The Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
231-528: The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's constitution , roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communication between the States General of the Netherlands ; and the monarch's role in creating laws. The monarch is the head of state and the de jure head of government of
462-563: A sui generis "legal" status. Chapter 4 covers certain other High Councils of State apart from parliament. The most important of these is the Council of State ( Raad van State ). Any proposal of law in the broadest sense and any proposed treaty is in principle first submitted to the Council of State for legal comment; this can be limited by formal law, which however only does so for trivial cases (Article 73). Though officially such comment
693-434: A head of government or a cabinet minister or in other cases (possibly as a message, for instance, to distance themselves without rendering offence) just a military officer or civil servant. For non-executive heads of state there is often a degree of censorship by the politically responsible government (such as the head of government ). This means that the government discreetly approves agenda and speeches, especially where
924-438: A head of government who is answerable to the legislature. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature (or, at least, not a majority opposition – a subtle but important difference). It also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. The executive branch
1155-481: A novelle to be passed by the House of Representatives, in fact an amendment of law. Bills may be withdrawn by the proposer until passed (Article 86), but only by a majority of the House of Representatives if the bill has been presented by some members of the House of Representatives and has been passed by the House of Representatives. Bills become valid law once they have been passed by Parliament and have been affirmed by
1386-525: A parliamentary system , such as India or the United Kingdom , the head of state usually has mostly ceremonial powers, with a separate head of government. However, in some parliamentary systems, like South Africa , there is an executive president that is both head of state and head of government. Likewise, in some parliamentary systems the head of state is not the head of government, but still has significant powers, for example Morocco . In contrast,
1617-415: A semi-presidential system , such as France , has both heads of state and government as the de facto leaders of the nation (in practice they divide the leadership of the nation between themselves). Meanwhile, in presidential systems , the head of state is also the head of government. In one-party ruling communist states , the position of president has no tangible powers by itself; however, since such
1848-510: A (general) executive power, other than that which is attributed to them by special law. Article 50 states that there are States General and that these represent the whole of the people of the Netherlands. Thus a clear distinction is made to the situation under the confederal Dutch Republic when the States General represented the provinces . Doctrine holds that the article also entails that political parties have to give priority to
2079-531: A Council of Ministers found itself suddenly facing a new and unfriendly parliament. When the inevitable clash came, it was an established political trick for the Prime Minister to attempt to resolve the problem by dissolving the parliament in name of the monarch in the hope that new elections brought a more favourable parliament (but it was also possible for the trick to backfire, in which case the new, equally hostile and far more angry parliament would suspend
2310-573: A bill to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality, which are used under the president's discretion. The most extreme non-executive republican head of state is the President of Israel , which holds no reserve powers whatsoever. The least ceremonial powers held by the president are to provide a mandate to attempt to form a government, to approve the dissolution of the Knesset made by
2541-518: A ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Since the passage in Sweden of the 1974 Instrument of Government , the Swedish monarch no longer has many of the standard parliamentary system head of state functions that had previously belonged to him or her, as was the case in the preceding 1809 Instrument of Government . Today, the speaker of
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#17327810314452772-448: A ceremonial role. The monarch has a role relating to the formation of a new government after parliamentary elections . This power is not directed in the constitution. After the parliamentary election, there follows a period of time in which the leaders of the political parties in parliament seek to form a coalition of parties that can command a majority of the newly elected parliament. The current nationwide party-list system, combined with
3003-523: A certain amount of taxes, so indirectly there was a modicum of democracy introduced to the system. Generally, however, the administration was monarchical, with the king appointing for life the members of the Senate , the "First Chamber", that mockingly was called the Ménagerie du Roi . In 1840, when a new revision was made necessary by the independence of Belgium, a first step to a more parliamentary system
3234-410: A claim to the throne by children born out of wedlock. If the king dies while his wife is pregnant: the unborn child is considered the heir at that point, unless stillborn – the child is then considered never to have existed. As such, if the preceding king dies while his wife is pregnant with their first child, the unborn child is immediately considered born and immediately becomes the new king or queen. If
3465-461: A clerk, not from its own members; no officials of the States General may be member of the States (Subarticle 2). Law regulates the remuneration of the members; delegation is possible; such law can only be approved by a two-thirds majority (Article 63). Article 64 states that government can dissolve each House by Royal Decree. Within three months elections have to be held (Subarticle 2). The duration of
3696-521: A complete constitutional equality in state funding between public and denominational schools, thus ending the school struggle . By the revision of 1922 universal suffrage was explicitly adopted in the constitution, after it had already been introduced by law in 1919. Each three years, half of the members of the Senate were to be elected by the States-Provincial for a period of six years, using
3927-476: A democratic procedure of constitutional amendment. In many cases there are significant procedural hurdles imposed on such a procedure (as in the Constitution of Spain ). In republics with a parliamentary system (such as India, Germany, Austria, Italy and Israel), the head of state is usually titled president and the principal functions of such presidents are mainly ceremonial and symbolic, as opposed to
4158-411: A duty upon government to safeguard by formal law sufficient public access to information regarding governmental activities. Delegation is allowed. The government does not see this as some general "right to public access to information" and this has been the reason not to insert it into Chapter 1, but this interpretation is quite popular in doctrine as the right does even more resemble a freedom right than
4389-440: A general Civil Code and a Penal Code , although certain subject might be covered by special laws. Delegation is allowed but doctrine holds that criminal law (which is seen as a more limited field than general penal law) must be determined by formal law only. This means provinces and municipalities cannot create their own criminal codes and government cannot make a certain act a crime by a Royal Decree not based on formal law. As
4620-403: A general Article 79 founding the establishment of other advisory bodies, the "permanent advisory colleges". The law regulates the organisation, composition and competence of these bodies (Subarticle 2); other competences than mere advisory ones may be attributed by law (Subarticle 3); in both cases delegation is allowed. There used to be a great many of these advisory bodies; after 1996 their number
4851-506: A government formation without monarch should take place, it was initially feared the subsequent government formation would be chaotic. However, a new government coalition was formed within 54 days – surprisingly early for Dutch standards. Instead of the monarch, the Speaker of the House of Representatives appointed the informateur – whose function was renamed to 'scout'. After the negotiations,
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#17327810314455082-518: A head of state, as a matter of custom, simultaneously holds the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party , they are the executive leader with their powers deriving from their status of being the party leader , rather than the office of president. Former French president Charles de Gaulle , while developing the current Constitution of France (1958), said that the head of state should embody l'esprit de la nation ("the spirit of
5313-429: A host role during a state visit , and the programme may feature playing of the national anthems by a military band , inspection of military troops , official exchange of gifts, and attending a state dinner at the official residence of the host. At home, heads of state are expected to render lustre to various occasions by their presence, such as by attending artistic or sports performances or competitions (often in
5544-603: A joint session necessary to perform some acts, such as the appointment of a new King in absence of royal heirs. When in United Assembly the President of the Senate is President of the States General (Article 62); the House of Representatives has tried to change this in the revision of 1983 but has twice been defeated by the Senate defending its privilege. The Houses sit for four years (Article 52). They are elected on basis of proportional representation (Article 53) and by
5775-471: A kind of implicit approval, as parliament could in principle force government to call off the mission, but the Council of State has made clear this is at least formally not the case. Article 101 (mobilisation) has been abrogated in 1995, Article 102 (defence budget and prohibition of billeting ) in 2000. Article 103 states that law has to determine in which cases a Royal Decree may declare a state of emergency to maintain external or internal security; delegation
6006-717: A large affair with much pomp and circumstance, in which the States-General and other major bodies of government assemble in the Ridderzaal to hear the King deliver the speech from the throne after having arrived from the Noordeinde Palace in his golden carriage . Both in constitutional aspects and in ceremony the event has much in common with both the British State Opening of Parliament and
6237-593: A limited unentrenched bill of rights , with freedom of religion , the principle of habeas corpus , the right of petition and freedom of the press as its main points. In the Treaty of London of 1814 the Allies had ordered that the original Dutch state would devise the new constitution. It had been approved by the new States General (consisting of 55 members) of the Northern Netherlands, but rejected by
6468-436: A low threshold for getting a seat (two-thirds of one percent of the vote), makes it all but impossible for one party to win an outright majority. Thus, the bargaining required to put together a governing coalition is as important as the election itself. This process of negotiations, which can last anywhere from two to four months (more on occasion), is coordinated in the initial stages by one or more informateurs , whose duty it
6699-706: A matter of convention, the presidency has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party , the top leader in the one party system . The presidency is officially regarded as an institution of the state rather than an administrative post; theoretically, the President serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress , the legislature, and is not legally vested to take executive action on its own prerogative. While clear categories do exist, it
6930-583: A mention or signature; and public places, streets, monuments and institutions such as schools are named for current or previous heads of state. In monarchies (e.g., Belgium) there can even be a practice to attribute the adjective "royal" on demand based on existence for a given number of years. However, such political techniques can also be used by leaders without the formal rank of head of state, even party - and other revolutionary leaders without formal state mandate. Heads of state often greet important foreign visitors, particularly visiting heads of state. They assume
