Wanted in the Netherlands: judges who understand cybercrime

The Dutch legal system needs separate courts to deal with cyber crime because of the complexity of such cases and level of expertise judges have to have, the president and senior judge of The Hague’s appeal court say in Thursday’s Volkskrant.

The expertise among today’s court officials and judges is lagging behind that of the cyber criminals themselves, Christiaan Baardman and Leendert Verheij say. Malware, ransomware and botnets are all particularly complex issues and in constant development.

Baardman, who coordinates a special cyber crime expertise centre in The Hague, says extra training for judges does not go far enough. ‘A murder is still a murder but cyber crime is continually innovating,’ the paper quotes Baardman as saying in legal magazine Mr.

The Netherlands has a major role in cyber crime and its prevention due to its good internet links and the large number of server farms located on Dutch soil.

The Netherlands already has specialist courts to deal with tax evasion, human trafficking and corporate law.