Netherlands
Practice Relating to Rule 102. Individual Criminal Responsibility
The Military Manual (1993) of the Netherlands reproduces the prohibition of collective punishments found in Article 75 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I and Article 4 of the 1977 Additional Protocol II.
With respect to non-international armed conflict, the manual states: “Nobody may be condemned but on the basis of individual criminal responsibility.”
The Military Manual (2005) of the Netherlands states:
Every human being is entitled to personal safety.
Examples:
- No one may be held responsible for a deed he has not committed.
- Reprisals, collective punishments … are forbidden.
In its chapter on the protection of the civilian population, the manual states: “No protected person may be punished for an offence he has not personally committed.”