7161-493: A minister is not obliged to give information about a subject for which not he is responsible but his colleague . Government members have access to the sessions and can freely partake in the discussions (Article 69); they can also be invited to do so by the Houses (Subarticle 2). Such an invitation is in fact an order: government members are not at liberty to refuse. They do however have the right to invite any expert to assist them in
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7392-468: A minor King (Art. 34); declaration by Parliament of the King's inability (Art. 35); temporary relinquishment of the exercise of royal authority (Art. 36); regency (Art. 37 and 38); the membership of the Royal House (in practice mainly consisting of members of the House of Orange ) (Art. 39); its payment (Art. 40) and the organisation of the royal household by the King (Art. 41). Article 42 states
7623-483: A new House of Representatives after dissolution is determined by law and not to exceed five years (Subarticle 4). The dissolution only takes effect when the new House meets, to avoid a period without representation. Dissolution of Parliament was in the 19th century an instrument for government to decide a conflict with the House of Representatives by submitting the issue to the voter. Unwritten law developed between 1866 and 1868 that this should not be done more than once over
7854-785: A notable feature of constitutions in the Americas , including those of Argentina , Brazil , Colombia , El Salvador , Mexico and Venezuela ; this is generally attributed to the strong influence of the United States in the region, and as the United States Constitution served as an inspiration and model for the Latin American wars of independence of the early 19th century. Most presidents in such countries are selected by democratic means (popular direct or indirect election); however, like all other systems,
8085-465: A number of social rights. The distinction between the two categories is not strictly based on any legal doctrine and in fact the social right articles contain many freedom rights. The social rights are: Dutch constitutional doctrine holds that the King and ministers together form the government and this indivisibly, so that the King in any of his public acts always acting under ministerial responsibility
8316-530: A political inviolacy. This means that the King cannot act in a public capacity without ministerial approval: externally the governmental policy is always represented by the responsible minister who, should he feel that the King's personal influence in it threatens to become too predominant, has to resign if he cannot prevent it; what happens internally between King and ministers is the Crown Secret, never to be divulged. What little of it nevertheless has come to
8547-402: A professional army, replacing the conscript army, was regulated. In the revision of 1999 a proposal to introduce an advisory referendum was rejected by the Senate. After a minor revision in 2002, the last changes were made in 2005; a proposal to introduce an elected mayor was rejected by the Senate. There are substantial safeguards to prevent carefree revision of the constitution. A revision of
8778-456: A reference to the situation under the Republic when each delegate had to vote on instruction from the nobles or city councils he represented. On demand of a single member the vote must be oral and by roll call ; no member may abstain. The States General have an absolute right to information from the government in writing or in person, only constitutionally limited by State interests, such as
9009-439: A referendum to allow him to resume his monarchical powers and duties, but because of the ongoing controversy he ultimately abdicated.) The Belgian constitutional crisis in 1990, when the head of state refused to sign into law a bill permitting abortion, was resolved by the cabinet assuming the power to promulgate the law while he was treated as "unable to reign" for twenty-four hours. These officials are excluded completely from
9240-414: A representative of the united government. And when the government decides, the monarch is in agreement (even if the monarch personally disagrees). As an ultimate consequence of this, it is not possible for the monarch to refuse to sign into law a proposal of law that has been agreed to and signed by the responsible minister. Such a disagreement between the monarch and his minister is a situation not covered by
9471-512: A reservation of approval is made on conclusion of the treaty, or the treaty contains a ratification clause, treaties are according to international law binding upon conclusion. The article must thus be seen as imposing a duty upon government to arrange for such reservation or clause. Subarticle 3 determines that if a treaty conflicts with the Constitution, it has to be approved by a two-thirds majority of both Houses. Whether such conflict exists
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9702-623: A revision failed attempting to simplify the revisional procedure. However, a change was accepted allowing to send conscripts to the colonial war in the Dutch East Indies . In the revision of 1948 a complete new chapter was added to facilitate the incorporation of the new state of Indonesia within the Kingdom under the Netherlands-Indonesia Union . Soon it would become irrelevant as Indonesia severed all ties with
9933-420: A secret ballot (Subarticle 2). The House of Representatives is elected by all Dutch citizens over the age of eighteen (Article 54), except those who have been disqualified by a court sentence as part of their punishment for a crime or those who have been declared incapable by court because of insanity (Subarticle 2). Formal law can limit the right to vote to resident nationals only but presently does not. The Senate
10164-451: A separate Chapter 10; the articles as such remained largely unchanged in 1983, but were finally fully revised in 2000. Article 96 states that a prior approval of the States General is necessary for the government (since 1983 no longer the King) to declare that the Kingdom is in a state of war . This approval must be given by the United Assembly (Subarticle 3), as it would be most embarrassing if
10395-518: A shortlist of three, proposed by the House of Representatives (Article 77). They can be dismissed on demand by Decree or when reaching an age determined by law (Subarticle 2); or dismissed by the Supreme Court in certain other cases determined by law (Subarticle 3). Law determines the organisation, composition and competence of the Court of Audit (Article 78); delegation is possible; this may exceed
10626-459: A situation in which there is no monarch. This is because there must be a head of state in order for the government to function, as there must be someone who carries out the tasks of the constitutional role of the King/Queen. For this reason, the new monarch assumes the role the moment the previous monarch ceases to hold the throne. The only exception is if there is no heir at all, in which case
10857-587: A social right. Article 111, the last of this paragraph, stands alone; it determines that formal law shall instate honorary Royal Orders of Knighthood. These are in fact the Order of William , the Order of the Netherlands Lion and the Order of Orange-Nassau . They do not include Royal House Orders, which are the personal prerogative of the King, such the House Order of Orange and the later Order of
11088-474: A stark contrast with the situation in United Kingdom or Germany , but in line with the United States . This principle underlies the political dualism of Dutch politics. The Houses investigate the Letters of Credence of new members, in this case a written affirmation by the central voting office that they have indeed obtained the necessary number of votes. After the investigation new members swear four oaths:
11319-410: A system of parliamentary democracy . In 1983, the most recent major revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands was undertaken, almost fully rewriting the text and adding new civil rights. The text is sober, devoid of legal or political doctrine and includes a bill of rights . It prohibits the judiciary from testing laws and treaties against the constitution, as this is considered a prerogative of
11550-428: A system of proportional representation. In 1938 there was a minor revision, introducing some elements of the then fashionable corporatism by giving a constitutional base to public bodies regulating sectors of the economy. A proposal to make it possible to impeach "revolutionary" members of representative bodies, directed against communists and fascists, failed to get a two-thirds majority. After World War II in 1946
11781-507: A theatrical honour box, on a platform, on the front row, at the honours table), expositions, national day celebrations , dedication events, military parades and war remembrances, prominent funerals, visiting different parts of the country and people from different walks of life, and at times performing symbolic acts such as cutting a ribbon , groundbreaking , ship christening , laying the first stone. Some parts of national life receive their regular attention, often on an annual basis, or even in
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#173278103144512012-407: A third was replaced), who themselves were filled with nobility members or appointed by the city councils, just like under the ancien régime . However, now also some rural delegates were appointed to all States-Provincial (first only true for Friesland ) and the city councils were appointed by electoral colleges which were in turn elected by a select group of male citizens of good standing and paying
12243-408: Is a simple declarative statement of fact, without legal consequences, that a war situation has come to exist. The doctrine of many other nations makes no such distinction. Article 97 states that a defence force exists to defend the Kingdom and its interests and to maintain and promote the international rule of law; Subarticle 2 determines that the supreme authority over this defence force is exercised by
12474-406: Is allowed. However, to indicate this must be done hesitantly, parliament insisted on a slightly different terminology: instead of krachtens de wet , the phrase uit kracht van wet was used; both mean "by force of law" or "pursuant to law"; but the second expression puts somewhat more emphasis on the force of the law and thus on the fact all delegation is ultimately derived from law. A yearly budget
12705-631: Is allowed. The powers of lower administrative bodies can be limited; the basic rights expressed in Articles 6,7,8,9, 12 Subarticle 2, 13 and 113 Subarticle 1 and 3 can be infringed upon (Subarticle 2). Royal Decree may end the state of emergency. The States General decide in United Assembly whether the state of emergency must be maintained, immediately after its declaration and as often as they see fit afterwards (Subarticle 3). The third group consists of articles pertaining to financial issues. Imposed taxation must be based on formal law (Article 104). Delegation
12936-426: Is being stripped of his authority will probably not agree to sign the act of his removal, and—in the case of the States-General removing a monarch who has become unfit due to mental or physical incapacitation—may not be able to). Since neither ceding nor removal is permanent, neither triggers succession. Instead, the States-General appoint a regent. This must be the heir apparent if he or she is old enough. In order for
13167-653: Is decided by the States General; article 6 of the lower Rijkswet goedkeuring en bekendmaking verdragen determines that this decision has again to be made by special formal law. A special implementation by law of the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht determines that certain European Community decisions having force of treaty have to be approved by Parliament prior to even the conclusion itself. By treaty legislative, administrative and judicial powers may be conferred on organisations established under international law (Article 92). This has been done on many occasions, e.g. on
13398-558: Is defined in the constitution as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" (article 1), and is generally recognised throughout the world as the Japanese head of state. Although the emperor formally appoints the prime minister to office, article 6 of the constitution requires him to appoint the candidate "as designated by the Diet", without any right to decline appointment. He is
