Lecture Lounge - Age is just a number

(this lecture is in English)

We host experts and academics covering niche and unexpected topics, where the range is limitless. Our last lecture explored intellectual property, 300 years of copyright law and generative AI. This lecture focuses on the Dutch youth criminal justice system and how the age at which someone can be treated as a minor or an adult can shift based on neurodevelopment. Have a drink, listen to something stimulating and make new friends.

Most people, including most Dutch people, assume the law treats you as an adult the moment you turn 18. The Dutch criminal justice system does something more nuanced than that.

Since 2014, the Netherlands has operated under Adolescent Criminal Law, a system built on the premise that developmental age matters more than chronological age. A judge can apply juvenile criminal law to offenders up to 23, or adult criminal law from as young as 16. The deciding factor isn't a birthday. It's a professional assessment of how old the brain actually is.

Lotte Baudert advises on risk and interventions. As a forensic criminologist and probation officer at Fivoor GGZ, she advises prosecutors and judges on risk and on which interventions actually reduce the chance of reoffending.

This lecture unpacks how the system works, the common misunderstandings surrounding it, and the role neuroscience plays in decisions that shape someone's life. At its core, Dutch criminal justice treats rehabilitation and resocialization as one of the primary goals rather than punishment. Lotte will explore what that means in practice, and why it might invite us to think about justice differently