Professor Anton van Kalmthout was born in 1945 in the Hague, the Netherlands. After his studies Latin, Greek and Law he obtained a Doctoral degree at Tilburg University in 2001. Since then he is a full professor Restriction of Freedom and Deprivation of Freedom in Criminal Law and Immigration Law at Tilburg University.
He is an editor for several journals and periodicals and has a large number of publications in his name. He has played an active role in several organizations such as the Dutch Probation and Legal Aid agencies and is a member of the Board of the Foundation for Legal Aid Asylum in the Netherlands. In 2005 he was nominated as Dutch representative of the Committee against Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment of the Council of Europe.