13629-483: Is elected by the States Provincial (Article 55). To be eligible to be elected it is necessary to be of Dutch nationality, to be over eighteen in age and not to have been excluded from the right to vote (Article 56); there are also certain incompatibilities of function (Article 57), the most important of which is that a minister not belonging to a demissionary cabinet cannot be a member of the States General,
13860-448: Is exclusively attributed to the judiciary (subarticle 1); formal law can attribute other judicial powers to either the judiciary or other courts; delegation is possible as regards the regulation of the procedures and the implementation of rulings (subarticle 2). Doctrine holds that the competence of the court is determined by the nature of the legal rule on which the plaintiff founds his claim. This implies that even in administrative disputes
14091-418: Is formulated in such a way as to be decreed by the monarch. The final involvement of the monarch with the States is dissolution . Constitutionally, the government is empowered to dissolve either house of the states by royal decree. This means that a minister (usually the prime minister) makes the decision and the monarch countersigns. The signing of such a royal decree constitutionally implies new elections for
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#173278103144514322-403: Is given a constitutional basis by Subarticle 2; delegation is allowed. A provision that has remained unchanged is Article 99, stating that law regulates the exemption of military service for conscientious objectors ; delegation is allowed. In 2000 a new Article 99a was inserted, that law has to regulate civil defence ; the older legal system regulating this issue had been largely abolished since
14553-425: Is merely an advice, it is very rare for law proposals to remain unchanged if the judgment of the council is negative. The council is seen as the guardian of legislative quality; no minister can ignore its opinion without dire effects on his own reputation. Thus the Council in fact codetermines the legislative process. The council also acts as the highest court for administrative appeal (Subarticle 2 and 3); it thus has
14784-530: Is not the Head of Government , but embodies it fully. The King is , however, head of state , and so a special paragraph is dedicated to the King in this quality. Article 24 stipulates that there is kingship and that this kingship is held by William I of the Netherlands and his lawful successors. Articles 25 and 26 regulate the line of succession to the Dutch throne ; since 1983 female successors have equal rights to
15015-425: Is officially presided by the King (Article 74); in view of the ministerial responsibility he in fact only does so on special occasions: normally the current chairman is the vice-president of the council, some times by journalists called the "Viceroy of the Netherlands". The probable heir becomes a member of the Council when he reaches the age of eighteen and often does attend the meetings. Law can give other members of
15246-446: Is on Prinsjesdag presented to the States General, its balance sheet approved by the Court of Audit (Article 105). Delegation is not allowed. The budget debates are held by the House of Representatives, with a separate treatment of each departmental budget and of special interdepartmental budgets; since 1971, the Senate immediately approves the budget formally in exchange for full policy debates. Article 106 states that formal law regulates
15477-405: Is one, the monarch abides by the decision of the ministers. In fact, the monarchs of the Netherlands rarely make any executive decisions at all and practically never speak in public on any subject other than to read a statement prepared by the Prime Minister (since an unfortunate off-the-cuff remark could get a minister into trouble). The practical consequence of this limit on the power of the monarch
15708-427: Is possible (Subarticle 4). Head of state This is an accepted version of this page A head of state (or chief of state ) is the public persona of a state or sovereign state . The specific naming of the head of state depends on the country's form of government and separation of powers ; the head of state may be a ceremonial figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more. In
15939-441: Is reflected in two separate types of investigation carried out. The budget as such is always officially approved, be it with "comments" when irregularities have been discovered; these then have to be remedied by special law. The effectiveness reports, carried out in great detail, in full independence and without the slightest regard for political sensitivities, have given the Court of Audit a large political influence, even more so than
16170-561: Is sometimes difficult to choose which category some individual heads of state belong to. In reality, the category to which each head of state belongs is assessed not by theory but by practice. Constitutional change in Liechtenstein in 2003 gave its head of state, the Reigning Prince , constitutional powers that included a veto over legislation and power to dismiss the head of government and cabinet. It could be argued that
16401-426: Is that the monarch never makes a decision on his own. Every decision, every decree must be countersigned by the responsible minister(s). Technically, the monarch has a lot of practical power. For instance, no proposal of law actually becomes law until signed by the monarch – and there is no legal requirement for the monarch to sign. In practice, the monarch will always give assent since most proposals of law are made by
16632-417: Is the basis of the full power and influence of the monarch and makes him beyond reproach before the law, but also limits his practical power, as he can take no responsibility for it. The first paragraph of Article 42 determines that the government of the Netherlands consists of the monarch and his ministers. The monarch is according to this article not the head of government; the ministers are not answerable to
16863-473: Is the duty of government to promote the international rule of law . The Netherlands is home to several International Courts . Doctrine holds that this article also attributes the general right to conclude treaties. Article 91 states that the Kingdom shall not be bound by treaty without prior approval of the States General, except for those cases where law determines no such approval is necessary. Such approval may be tacit (Subarticle 2). Despite this, if not either
17094-445: Is the reigning monarch , in the case of a monarchy ; or the president, in the case of a republic . Among the state constitutions (fundamental laws) that establish different political systems, four major types of heads of state can be distinguished: In a federal constituent or a dependent territory, the same role is fulfilled by the holder of an office corresponding to that of a head of state. For example, in each Canadian province
17325-526: Is there to investigate possible coalitions and report on them. He could technically seek "favourable" coalitions, but the political parties involved are usually quite clear on what they want and do not want and the first choice for coalition almost always is the coalition of preference of the largest party in the new parliament. Besides, the monarchs and (particularly) the queens have traditionally known better than to appoint controversial informateurs, usually settling for well-established yet fairly neutral people in
17556-415: Is thus said to be responsible (or answerable) to the legislature, with the head of government and cabinet in turn accepting constitutional responsibility for offering constitutional advice to the head of state. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies , the legitimacy of the unelected head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. Accordingly, at
17787-534: Is to investigate and report upon viable coalitions. After a likely combination is found, a formateur is appointed to conduct the formal coalition negotiations and form a new Council of Ministers (of which the formateur himself usually becomes the Prime Minister). If the negotiations fail, the cycle starts over. The informateurs and formateur in question are all appointed to this task by the monarch. The monarch makes his own decision in this, based on advice from
18018-441: Is very complex and contradictory, complicated by the fact that the phrase "generally binding nature" is assumed to have exactly the same meaning in both articles. Article 95 states that law regulates the publication of treaties or (binding) decisions of international organisations; delegation is allowed. A second group of articles consists of those pertaining to the national security. Before the revision of 1983 these were combined in
18249-483: The Senate . As in most parliamentary democracies , the States-General are dually responsible for overseeing the government in its executive duties as well as approving proposals of law before they can become as such. In this respect, it is vital for the government to maintain good relations with the States-General and technically the monarch shares in that effort (although the monarch never officially speaks to members of
18480-708: The Benelux , the European Community, the United Nations , the Council of Europe and NATO . According to present doctrine, that of " treaty monism ", treaties are in the Dutch legal system in principle self-executing; no special transformation is needed by implementing special law, as in countries with a "dualistic" system (such as the United Kingdom). However, when the present articles covering this subject were last revisioned, in 1953, doctrine
18711-402: The Council of Ministers (Article 45), presided by the Prime Minister (Subarticle 2), which assembles (in fact weekly) to promote the unity of the general governmental policy (Subarticle 3). Though existing since 1823, this council has only been mentioned since the revision of 1983; its constitutional powers as such are almost nil. The proceedings are secret for a period of fifty years. Outwardly
18942-505: The Council of State assumes the role of the monarch pending the appointment of a monarch or regent. The monarch is expected to execute his duties and responsibilities for the good of the nation. The monarch must therefore swear to uphold the constitution and execute the office faithfully. The monarch must be sworn in as soon as possible after assuming the throne during a joint session of the States-General held in Amsterdam . Article 32 of
19173-495: The European Constitution ; the Dutch people is thus not a direct lawgiver. Bills are presented by the King or by the House of Representatives, which thus has the right of initiative (Article 82). Some bills have to be presented by the States General in United Assembly (subarticle 2). The Senate cannot propose law. The ministers can but in fact act through the King who sends a Royal Missive (Article 83), containing
19404-550: The Grondwet van den Staat der Verëenigde Nederlanden . William VI of Orange, instated on 2 December 1813 as "Sovereign Prince" by acclamation , and only accepting "under the safeguard of a free constitution, assuring your freedom against possible future abuses", had first appointed a number of men of good standing as electors and these approved the constitution, written by a commission headed by Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp . On 24 August 1815 William — since 16 March King William I of
19635-533: The National Assembly ( legislature ) and is thus similar, in principle, to a head of government in a parliamentary system but is also, in addition, recognised as the head of state. The offices of president of Nauru and president of Botswana are similar in this respect to the South African presidency. Panama , during the military dictatorships of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega ,
19866-651: The Netherlands . The once-sovereign provinces of the Spanish Netherlands were intermittently ruled by members of the House of Orange-Nassau from 1559, when Philip II of Spain appointed William the Silent (William of Orange) as a stadtholder , until 1795, when the last stadtholder, William V, Prince of Orange , fled the country. William the Silent became the leader of the Dutch Revolt and of
