Psychological expert witnesses in Germany and the Netherlands

Both the legal system of the Netherlands and that of Germany are inquisitorial systems, at least for criminal cases. One could naively suppose that the differences in legal procedure between the two countries would be negligible compared to differences with accusatorial systems. And, indeed if one spends a day in court in The Netherlands and in Germany the two legal systems seem to share many features. The court—in both countries usually a three judge panel in cases of serious crimes—holds a much stronger position during trial than either the prosecution or the defense. For instance, the judge is the first to question the defendant and the witnesses, only after which the defense and the prosecution are given the opportunity to pose questions. One will look for a jury in vain.