Politics of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is a sovereign state with a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.

The Dutch Constitution lists the basic civil and social rights of the Dutch citizens and it describes the position and function of the institutions that have executive, legislative and judiciary power.

The constitution applies to the Netherlands, one of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands comprises all of the European territory, as well as the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The Kingdom as a whole (the Netherlands along with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten) has its own Statute, describing its federate political system.

The Netherlands does not have a constitutional court and judges do not have the authority to review laws on their constitutionality. International treaties and the Statute of the Kingdom, however, overrule Dutch law and the Constitution, and judges are allowed to review laws against these in a particular court case. Furthermore, all legislation that is not a law in the strict sense of the word (such as policy guidelines or laws proposed by provincial or municipal government) can be tested on its constitutionality.

Amendments to the Constitution must be approved by both Houses of the States General (Dutch: Staten-Generaal) twice. The first time around, this requires a majority vote. After parliament has been dissolved and a general election has been held, both Houses must approve the proposed amendments again with a two-thirds majority.

The Netherlands is a sovereign state with a democratic government. It is a decentralised unitary state, meaning that power is centralised in the national government, with local governments having to act in accordance. Major political institutions are the monarchy (head of state), the cabinet (council of ministers), the States General (parliament) and the judicial system. Next to the two houses of parliament, there are four other High Councils of State, which are constitutionally independent from the government but have limited political role. The Council of State, which serves as the highest advisory body to the government is the most important. The others are the National Ombudsman, the Court of Audit and the Chancery of the orders of knighthood. Next to the central government the most influential level of government is the municipalities. Between the government and municipalities are positioned the provincial executives at a general regional level and the water boards responsible for water management. Although not mentioned in the Constitution, political parties and the social partners organised in the Social and Economic Council are important political institutions as well.

The Netherlands does not have a traditional separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Having a parliamentary system, the government (the monarch and ministers) is formed based on parliamentary majority. According to the Constitution, the States General and the government share legislative power. All legislation has to pass through the Council of State (Dutch: Raad van State) for advice and the Social and Economic Council advises the government on most socio-economic legislation. Executive power is reserved for the government. The Social and Economic Council also has the special right to make and enforce legislation in specific sectors, mostly in agriculture. The judicial power is divided into two separate systems of courts. For civil and criminal law the independent Supreme Court is the highest court, while for administrative law the Council of State is the highest court, which is ex officio chaired by the monarch.

Dutch politics is characterised by seeking compromises.