20097-640: The Reichstag , which was expected, in normal circumstances, to be answerable to the Reichstag. Initially, the president was merely a symbolic figure with the Reichstag dominant; however, persistent political instability, in which governments often lasted only a few months, led to a change in the power structure of the republic, with the president's emergency powers called increasingly into use to prop up governments challenged by critical or even hostile Reichstag votes. By 1932, power had shifted to such an extent that
20328-563: The Staatsblad , are General Administrative Orders. Since the Second World War a doctrinal consensus has gradually developed that all general Royal Decrees have to conform to these conditions to be valid and that earlier practices to issue general Royal Decrees without meeting these three formalities — such Decrees, general or otherwise, are called "minor Royal Decrees" — can no longer result in regulations with binding force towards
20559-496: The Viceroy and Governor-General of India . Head of state is the highest-ranking constitutional position in a sovereign state. A head of state has some or all of the roles listed below, often depending on the constitutional category (above), and does not necessarily regularly exercise the most power or influence of governance. There is usually a formal public ceremony when a person becomes head of state, or some time after. This may be
20790-655: The administrative law of the Netherlands is so complex, it was deemed impossible to incorporate it in a single code, but its general rules must be covered in a general code (Subarticle 2) as has indeed gradually been done since the nineties, be it with great difficulty. Article 108 (investigative bodies for civil complaints) has been abrogated in 1999. Article 109 states that the position of civil servants , including their protection and workers' participation must be determined by law. This has as yet not been done in any general way. Doctrine holds that civil servants enjoy full protection by constitutional basic rights. Article 110 imposes
21021-402: The bill . Chapter 1 is mainly a bill of rights . There is no normative hierarchy indicated by the constitution: all basic rights are principally equal in value and importance. Some rights are absolute, most can be limited by parliamentary or "formal" law, many can be limited by delegation of limiting powers. They include: In addition to these classic rights the revision of 1983 introduced
21252-413: The constitutionally socialist state type inspired by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its constitutive Soviet republics , real political power belonged to the sole legal party. In these states, there was no formal office of head of state, but rather the leader of the legislative branch was considered to be the closest common equivalent of a head of state as a natural person . In
21483-600: The de facto Soviet leader at the moment. For example, Nikita Khrushchev never headed the Supreme Soviet but was First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (party leader) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers ( head of government ). This may even lead to an institutional variability, as in North Korea , where, after the presidency of party leader Kim Il Sung , the office
21714-507: The high contracting party with respect to international treaties. The remaining official functions of the sovereign, by constitutional mandate or by unwritten convention, are to open the annual session of the Riksdag, receive foreign ambassadors and sign the letters of credence for Swedish ambassadors, chair the foreign advisory committee, preside at the special Cabinet council when a new prime minister takes office, and to be kept informed by
21945-472: The legislature . There is no constitutional court in the Netherlands. The first constitution of the Netherlands as a whole, in the sense of a fundamental law which applied to all its provinces and cities, is the 1579 constitution, which established the confederal Dutch Republic . The constitution was empowered by the Union of Utrecht , thus by treaty . Article XIII of the treaty granted each inhabitant of
22176-462: The monetary system . Delegation is allowed. The article has lost its relevance by the introduction of the euro in 2002; doctrine holds that the constitution does not demand a purely national system. A fourth and last group of articles pertains to judicial issues. Article 107 is the " codification article". It imposes that that private law , penal law and the separate procedural laws covering these subjects must indeed be formal law and treated in
22407-408: The national security (Article 68). Doctrine holds that there can also be "natural impediments" justifying that a minister fails in answering questions, such as the circumstance that he simply doesn't know the answer, that he has already answered or that he is about to answer much more completely by issuing a written report on the question. Another doctrinal limitation is the ministerial responsibility:
22638-529: The personification of the Canadian state and is described by the Department of Canadian Heritage as the "personal symbol of allegiance, unity and authority for all Canadians". In many countries, official portraits of the head of state can be found in government offices, courts of law, or other public buildings. The idea, sometimes regulated by law, is to use these portraits to make the public aware of
22869-482: The "imperial model", because the executive officials of the government are answerable solely and exclusively to a presiding, acting head of state, and is selected by and on occasion dismissed by the head of state without reference to the legislature. It is notable that some presidential systems, while not providing for collective executive accountability to the legislature, may require legislative approval for individuals prior to their assumption of cabinet office and empower
23100-403: The "limited monists" held that only such published treaties are self-executing and that thus Article 93 is the basis for all treaty monism; to appease them government stated that the article should in any case be read as covering also the treaties conferring rights on the citizen and imposing duties upon government. The unintended result was that government might thus in principle withhold rights to
23331-555: The American State of the Union . Lawmaking is the area in which the monarch has the most frequent involvement with the States-General (although he still has very little to do with it in practice). Laws in the Netherlands are primarily proposed by the government "by or on behalf of" the monarch (this phrase is repeated often in the constitution). Technically, this means that the monarch may propose laws in person, hearkening back to
23562-615: The British National Audit Office . The third is the National Ombudsman , a relatively new function; he may investigate by his own initiative or on request of anyone, the actions of State bodies or other governmental bodies indicated by law; this indication can be delegated (Article 78a). The ombudsman and his substitute are appointed by the House of Representatives for a certain period of time, to be determined by law. They are in any case dismissed by
23793-453: The Council of State, then by exclusion the highest administrative appeal court, lacked the necessary independence. This necessitated a complete revision of the Dutch administrative court system, resulting in a much expanded access to independent administrative courts. Article 113 exclusively attributes also the power to judge offences to the judiciary. However, law can regulate the establishment by government of disciplinary courts outside of
24024-596: The Crown and The Order for Loyalty and Merit . Each year many thousands are honoured by the constitutional orders. This chapter regulates the Dutch judicial system . The central subject is the relation between the judiciary and other courts . The term "judiciary" is not meant to indicate the Judicial of the Trias politica , but rather a purely organisational complex of judicial institutions: those courts are simply part of
24255-409: The Dutch constitution describes a swearing-in in "the capital Amsterdam", which incidentally is the only phrase in the constitution that names Amsterdam as the capital of the Kingdom. The ceremony is called the inauguration ( inhuldiging ). The Dutch monarch is not crowned—although the crown, orb, and sceptre are present at the ceremony—the monarch's swearing of the oath constitutes acceptance of
24486-472: The French Code Napoleon remained basically unchanged, into a completely new set of modern codes. There has been a general tendency to strive for economy of style, clarity of expression, conceptual coherence and unity of terminology. The complete revision of the Dutch constitution in 1983 is part of this process. Combined with an absence of explicit legal doctrine the result can be deceptive, as
24717-487: The German president, Paul von Hindenburg , was able to dismiss a chancellor and select his own person for the job, even though the outgoing chancellor possessed the confidence of the Reichstag while the new chancellor did not. Subsequently, President von Hindenburg used his power to appoint Adolf Hitler as Chancellor without consulting the Reichstag. Note: The head of state in a "presidential" system may not actually hold
24948-403: The House in question so decides (Subarticle 3) which can be proposed by a tenth of the quorum or the President, on which proposal the doors are closed immediately for the vote (Subarticle 2). Normally there is a quorum of a half to start a session or to take any decision (Article 67). Decisions are taken by majority (more than half of the votes, Subarticle 2) and without mandate (Subarticle 3) —
25179-418: The House of Representatives approved but the Senate withheld approval. If the existing war conditions make such an approval impossible it is not required. Indeed, the approval has little value in any case: the subject of the article is not the classic declaration of war , as such a declaration according to doctrine might constitute a war crime by implying a war of aggression forbidden by international law. It
25410-428: The House of Representatives directly elected by the voters within a system of single-winner electoral districts . Parliament was accorded the right to amend government bills and to hold investigative hearings . The States-Provincial, themselves elected by voters, appointed by majorities for each province the members of the Senate from a select group of upper class citizens. A commission chaired by Johan Rudolph Thorbecke
25641-493: The House of Representatives members was brought up to 150, of Senate members to 75. The revision of 1963 accommodated the loss of Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia. The voting age was lowered from 23 to 21. In 1972 there was a minor revision; the main change was a lowering of the voting age to 18. In 1983 the constitution was almost entirely rewritten. Many articles were abolished. Social rights were included, most articles were reformulated (the main exception being article 23 about
25872-483: The House of Representatives on demand and when reaching a certain age (Subarticle 2). Law determines the competence of the ombudsman and the way he proceeds; delegation is allowed (Subarticle 3). His competence may by law be determined to exceed that given in Subarticle 1; delegation is allowed (Subarticle 4) — in contrast with the arrangement given for the Council of State and the Court of Audit. The constitution has
26103-486: The King (Article 87). It is generally assumed that this also fulfills the demand of signature by Article 47. The affirmation needs sign and ministerial countersign but also the older Royal Order has to be signed and countersigned, ordering to publish the law in a special publication, the Staatsblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden ( Bulletin of Acts, Orders and Decrees of the Kingdom of the Netherlands , also called Bulletin of Acts and Decrees ). Only after such publication
26334-723: The National Assembly. The Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland , a constitutional monarchy , was established by the Constitutie voor het Koningrijk Holland on 7 August 1806. In 1810 the kingdom was annexed by the French Empire . After the French troops had been driven out by Russian Cossacks , the new Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands , was established by the constitution of 29 March 1814,
26565-500: The Netherlands — having proclaimed himself King of the larger United Netherlands six days earlier, issued the first version of the current constitution, the Grondwet voor het Koningrijk der Nederlanden or Loi fondamentale du Royaume des Pays-Bas , establishing the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , now expanding his realm with the territory of the present state of Belgium , which would again secede from it in 1830. It included
