The judicial visitor will also want to visit the new
building housing the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, which moved from its old
quarters in the old part of the city to one of its newer sections. Designed by
Kaan Architecten, this ultra modern building mixes marble, glass and wood to
create a visual wonder. It opened April 23, 2016.
Other international institutions that may be toured by
visitors are the new quarters of the International Criminal Court, the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, each of which is located in a
different part of The Hague. In two of these institutions, the International
Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia, visitors can observe proceedings and hear the testimony of
witnesses through modern real time interpreting of testimony in different languages.
There are other sites to visit in the old town. The
residence of the Dutch monarch can be viewed from one of the main thoroughfares.
There are several museums, the most significant of which is the Mauritshuis,
housing works of Vermeer and Rembrandt and other Dutch masters It is located
adjacent to the Bennenhof, which is the cultural center of The Hague and
contains the beautiful brick buildings housing the Parliament and other
government institutions. Other museums and cultural attractions can be found in
a tourist directory of the city.
One nearby hotel worth visiting and having lunch or
dinner there is the Des Indes Hotel, which used to be the center of diplomatic
interplay and intrigue. It is located near the former location of the United
States Embassy in a tree lined park across a major thoroughfare from the
Bennenhof.
Two other nearby places to visit, which have many cultural
offerings, are Delft, a nearby small city founded in the 13th century. Delft is associated with two famous figures of history, the jurist
Hugo Grotius, known as the “father of international law,” and Johannes Vermeer,
the internationally known 17th century Dutch painter. It is easily
reached by tram or train from The Hague. In addition the two largest cities of the
Netherlands, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, are also close by and available by train
from The Hague.
The Netherlands offers the judicial tourist many sites that
are worth visiting because of their connection with law, courts and judges, as
well as many other significant cultural venues that will make his or her visit
especially appealing and educational.