Integration and Unification of the Dutch Penal System. Some Historical Remarks

This text is a reaction to a paper by Xavier Rousseaux and René Lévy, in which they formulated a theme examined in the seminars on 'States and punishment', held in 1993-1995. Their most important theses are: The present process of integration of European nation-States has consequences for penal law, sanctioning practices, etc. This process cannot be understood in isolation from the historical background. The present period of European integration was preceded by integration processes on a sma.