26796-530: The Netherlands also includes Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten : there is an overarching instrument of the entire kingdom that has constitution characteristics: the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands . Sint Maarten is the only country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands that has a constitutional court to govern the Sint Maarten legislature. The constitution of the Netherlands is only applicable to
27027-474: The Netherlands as well as a Prince or Princess of Orange-Nassau. After their death, legally the deceased monarch (abdicated or not) has no titles. However, after death, the abdicated monarch is traditionally referred to as king or queen again. For example, Queen Juliana became queen on 4 September 1948 and princess again on 30 April 1980 following her abdication, but has been referred to as Queen Juliana since her death on 20 March 2004. There are two ways in which
27258-436: The Netherlands in 1954. The revision also created the office of secretary of state , a kind of junior minister but one fully subordinate to a certain minister. In 1953 new articles were introduced concerning international relations, as the Netherlands was abandoning its old policy of strict neutrality. In the revision of 1956 the constitution was changed to accommodate the full independence of Indonesia. The number of members of
27489-626: The Netherlands proper, i.e. the territory in Europe and its public bodies of Bonaire , Sint Eustatius and Saba , the latter three since 2010 special municipalities , in the Caribbean , except when the Charter does not cover a certain legal subject. It is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy ; it is the third oldest constitution still in use worldwide. A revision in 1848 instituted
27720-454: The Netherlands that serves two purposes. First, it is an advisory council to the government which advises on the desirability, practicability and constitutionality of new proposals of law. Second, it is the Supreme court for the Netherlands in matters of administrative law . The position of the monarch as constitutional head of this Council means two things for the constitutional position of
27951-431: The Prime Minister himself, who signs his own appointment and those of the others (Article 48). Royal decree also institutes the ministries (Article 44), which have tended to be very variable in number and scope, and non-departmental ministers (Subarticle 2), who officially have no ministry but whom in fact is assigned the necessary personnel and who sign and are responsible for a partial budget. The ministers together form
28182-622: The Realm is obliged to appear and answer their questions; it is a crime not to obey. This right can be limited by formal law; delegation is possible. Sixteen such inquiries have been held since 1848, one of them, about the events in the Second World War , lasting from 1947 till 1956. The Houses each determine their own Rules of Procedure (Article 72). As the legislative is in the Netherlands formed by parliament and government in cooperation, these Rules of Procedure are not formal laws but have
28413-623: The Republic freedom of conscience . After the French invasion of 1794 the Batavian Republic , a unitary state , was proclaimed. On 31 January 1795 it issued a bill of rights , the Verklaring der Rechten van den Mensch en van den Burger . On 1 May 1798 a new constitution, the first in the modern formal sense, the Staatsregeling voor het Bataafsche Volk , written by a Constitutional Assembly, went into force, approved by
28644-520: The Riksdag appoints (following a vote in the Riksdag ) the prime minister and terminates their commission following a vote of no confidence or voluntary resignation. Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. Laws and ordinances are promulgated by two Cabinet members in unison signing "On Behalf of the Government" and the government—not the monarch—is
28875-524: The Royal House the right to attend; it in fact determines that they nor the heir have voting powers. The members of the council, the Staatsraden , are appointed by Royal Decree for life (Subarticle 2); they can be dismissed on demand by Decree, or in cases determined by law by the Council itself, and law can determine an age limit (Subarticles 3 and 4). The competence, organisation and composition of
29106-944: The Soviet Union this position carried such titles as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR ; Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ; and in the case of the Soviet Russia Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets (pre-1922), and Chairman of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian SFSR (1956–1966). This position may or may not have been held by
29337-419: The States-General on policy matters due to ministerial responsibility). Constitutionally, the monarch deals with the States-General in three areas: lawmaking, policy outlining at the opening of the parliamentary year and dissolution. Of the three, policy outlining is the most straightforward. The parliamentary year is opened on the third Tuesday of September with a joint session of both houses. At this occasion
29568-509: The abdication of his mother Queen Beatrix , Willem-Alexander has been King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. The monarchy of the Netherlands passes by right of succession to the heirs of William I (see House of Orange-Nassau ). The heir is determined through two mechanisms: absolute cognatic primogeniture and proximity of blood . The Netherlands established absolute cognatic primogeniture instead of male-preference primogeniture by law in 1983. Proximity of blood limits accession to
29799-478: The appointment of his ministers. Ministers are appointed by royal decree, which has to be countersigned by the responsible minister. The royal decree to appoint a minister, however, is countersigned by two responsible ministers rather than one: the outgoing minister responsible for the ministry and the Prime Minister . Though the powers of the monarch of the Netherlands are limited, he or she does not have
30030-427: The article simply states that government and the States General together make laws. This means that the Dutch concept of "formal law" cannot simply be equated to "Act of Parliament", as government and parliament act in unison in creating laws. In the Dutch constitutional system there is no decisive referendum , although sometimes consultative referendums are held, like the one in 2005 in which the people advised to reject
30261-417: The budget to force the resignation of the government). Even though the monarch never speaks with members of the States-General formally, it was tradition until 1999 that the queen would invite the members of parliament a few times a year for informal talks about the general state of affairs in the country. These conversations were held in the strictest confidence due to ministerial responsibility. The tradition
30492-402: The case of the monarch ceding royal authority, the required act is a law. In case of removal, it is a declaration by the States-General. Formally, both require the normal procedure for passing a new law in the Netherlands. The former case is signed into law by the monarch himself, the latter is not, so technically it is not a law (this is allowed explicitly in the Constitution since the monarch who
30723-400: The citizen (as citizens have no recourse to a Constitutional Court). Therefore, delegation is only allowed if articles contain the terms "regulate" or "by force of law"; otherwise it is forbidden. This rule itself, however, being legal doctrine, is not explicitly included anywhere within the written law and is only found in the official commission reports and ministerial commentaries accompanying
30954-447: The citizen by not publishing the treaty. Article 94 determines that legal prescripts are inapplicable if they conflict with treaties of a generally binding nature. This means that laws can be tested against treaty norms and obligations. Dutch courts have however been very reluctant to do so, limiting this to cases where government has been left no freedom of policy at all by the treaty, or to severe formal and procedural defects. The case law
31185-584: The citizen can always assure some legal resort, simply by bringing a tort action against the State: the judiciary is then competent. Article 115 states that in the cases covered by Article 112, sub 2, always some administrative appeal is possible. However, it does not guarantee a decision by an independent court: on 23 October 1985 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Crown Appeal by
31416-579: The citizen. Since 1889 the constitution determines that all prescripts with a penal character have to be based on formal law and that this law imposes the penalty (Subarticles 2 and 4). This includes the Royal Decrees and thus the General Administrative Orders. A doctrinal consensus has developed, however, that all General Administrative Orders, not just those with penal content, have to be based on formal law to be valid, with
31647-474: The competence to regulate delegated by such law. The second paragraph of Chapter 5 contains several articles of disparate administrative content; but they are not the same as the "other prescripts" of §1; the redaction of the headings is generally seen as confusing and infelicitous on this point. Most articles in §2 are combined in coherent groups. The first of these groups consists of articles pertaining to international law and treaties. Article 90 states that it
31878-564: The constitution (or customary law) assumes all political responsibility by granting the crown inviolability (in fact also imposing political emasculation) as in the Kingdom of Belgium from its very beginning; in a monarchy this may even be extended to some degree to other members of the dynasty, especially the heir to the throne. Below follows a list of examples from different countries of general provisions in law, which either designate an office as head of state or define its general purpose. In
32109-403: The constitution and is automatically a constitutional crisis . The second paragraph of the article, though, is what really renders the monarch powerless. This paragraph states that the monarch is inviolable. He is beyond any reproach, beyond the grasp of any prosecution (criminal or otherwise) for any acts committed or actions taken as monarch. If anything goes wrong, the minister responsible for
32340-442: The constitution is submitted to both chambers of the States General , the House of Representatives and the Senate where the proposed revision has to pass with a (normal) majority. The proposed revision needs to be subsequently be supported by both chambers with a 2/3 majority, after general elections for the house of representatives (in practice most revision are submitted shortly before planned elections). The general elections and
32571-411: The constitution mentions neither possibility explicitly, it does describe what happens after the monarch dies or abdicates. Abdication is a prerogative of the monarch, but it is also irreversible as the person abdicating cannot return to the throne, nor can a child born to a former monarch after an abdication has occurred have a claim to the throne. The abdicated monarch is legally a Prince or Princess of
32802-532: The constitution, in Article 89: the Algemene maatregelen van bestuur , "General Administrative Orders". To avoid doctrinal strive over what orders exactly are covered by this concept, a consensus has developed that a strict formal definition can be applied: all general orders made by Royal Decree (Subarticle 1) that have been submitted to the Council of Ministers and to the Council of State and have been published by
33033-417: The constitution. The law regulates to which extent persons who are not members of the judiciary, partake in its rulings; delegation is possible (Article 116, sub 3). This refers to (scientific or other) experts on a certain subject, not to a system of jury trials, which is absent in the Netherlands. Article 112 states the main principle: the power to judge disputes of private law and the law of obligations
33264-435: The council acts as if there were complete agreement between all ministers: the so-called "homogeneity". By Royal Decree are appointed secretaries of state (Article 46); these are subordinate to a certain minister who is fully responsible for their acts (Subarticle 2). All laws and Royal Decrees have to be countersigned by the responsible minister(s) or secretaries of state (Article 47). The countersign has been mandatory since
