The Netherlands Yearbook of International Law was first published in 1970. It has two main aims. It offers a forum for the publication of scholarly articles of a more general nature in the area of public international law including the law of the European Union. In addition, it aims to respond to the demand for information on state practice in the field of international law. Each Yearbook therefore includes an overview of state practice of the Netherlands.

Part 1: Articles. Necessity Across International Law.- Necessity across international law - an introduction.- Necessity and the use of force: a special regime.- Necessity in the law of armed conflict and in international criminal law.- State responsibility, necessity and human rights.- A necessity paradigm of necessity in international economic law.- Necessity in investment arbitration.- Necessity in international environmental law.- The notion of necessity in the law of the European Union.-  Part 2: Documentation.- Classification Scheme.- Netherlands state practice for the parliamentary year 2008-2009.- Treaties and other international agreements to which the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a party Conclusions and Developments 2009.- Netherlands municipal legislation involving questions of public international law, 2009.- Netherlands judicial decisions involving questions of public international law, 2008-2009.