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"The truth is on its way, and nothing will stop it." This sentence was written by the famous^19th-century French author Emile Zola in 1897 in the daily newspaper Le Figaro in an article about the Dreyfus affair. In The Hague, it can be found on a round stone lying diagonally in the pavement in front of the entrance to the Palace of Justice. The text is clear. In this building, the truth will come to light. The bronze figure underlines this. The stack of files he is carrying does not seem to bother him. He is walking briskly.

Sculptor Elselien van der Graaf created this bronze statue to mark the 200th anniversary of the Dutch judiciary. It depicts an employee of the Public Prosecution Service who is actively involved in the administration of justice. His name is engraved on one of the strips of paper: 'tOM (the Public Prosecution Service).

Van der Graaf has previously created sculptures for courthouses, such as her Lady Justice for the Court of Appeal in Utrecht in 2006. Like all her work, TOM occupies a middle ground between figuration and abstraction. You can easily recognize a human figure in it, but certain parts are so simplified that they only suggest reality. Typical of Van der Graaf is that the posture of her sculptures reflects what really concerns people.

The statue was a gift from Harm Nanne Brouwer upon his departure as chairman of the Board of Procurators General of the Netherlands (2005-2011). Jozias van Aartsen, then mayor of The Hague, unveiled it on March 28, 2011. Small versions of TOM are occasionally presented to people who have made a significant contribution to the Public Prosecution Service or the Dutch judiciary. Meanwhile, TOM continues to walk resolutely in front of the Palace of Justice. On the way to the truth.