33495-528: The council are regulated by law; delegation is possible (Article 75). This competence may exceed the functions indicated in Article 73; in this case no delegation is allowed (Subarticle 2). The number of Staatsraden is determined by law at a maximum of 29 ordinary members and 50 extraordinary members. The second is the Court of Audit ( Algemene Rekenkamer ). Its task is to perform financial audits (Article 76). The members are appointed for life by Royal Decree from
33726-404: The days of the first monarchs of the Netherlands when monarchs really could and did control this. However, this possibility is at odds with ministerial responsibility and modern monarchs have always avoided the issue by never proposing laws personally. The monarch must still sign proposals into law though, as historical deference to the fact that the law of the land is decreed by the monarch. While
33957-421: The death of the reigning monarch, even by the monarch himself (in case it is clear that the monarch will die without leaving an heir). Second, some people are excluded from the line of succession. They are: Princess Beatrix * Princess Margriet * Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven * As with most monarchies, the Netherlands cannot be without a monarch – the constitution of the Netherlands does not recognise
34188-516: The decision by King Leopold III of the Belgians to surrender on behalf of his state to the invading German army in 1940, against the will of his government. Judging that his responsibility to the nation by virtue of his coronation oath required him to act, he believed that his government's decision to fight rather than surrender was mistaken and would damage Belgium. (Leopold's decision proved highly controversial. After World War II , Belgium voted in
34419-401: The details of certain laws. Royal decrees create ministries , dissolve the houses of the States-General, and appoint & fire ministers. However, royal decrees are made by the responsible minister. And while the monarch must sign laws and royal decrees before they come into effect, the constitution determines that the responsible ministers and state secretaries must countersign. That, given
34650-481: The discussions (Subarticle 3). All persons partaking in the deliberations of parliament or in the parliamentary commission meetings have legal immunity regarding any communication they made, either in speech or in writing (Article 71). Otherwise the members have no parliamentary immunity . The States General have the right of inquiry (Article 70). They can by majority vote empower a commission that in public or secret hearings can investigate any subject. Any person in
34881-469: The end of the Cold War . Delegation is allowed. Government has to inform the States General about any intended foreign deployment of Dutch forces outside of defence treaty obligations, thus to protect the international rule of law and for humanitarian missions (Article 100). In an emergency situation such information can be given after the facts. Both government and parliament tended to present this duty as
35112-449: The executive: they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, within the government. Hence their states' governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majesty's Government or His/Her Excellency's Government . Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist. The Constitution of Japan ( 日本国憲法 , Nihonkoku-Kenpō )
35343-524: The fact that the ministers have the authority, really means that they decide and it is the monarch who countersigns (the minister asks the monarch for permission, that is, royal authority, and as an upholder of the Constitution, the monarch signs first; the minister is politically responsible for the Act and countersigns. This is an Act of the Crown: monarch and minister together). Even that is a formality. Also, while
35574-399: The final say on the way the country is actually ruled, though this is limited by the fact such appeals can only be made on formal or procedural grounds. The large influence of the council is not always appreciated by external and internal observers. If the King is unable to exert the royal authority and there is as yet no regent, the Council exerts the royal authority (Article 38). The council
35805-543: The form of official patronage. The Olympic Charter (rule 55.3) of the International Olympic Committee states that the Olympic summer and winter games shall be opened by the head of state of the host nation, by uttering a single formulaic phrase as determined by the charter. As such invitations may be very numerous, such duties are often in part delegated to such persons as a spouse,
36036-401: The functions indicated by Article 76; in this case no delegation is allowed (Subarticle 2). In fact the Court of Audit not only performs financial audits but also "value for money" efficiency analyses; it also reports on the effectiveness of all governmental policy via performance audits . Dutch legal doctrine believes in a clear distinction between efficiency and effectiveness reports and this
36267-490: The government "by or on behalf of the King". And while proposals of law must be approved by the States-General, a lot of the practical running of the country is done by royal decree (in Dutch: Koninklijk Besluit ). These royal decrees are used for all sorts of things, ranging from appointments of civil servants and military officers to clarifications of how public policy is to be executed to filling in
36498-504: The government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a prime minister who is chosen by the president, but who nevertheless must be able to gain support in the National Assembly . Should a president be of one side of the political spectrum and the opposition be in control of the legislature, the president is usually obliged to select someone from
36729-456: The government; there is thus no constitutional supreme commander . This defence force consists of volunteers and may contain conscripts (Article 98). Since Napoleonic times conscription had been the rule and voluntary service the exception; this has now been inverted to accommodate the creation of a fully professional army in 1997. However, the old laws regulating conscription have only been suspended, to be reactivated in case of emergency; this
36960-538: The head of state is notional chief executive include Australia , Austria , Canada , Denmark , India , Italy , Norway , Spain and the United Kingdom . The few exceptions where the head of state is not even the nominal chief executive - and where supreme executive authority is according to the constitution explicitly vested in a cabinet - include the Czech Republic , Ireland , Israel , Japan and Sweden . The head of state usually appoints most or all
37191-553: The house in question and the formation of a new house within three months of dissolution. The constitution prescribes a number of cases in which one or more houses of the States are dissolved (particularly for changes to the constitution); this is always done by royal decree. In addition, traditionally a collapse of the government is followed by dissolution of the House of Representatives and general elections. Before World War II , before it became common to form new governments with each new parliament, it would happen from time to time that
37422-404: The independent Dutch Republic . Some of his descendants were later appointed as stadtholders by the provinces and, in 1747, the role of stadtholder became a hereditary position in all provinces of the thus " crowned " Dutch Republic. The Kingdom of the Netherlands (not to be confused with the constituent country of the Netherlands ) has been an hereditary monarchy since 16 March 1815. Following
37653-523: The installation ceremony of ministers – the only duty still left to the monarch – was held in public for the first time in history. The one branch of government over which the monarch has no control is the legislative branch, formed by the States-General of the Netherlands . This parliamentary body consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives (also commonly referred to as Parliament ) and
37884-619: The judiciary that are designated as such by formal law (Article 116). Their organisation, composition and competence is regulated by law; delegation is possible (Subarticle 2). However, one safeguard that is typical of the Judicial, to guarantee its independence, is also characteristic of the Dutch judiciary: its members are appointed for life (Article 117); they can resign voluntarily or will be fired at an age determined by law (Subarticle 2); present law prescribes an age of seventy. Other principles, like impartiality , are not explicitly mentioned in
38115-494: The judiciary. Delegation is possible (Subarticle 2). The judiciary is attributed the exclusive right to impose a punishment entailing a deprivation of liberty (Subarticle 3). This does not refer to forms of detention that are not punitive in nature. Law may regulate exceptions to the provisions of Article 113 in case of trials held outside of the European territory of the Netherlands or of proceedings of martial law ; delegation
38346-406: The key officials in the government, including the head of government and other cabinet ministers, key judicial figures; and all major office holders in the civil service , foreign service and commissioned officers in the military . In many parliamentary systems, the head of government is appointed with the consent (in practice often decisive) of the legislature, and other figures are appointed on
38577-564: The king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Sardinia , and then the Kingdom of Italy , the Statuto Albertino —the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, but not required by law. Examples of heads of state in parliamentary systems using greater powers than usual, either because of ambiguous constitutions or unprecedented national emergencies, include
38808-413: The king has no practical involvement anymore in lawmaking other than a signature at the end, one might get a different impression from reading the communications between the government and the States-General regarding such affairs. All communication from the States-General to the government is addressed to the monarch and correspondence in the opposite direction formally from the monarch (it is also signed by
39039-404: The law has an external binding force (Article 88). In the Dutch constitutional system there is not only formal law; also other general governmental regulations are recognised, binding the citizen; the overarching concept is called "material law". These other regulations are the "other prescripts" mentioned in the heading of §1. Only the most important subcategory of these is explicitly mentioned in
39270-420: The leaders of the different parties in parliament, as well as other important figures (the speakers of the new parliament and the senate are among them). There is usually some popular discussion in the Netherlands around the time of these negotiations about whether the authority of the monarch in this matter should not be limited and whether or not the newly elected parliament should not make the appointments that
39501-473: The leading symbol of the nation, the president in this system acts mostly as a prime minister since the incumbent must be a member of the legislature at the time of the election, answer question sessions in Parliament, avoid motions of no confidence, etc. Semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably (in the president-parliamentary subtype) a requirement that
39732-402: The legislature to remove a president from office (for example, in the United States of America ). In this case the debate centers on confirming them into office, not removing them from office, and does not involve the power to reject or approve proposed cabinet members en bloc , so accountability does not operate in the same sense understood as a parliamentary system. Presidential systems are
39963-407: The main principles of Dutch government: that it is formed by King and ministers (Subarticle 1) and that "the King is inviolate; the ministers are responsible" (Subarticle 2). Before 1848 the inviolacy of the King was interpreted as a judicial one: he could never be tried in court for whatever reason. This is still so, but ministerial responsibility implies there is since the revision of 1848 primarily
40194-600: The majority of appointed electors (796 against 527) of the Southern Netherlands . As 126, however, had indicated that they were against because of the (by them still considered too limited) freedom of religion, which was mandatory under the Treaty of Vienna that ordered the union of the Northern and the Southern Netherlands, their votes and those of the men having refused to vote, were added to
