Martinus Nijhoff was the name of a prestigious publishing house founded in the 19th century in The Hague. (The Dutch poet bearing the same name was a grandson of the company's founder). Martinus Nijhoff's publishing program focused on the humanities and the, with an especially strong list for law. Nijhoff's publishing record of extremely well produced and edited and widely-respected titles in both international and humanitarian law is commendable.

In the 1970's the Nijhoff publishing house was acquired by Kluwer. Within Kluwer, the imprint Martinus Nijhoff Publishers was retained for its publication program in international law, human rights law, humanitarian law and international relations.

In 2003, the Martinus Nijhoff imprint was acquried from Kluwer by Brill. Since its beginnings in 1683, Brill has been based in Leiden, home of the oldest university in the Netherlands. Founded during the golden age of Dutch history and culture, Brill has had a rich publishing history, including the publication of Bayle’s influential Dictionnaire Historique et Critique, the inception of one of the first scholarly journals in Chinese studies T’oung Pao, the publication of the Nag Hammadi codices for UNESCO and a wealth of other major scholarly reference works.

When the Martinus Nijhoff Publishers program came to Brill from Kluwer in 2003, MNP was retained as one of Brill's imprints and 2013 marked the 10th anniversary of that association. During this time, the Law publishing program developed into an important part of the overall Brill portfolio. Concomitant with the introduction of the new typographic style, the Martinus Nijhoff Publishers logo and branding will gradually be replaced by Brill Nijhoffin all books, journals, and associated marketing sites and materials.