Lodewijk Henri Christian Hulsman, known as Louk Hulsman (8 March 1923 in

Kerkrade Kerkrade ( Ripuarian: ; li, Kirkraoj; german: Kerkrade or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg; the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. Kerkrade is the ...

– 28 January 2009 in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

) was a Dutch legal scientist and

criminologist Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

Life

According to Hulsman, his childhood and adolescence were marked by the time he spent in a religious

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

that left him traumatized. After graduating from school Hulsman was involved in a

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1944 he was convicted of using counterfeit identification papers and imprisoned at the

Amersfoort concentration camp Kamp Amersfoort ( nl, Kamp Amersfoort, german: Durchgangslager Amersfoort) was a Nazi concentration camp near the city of Amersfoort, the Netherlands. The official name was "Polizeiliches Durchgangslager Amersfoort", P.D.A. or Amersfoort Police T ...

. While being transferred to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

he successfully escaped. After returning to the Netherlands he joined the Allied troops as a soldier during the last weeks of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Hulsman later recalled how some members of his resistance movement had stolen weapons and clothing even from other Allied troops during the war. From 1945 to 1948 Hulsman studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. After his exams he first worked for the Dutch

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Estoni ...

and later for the Dutch

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. In 1963 he became a professor for

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

and

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

at the Netherlands School of Economics, the later

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist ...

(

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

1986). He is a main author of the Council of the European Union’s influential report on

decriminalization Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the reclassification in law relating to certain acts or aspects of such to the effect that they are no longer considered a crime, including the removal of criminal penalties in relation to them. This reform ...

.Council of the European Union, Report on Decriminalization, Strasbourg (1980) He last lectured at the Academia Vitae in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

. Together with Nils Christie and

Thomas Mathiesen Thomas Mathiesen (5 October 1933 – 29 May 2021) was a Norwegian sociologist. Background Mathiesen grew up in the Norwegian county of Akershus, as the only child of Einar Mathiesen (1903–1983) and Birgit Mathiesen (1908–1990).Mathiesen, ...

he is a prominent representative of the

prison abolition movement The prison abolition movement is a network of groups and activists that seek to reduce or eliminate prisons and the prison system, and replace them with systems of rehabilitation that do not place a focus on punishment and government institution ...

Publication & Articles (selection)

* Louk H.C. Hulsman/Jacqueline Bernat de Celis (1982): ''Peines Perdues. Le système pénale en question''. Paris. * Louk H.C. Hulsman (1983): ''Abolire il sistema penale?'', in: Dei delitti e delle pene 1, pg.71-89. * Louk H.C. Hulsman (1986): ''Critical Criminology and the Concept of Crime'', in: Contemporary Crises, 10 (3-4), pg.63-80. * Liber Amicorum Louk Hulsman: Social problems and criminal justice (1987), Juridisch Instituut, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam * Louk H.C. Hulsman (1991): ''The Abolitionist Case: Alternative Crime Policies'', in: ''

The Israel Law Review The ''Israel Law Review'' is the oldest Israeli law journal published in English. In ''Great American Lawyers, an Encyclopaedia'', it is referred to as being among "the most prestigious of scholarly journals". The journal focuses on Israeli law a ...

'' 25 (2-4), pg.681-709.

External links

Comprehensive representation with obituary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulsman, Louk 1923 births 2009 deaths Dutch criminologists Dutch legal scholars Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam Leiden University alumni People from Kerkrade Prison abolitionists

Life

Publication & Articles (selection)

Further reading

External links

References