40425-515: The majority of states, whether republics or monarchies, executive authority is vested, at least notionally, in the head of state. In presidential systems the head of state is the actual, de facto chief executive officer. Under parliamentary systems the executive authority is exercised by the head of state, but in practice is done so on the advice of the cabinet of ministers. This produces such terms as "Her Majesty's Government" and "His Excellency's Government." Examples of parliamentary systems in which
40656-434: The male population to be given the right to vote; therefore this provision was at the time nicknamed the " caoutchouc -article". The election interval for the House of Representatives was changed from two (with half of it replaced) to four years (with full a replacement of now hundred members). Eligibility for the Senate was broadened. Any penal measure not based on formal law was prohibited. In 1917, like in 1848 influenced by
40887-500: The minority, and by this infamous "Hollandic Arithmetic" William felt justified to proclaim the new kingdom. Regarding the government's political structure the 1815 constitution did not diverge much from the situation during the Republic: the 110 members of House of Representatives ( lower house ) of the States General, the "Second Chamber" as it is still called, were still appointed by the States-Provincial (for three years; each year
41118-437: The monarch addresses the joint states in a speech in which he sets forth the outlines for his government's policies for the coming year (the speech itself is prepared by the ministers, their ministries and finally crafted and approved by the prime minister). This event is mandated by the constitution in Article 65. Tradition has made more of this occasion than a policy speech though, and the event known as Prinsjesdag has become
41349-430: The monarch but the constitution stipulates that custody and parental authority of the minor monarch will be determined by law; any person might be appointed as regent, as legal guardian or both. There are also a number of special cases within the Constitution. First, if there is no heir when the monarch dies, the States-General may appoint a successor upon the suggestion of the government. This suggestion may be made before
41580-440: The monarch is part of the government of the Netherlands . The role of the monarch within the government of the Netherlands is described in Article 42 of the constitution: 1. De regering wordt gevormd door de Koning en de ministers. 2. De Koning is onschendbaar; de ministers zijn verantwoordelijk. 1. The government consists of the King and the ministers. 2. The King is inviolable; the ministers are responsible. This article
41811-416: The monarch makes. These discussions usually turn (to varying degrees) on the argument that a decision by a monarch is undemocratic and there is no parliamentary oversight over the decision and the monarch might make use of this to push for a government of his or her liking. On the other hand, it is somewhat questionable that the monarch really has much opportunity here to exert any influence. The informateur
42042-449: The monarch may technically propose laws ("by or on behalf of the King"), ministerial responsibility means that he never does. And even though the government may refuse to sign a States-General approved proposal into law, this is practically unheard of and the monarch refusing to sign on his own is even rarer (and would cause a constitutional crisis). There is one special case in which the monarch has, if possible, even less power than normal:
42273-410: The monarch to cede royal authority or be removed from it, both monarch and council are deemed to act responsibly and not leave the execution of the office vacant unnecessarily. Both cases are intended to deal with emergency situations such as physical or mental inability to execute the office of the monarch. In both cases, an act of the joint States-General is needed to strip the monarch of authority. In
42504-403: The monarch to resume his duties, a law (which is signed by the regent) must be passed to that effect. The monarch resumes the throne the moment the law of his return is made public. Although the monarch has roles and duties in all parts of the government and in several important places in the rest of society, the primary role of the monarch is within the executive branch of the Dutch government:
42735-442: The monarch within the government. There is no distinction, no dichotomy, no segregation or separation: the monarch and his ministers are the government and the government is one. This fact has practical consequences, in that it is not possible for the monarch and the ministers to be in disagreement. The government speaks with one voice and makes decisions as a united body. When the monarch acts in an executive capacity, he does so as
42966-473: The monarch, foreign ambassadors represent foreign heads of state to the monarch. It is the monarch that makes official state visits to foreign heads of state as representative of the Netherlands. He or She represents the monarch whose face is shown on Dutch stamps and Dutch euro coins . Constitutionally, the monarch is the head of the Dutch Council of State . The council is a constitutional body of
43197-433: The monarch, without a ministerial countersignature – such communication is not a decision or decree, so does not require a countersignature). The formal language still shows deference to the position of the monarch, with a refusal of the States-General to approve a proposal of law for example becoming "a request to the King to reconsider the proposal". The constitution prescribes a number of the forms used: A law, once passed,
43428-458: The monarch, without ceasing to be monarch, can be stripped of his or her royal authority: These cases are both temporary (even if the monarch dies while not executing his office it still counts as temporary) and are described in detail in the constitution. A monarch can temporarily cease to reign for any reason. This can be at his own request or because the Council of Ministers deems the monarch unfit for office. Although there can be any reason for
43659-558: The monarch: Constitution of the Netherlands The Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands of 24 August 1815 ( Dutch : Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden van 24 augustus 1815 ) is one of two fundamental documents governing the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as the fundamental law of the Netherlands proper (the territory of the Kingdom mainly situated in Europe). The Kingdom of
43890-421: The nation"). Some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of "models". An independent nation state normally has a head of state, and determines the extent of its head's executive powers of government or formal representational functions. In terms of protocol : the head of a sovereign , independent state is usually identified as the person who, according to that state's constitution,
44121-421: The new house of representatives guarantees citizens can indirectly vote for or against a revision. Civil law systems are characterized by their emphasis on abstract rules and methodology. Since the Second World War there has been a dominant movement within the Dutch legal community to be fully consistent in this and incorporate the total of case law accumulated over the years, while the old law books derived from
44352-516: The oath of purification, the oath of allegiance to the Constitution and the oath of loyal discharge of their office are demanded by Article 60; the oath of loyalty to King and Statute is demanded by Article 47 of the Statute of the Kingdom, the higher Constitution of the Realm. All other issues pertaining the elections are regulated by formal law; delegation is possible (Article 59). Each House appoints its own President from its members (Article 61) and
44583-713: The office of President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly , while the party leader's post as chairman of the National Defense Commission was simultaneously declared "the highest post of the state", not unlike Deng Xiaoping earlier in the People's Republic of China . In China , under the current country's constitution , the Chinese President is a largely ceremonial office with limited power. However, since 1993, as
44814-404: The opposition to become prime minister, a process known as Cohabitation . President François Mitterrand , a Socialist, for example, was forced to cohabit with the neo-Gaullist (right wing) Jacques Chirac , who became his prime minister from 1986 to 1988. In the French system, in the event of cohabitation, the president is often allowed to set the policy agenda in security and foreign affairs and
45045-465: The political arena (the deputy chairman of the Dutch Council of State is a common choice). Once a potential coalition has been identified the monarch technically has free rein in selecting a formateur. However, the formateur almost always becomes the next prime minister, and in any case, it is a strong convention that a government must command the support of a majority of the House of Representatives in order to stay in office. These considerations mean that
45276-399: The pregnancy ends in stillbirth, his or her reign is expunged (otherwise the existence of the stillborn king/queen would add a degree of separation for other family members to the throne and might suddenly exclude the next person in line for the throne). If the monarch is a minor, a regent is appointed and serves until the monarch comes of age. The regent is customarily the surviving parent of
45507-704: The presidential model also encompasses people who become head of state by other means, notably through military dictatorship or coup d'état , as often seen in Latin American , Middle Eastern and other presidential regimes. Some of the characteristics of a presidential system, such as a strong dominant political figure with an executive answerable to them, not the legislature can also be found among absolute monarchies , parliamentary monarchies and single party (e.g., Communist ) regimes, but in most cases of dictatorship, their stated constitutional models are applied in name only and not in political theory or practice. In certain states under Marxist–Leninist constitutions of
45738-608: The presidents in a presidential or semi-presidential system. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system. The older the constitution, the more constitutional leeway tends to exist for a head of state to exercise greater powers over government, as many older parliamentary system constitutions in fact give heads of state powers and functions akin to presidential or semi-presidential systems, in some cases without containing reference to modern democratic principles of accountability to parliament or even to modern governmental offices. Usually,
45969-439: The prime minister on matters of state. In contrast, the only contact the president of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach (head of government) to the president. However, the president has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach . The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers , such as referring
46200-401: The prime minister runs the domestic and economic agenda. Other countries evolve into something akin to a semi-presidential system or indeed a full presidential system. Weimar Germany , for example, in its constitution provided for a popularly elected president with theoretically dominant executive powers that were intended to be exercised only in emergencies, and a cabinet appointed by him from
46431-429: The prime minister, and to pardon criminals or to commute their sentence. Some parliamentary republics (like South Africa , Botswana and Kiribati ) have fused the roles of the head of state with the head of government (like in a presidential system), while having the sole executive officer, often called a president, being dependent on the Parliament's confidence to rule (like in a parliamentary system). While also being
46662-427: The proposal, which is only signed by himself, thus without countersign. The House of Representatives has the right of amendment ; government too may amend (Article 84). The Senate only can pass or reject laws in full (Article 85), defended by the responsible minister or by members of the House of Representatives having taken the initiative to propose the law; however, in practice it can send the proposal back asking for
