Amnesty

Complete or partial reprieve of an imposed penalty.

After being sentenced for an offence, the convicted person or another party can apply for amnesty to the Ministry of Justice. If the application complies with certain legal conditions, advice is sought from the Minister of Justice and the judiciary. The Ministry then submits the application to the Queen, who may subsequently grant amnesty by Royal Decree.

Dutch amnesty legislation defines two grounds on which amnesty may be granted. First, in the case of new evidence or evidence which was not taken into consideration sufficiently at trial, while this evidence would have resulted in a lower sentence. Secondly, in the case that imposing or continuing the sentence would not serve a reasonable purpose.