Leiden University. Photo: Rudolphous, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leiden_-_Rapenburg_73.jpg)
Leiden University. Photo: Rudolphous, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leiden_-_Rapenburg_73.jpg)
Peter Odenthal was born in 1958. He is documented as speaking English, and his professional life developed within the Dutch legal system.
The Netherlands follows the civil law tradition, whose private law rests on Roman law heritage and was codified in the Dutch Civil Code of 1838. Within that system, civil-law notaries are legal professionals who authenticate deeds and transactions, a function distinct from the representation of clients by lawyers.
Odenthal studied at the University of Leiden and completed his studies there in 1982. Founded in 1575, Leiden is the oldest university in the Netherlands and has a long tradition of legal education.
His legal education at Leiden preceded his admission to the Amsterdam bar in 1984.
Odenthal works as a partner in a civil-law notary practice. He was admitted to the Amsterdam bar in 1984, which placed him within the Dutch legal profession from that year.
Civil-law notaries in the Netherlands draw up and authenticate notarial deeds, a function that links the profession with property, company, and family transactions. His documented career thus combines admission as a lawyer with a partnership in a civil-law notary practice.
Odenthal was admitted to the Amsterdam bar in 1984. Lawyers in the Netherlands belong to local bar associations, which operate under the national Advocatenwet and regulate admission, professional conduct, and discipline within the profession.
