W.A. Engelbrecht - De Wetboeken Wetten en Verordeningen van Indonesië: benevens de grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden [...]

W.A. Engelbrecht - De Wetboeken Wetten en Verordeningen van Indonesië: benevens de grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, en de ontwerp constitutie voor de Republiek der Verenigde Staten van Indonesië [...]. Bewerkt door Mr. E.M.L. Engelbrecht - Leiden - A.W. Sijthoff's Uitgeversmij N.V. - 1950 - 1st edition - xcvi, 2847 pp. - Cloth binding - 12,5 x 20,5 cm.

Condition: Good, complete with the loose errata sheets. With wear, a small tear at the bottom of the spine and at the top of the half-title page. Rare postcolonial legislative collector's item.

Solid law book in hardcover edition for courts; students, lawyers, prosecutors, judges and the Ministry of Justice, on behalf of the new state Republik Indonesia Selatan (RIS). With chapters on drugs (opium), corporal punishment, and the death penalty (!), chronological list of State magazines, abbreviations and index. Text in Dutch. With coloured edges by means of a chapter division. The book should contain some loose errata sheets and replacement pages.

With this political structure, the Dutch tried to keep a legal grip on Indonesian politics. However, the concept was soon abandoned by the leaders of the former colony.

¶ After World War II, during the "Revolusi Nasional Indonesia" (= 'Indonesian National Revolution), self-proclaimed president Soekarno declared the Dutch East Indies independent after centuries of colonial history. The Netherlands opposed this by means of the so-called "politionele acties" (military police actions) and a bloody War of Independence ensued. Under pressure from the international community, the Netherlands finally recognized Indonesian independence in December 1949, with the exception of Irian Jaya, which was finally transferred to Indonesia after an interim government by the United Nations in 1963.