellow lawyers who do not practise this specialism. This website explains the procedure and introduces the cassation lawyers of Meijers | Canatan Advocaten in Amsterdam.
From the time limit to the judgment.
Questions of law, not questions of fact.
The Supreme Court does not hear the case afresh. It does not assess whether the defendant committed the offence, nor does it hear witnesses. It reviews whether the court of appeal applied the law correctly and observed the rules of procedure, and whether its decision is adequately reasoned.
That is why complaints in cassation are legally technical: they concern reasoning, procedural requirements and the interpretation of statutory provisions. A well-drafted set of grounds of appeal identifies exactly where the judgment of the lower court falls short.
If a ground of cassation succeeds, the Supreme Court quashes the judgment. In most cases it refers the case back to the court of appeal for a fresh hearing; sometimes it settles the matter itself, for instance by reducing the sentence or the amount of a confiscation order.
Cassation specialists in criminal cases.
Mr. K. Canatan
Cassation lawyer
Mr. K. Canatan is a partner at Meijers Canatan Advocaten. He has many years of experience as a criminal defence lawyer and in particular a cassation practice in criminal cases. In addition to conducting cassation proceedings for the firm's own clients, he is regularly asked by other lawyers to advise on cassation or to file the grounds of appeal. He has been admitted as a full member by the board of the Dutch Association of Cassation Lawyers in Criminal Cases (VCAS) and therefore belongs to a select group of cassation specialists in criminal law.
Mr. F.P. Slewe
Cassation lawyer
Mr. F.P. Slewe has years of experience as a criminal lawyer and prepared many cassation appeals for criminal defence lawyers at his previous firm. Since joining Meijers Canatan Advocaten as a criminal defence lawyer he has filed numerous grounds of appeal, with a particular specialism in cassation in confiscation cases under the Dutch 'Pluk ze' legislation. Outside cassation proceedings too, mr. Slewe is the firm's confiscation specialist.
Mr. T.S. Finken
Cassation lawyer
Mr. T.S. (Thomas) Finken studied law at the University of Amsterdam and obtained his master's degree in criminal law at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He also completed a bachelor's degree in political science at Leiden University. Since August 2023 mr. Finken has been a lawyer at Meijers Canatan Advocaten, where he focuses exclusively on the defence of suspects in criminal cases — including serious violent crime, drugs cases, sexual offences and financial and economic cases such as fraud and money laundering. From that practice he is closely involved in cassation proceedings and cassation advice.
Herengracht 478, Amsterdam.
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