46893-441: The public attention, shows that the common conception that the kingship since the reign of William III of the Netherlands has in fact been almost fully ceremonial, is not supported by the facts. Often it is assumed that there is a "derived ministerial responsibility" for all members of the Royal House. The Prime Minister and the ministers are appointed and dismissed by Royal Decree (Article 43). Such decrees are also signed by
47124-513: The public interest, as opposed to the particular interests of their constituents. Article 51 specifies that the States General consist of a House of Representatives of the Netherlands ( lower house ), the Second Chamber of 150 members and a Senate ( upper house ), the First Chamber of 75 members — the constitution deliberately mentions the House of Representatives first to emphasize its political primate. Subarticle 4 mentions that both Houses can gather in an indivisible United Assembly of 225 members,
47355-445: The revision of 1840. Since 1983 such laws and decrees also have to be affirmed by a signed affirmation; it is usually assumed these acts coincide. All ministers and secretaries of state have to swear an oath of purification (declaring to not having bribed anyone to obtain their office, nor having been bribed to commit certain acts when in office) and swear allegiance to the Constitution (Article 49). The individual ministers do not have
47586-527: The role is fulfilled by the lieutenant governor , whereas in most British Overseas Territories the powers and duties are performed by the governor . The same applies to Australian states , Indian states , etc. Hong Kong 's constitutional document, the Basic Law , for example, specifies the chief executive as the head of the special administrative region, in addition to their role as the head of government. These non-sovereign-state heads, nevertheless, have limited or no role in diplomatic affairs, depending on
47817-423: The same issue. The last instance occurred in 1894. In the 20th century such "conflict resolution" was replaced by "crisis resolution" whenever a political coalition fell apart and could not be reconciled; the government then resigns and instead of trying to find a new coalition majority, decides on holding new elections, normally in accordance with the wishes of parliament itself. Earlier typically an "interim cabinet"
48048-421: The selected formateur is always the party leader of the largest party in the potential coalition. However, in March 2012 the States-General altered its own procedures, such that any subsequent government formation is done without the monarch's influence. No more than a month later, the government coalition collapsed, triggering early elections in September 2012 . As no formal procedures had been outlined as to how
48279-405: The simple phrasing hides the underlying implicit doctrine. Because there is no Constitutional Court testing laws and acts against the constitution, much of the systematics are centered on the problem of delegation . If the legislative were allowed to delegate its powers to the government or to lower decentralized bodies, this would threaten democratic legitimacy and the constitutional protection of
48510-399: The source. The monarch has several functions in addition to the duties and responsibilities described in previous sections. Some of these are (partly) constitutional; others are more traditional in nature. The monarch is the head of state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands . As such, the monarch is the face of the kingdom toward the world: ambassadors of the Netherlands are emissaries of
48741-403: The status and the norms and practices of the territories concerned. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the nominal chief executive officer , heading the executive branch of the state, and possessing limited executive power. In reality, however, following a process of constitutional evolution, powers are usually only exercised by direction of a cabinet , presided over by
48972-403: The still sensitive freedom of education) using a new uniform legal terminology and their sequence was changed. The bill of rights was expanded with a prohibition of discrimination , a prohibition of the death penalty , a general freedom of expression , the freedom of demonstration and a general right to privacy . In 1987 there was a minor revision. In the revision of 1995 the introduction of
49203-409: The strengthening of the Prince's powers, vis-a-vis the Landtag (legislature), has moved Liechtenstein into the semi-presidential category. Similarly the original powers given to the Greek President under the 1974 Hellenic Republic constitution moved Greece closer to the French semi-presidential model. Another complication exists with South Africa , in which the president is in fact elected by
49434-399: The swearing in at the inauguration of a president of a republic, or the coronation of a monarch. One of the most important roles of the modern head of state is being a living national symbol of the state; in hereditary monarchies this extends to the monarch being a symbol of the unbroken continuity of the state. For instance, the Canadian monarch is described by the government as being
49665-498: The symbolic connection to the government, a practice that dates back to medieval times. Sometimes this practice is taken to excess, and the head of state becomes the principal symbol of the nation, resulting in the emergence of a personality cult where the image of the head of state is the only visual representation of the country, surpassing other symbols such as the flag . Other common representations are on coins , postage and other stamps and banknotes , sometimes by no more than
49896-475: The tense international situation, universal manhood suffrage was introduced combined with a system of proportional representation to elect the House of Representatives, the States-Provincial and the municipality councils. The Senate continued to be elected by the States-Provincial, but now also employing a system of proportional representation, no longer by majorities per province. The Christian democratic parties agreed to universal manhood suffrage in exchange for
50127-433: The throne to a person who is related to the current monarch within three degrees of kinship. For example, the grandchildren of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (sister of Princess Beatrix ) have no succession rights because their kinship with Beatrix when she was queen, was of the fourth degree (that is, Princess Beatrix is their parent's parent's parents' daughter). Succession is limited to legitimate heirs, precluding
50358-437: The throne. Also, note that this ceremony does not equal accession to the throne as this would imply a vacancy of the throne between monarchs which is not allowed. The monarch ascends immediately after the previous monarch ceases to reign. The swearing-in only constitutes acceptance in public. The monarch's reign can end in death or abdication. Both of these events cause the regular mechanisms of succession to go into effect. While
50589-433: The throne. Further articles regulate abdication (Article 27); parliamentary approval of royal marriage on penalty of loss of the right to the throne (Art. 28); the exclusion of unfit possible heirs (Art. 29); appointment of a successor if heirs are absent (Art. 30 and 31); the oath and inauguration in the capital of the Netherlands , Amsterdam (Art. 32); the age of royal majority at eighteen (Art. 33); guardianship over
50820-423: The time of the Glorious Revolution , the English parliament acted of its own authority to name a new king and queen (the joint monarchs Mary II and William III ); likewise, Edward VIII 's abdication required the approval of each of the six independent realms of which he was monarch. In monarchies with a written constitution, the position of monarch is created under the constitution and could be abolished through
51051-436: The title of " president " - the name of the system refers to any head of state who actually governs and is not directly dependent on the legislature to remain in office. Some constitutions or fundamental laws provide for a head of state who is not only in theory but in practice chief executive, operating separately from, and independent from, the legislature. This system is known as a "presidential system" and sometimes called
51282-413: The topic at hand is responsible for the failings of the monarch. This sounds like it makes the monarch an absolute tyrant, but in fact, the opposite is true: since the ministers are responsible, they also have the authority to make the decisions. The ministers set the course of the government and the country, and the ministers make executive decisions and run the affairs of the state. And since the government
51513-486: Was appointed to draft the new proposed constitution, which was finished on 19 June. Suffrage was expanded (though still limited to census suffrage ), as was the bill of rights with the freedom of assembly , the privacy of correspondence , freedom of ecclesiastical organisation and the freedom of education . In 1884 there was a minor revision. In 1887 the census suffrage system was replaced by one based on minimal wealth and education, which allowed an ever-growing share of
51744-418: Was brought back to a few to economise. The advice of all bodies indicated in Chapter 4 is in principle public; the law regulates the way it is published; delegation is allowed (Article 80); it is submitted to the States General (subarticle 2). The Legislative is formed by Government (i.e. King and ministers) and the States General in cooperation (Article 81), although the term "legislative" is not actually used:
51975-458: Was divided and some defended a more dualistic position, that of "limited monism". They demanded the constitution to be neutral on this issue and this has led to some infelicitous results. Government originally intended that Article 93, stating that treaties of a generally binding nature would only have such binding force after they had been published, to be simply a safeguard, protecting the citizen against duties imposed on him by such treaty. However,
52206-418: Was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and was intended to replace the previous militaristic and quasi- absolute monarchy system with a form of liberal democracy parliamentary system . The constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet , who is chaired by the prime minister (articles 65 and 66) and responsible to the Diet (articles 67 and 69). The emperor
52437-425: Was formed to arrange for the elections, but this hasn't happened since 1982. Article 65 states that the parliamentary year is opened on the third Tuesday of September ( Prinsjesdag ) by the King holding the Speech from the Throne . The same day the minister of finance presents the yearly national budget. The sessions of the States General are public (Article 66), but the session will be secret ( In camera ) when
52668-440: Was nominally a presidential republic. However, the elected civilian presidents were effectively figureheads with real political power being exercised by the chief of the Panamanian Defense Forces . Historically, at the time of the League of Nations (1920–1946) and the founding of the United Nations (1945), India's head of state was the monarch of the United Kingdom, ruling directly or indirectly as Emperor of India through
52899-424: Was suspended in 1999 though, after repeated incidents in which MPs divulged the contents of the conversations, despite agreeing not to (and embarrassing the Prime Minister in doing so). In 2009, an attempt was made to resume the tradition, this failed however when Arend Jan Boekestijn disclosed to the press contents of a private conversation he had with the Queen . Boekestinjin resigned shortly after being exposed as
53130-423: Was taken by the introduction of penal ministerial responsibility. The constitution as it was revised on 11 October 1848 is often described as the original of the version still in force today. Under pressure from the Revolutions of 1848 in surrounding countries, King William II accepted the introduction of full ministerial responsibility in the constitution, leading to a system of parliamentary democracy , with
53361-411: Was vacant for years. The late president was granted the posthumous title (akin to some ancient Far Eastern traditions to give posthumous names and titles to royalty) of " Eternal President " . All substantive power, as party leader, itself not formally created for four years, was inherited by his son Kim Jong Il . The post of president was formally replaced on 5 September 1998, for ceremonial purposes, by
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