Two major factors brought about the establishment of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law: demand for the publication of national practice in international law, and the desire for legal practitioners, state representatives and international lawyers to have access to the growing amount of available data, in the form of articles, notes etc. The Documentation section contains an extensive review of Dutch state practice from the parliamentary year prior to publication, an account of developments relating to treaties and other international agreements to which the Netherlands is a party, summaries of Netherlands judicial decisions involving questions of public international law (many of which are not published elsewhere), lists of Dutch publications in the field and extracts from relevant municipal legislation. Although the NYIL has a distinctive national character it is published in English, and the editors do not adhere to any geographical limitations when deciding upon the inclusion of articles.

Article.- Jurisdictional Competition between National and International Courts: could International Jurisdiction-Regulating Rules Apply?.- The Ties that Bind: The EU, the UN and International Law.- Loopholes, Risks and Ambivalences in International Lawmaking; the Case of a Framework Convention on Victims' Rights.- Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Achievements in International Law during the Last Quarter of a Century.- Documentation.- Classification Scheme.- Netherlands State Practice for the Parliamentary Year 2004-2005.- Treaties and Other International Agreements to Which the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a Party.- Netherlands Municipal Legislation Involving Questions of Public International Law, 2005.- Netherlands Judicial Decisions Involving Questions of Public International Law, 2004-2005.- Dutch Literature in the Field of Public International Law and Related Matters, 2005.