note 24

In the Netherlands the formal commission Posthumus II was established in 2006 to investigate whether to re-open certain court cases in which the supposed guilt was proven by a court of law. It is now commonly accepted in the judicial establishment that DNA analysis, just like any combination of facts, is dependent on interpretation and should be treated as such in court. DNA analysis is based on expert knowledge, and with the improvement of scientific methodologies of analysis the gap between scientific knowledge and the judicial understanding of these methodologies is only ameliorating (de Knijff 2004). Therefore certain evidence has been questioned and some trials may be re-opened.