Hendrik Jacob Hamaker

Hendrik Jacob Hamaker was a Dutch jurist and scholar.
Hamaker was born to Cornelia Anna van Vloten and Hendrik Gerard Hamaker, a humanist and graduate of Leiden University who published the first Latin edition of Hugo Grotius' De Jure Praedae in 1868. After studies at Leiden University, he practiced law there. Beginning in 1877, he taught civil law at the University of Utrecht, and after 1895 co-edited a leading journal of civil law, Weekblad voor Privaatrecht, Notarisambt en Registratie. He is noted for his work on judicial methodology, arguing for a substantial independence of judges from positive law.
Hamaker was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1889.