Samenvatting

The Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure and the related guidelines of the College of Procurators-General are for all sorts of historical and ideological reasons heavily restrictive when it comes to the use of cooperative witnesses in criminal proceedings. What strikes most is that even in very serious cases it is not possible to grant a witness complete or partial immunity in exchange for his important cooperation. This contribution describes the problems arising sometimes in criminal cases wherein prosecutors, despite the existing narrow framework, make a deal with such a witness. The article outlines not only the historical and international background of the use of cooperative witnesses, but also its contemporary legal framework in the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. The outcome of this comparative exercise is that at least the current legal provisions should be evaluated and that this evaluation should take into account the system and experiences in other countries as well as the problems of serious crime in the Netherlands and the leniency policies that govern the efforts to contain serious white collar crime like e.g. cartels.