A Kingdom act is an act of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...

, which scope goes beyond the country the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and which is (also) effective in the other countries Aruba

Aruba

Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...

, Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 and/or Sint Maarten. Kingdom acts are used for specific areas of law set out in the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands describes the political relationship between the four different countries which form the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten in the Caribbean and the Netherlands in Europe...

 (e.g. nationality law, foreign affairs), or for those areas where countries in the Kingdom cooperate voluntarily.

Ordinary Kingdom acts

Kingdom acts are used in areas defined as Kingdom affairs in the Charter for the Kingdom:

• maintenance of the independence and the defence of the Kingdom;
• foreign relations;
• Netherlands nationality;
• regulation of the orders of chivalry, the flag and the coat of arms of the Kingdom;
• regulation of the nationality of vessels and the standards required for the safety and navigation of seagoing vessels flying the flag of the Kingdom, with the exception of sailing ships;
• supervision of the general rules governing the admission and expulsion of Netherlands nationals;
• general conditions for the admission and expulsion of aliens;
• extradition.

One additional Kingdom affair is specified in article 43(2) of the Charter:

• The safeguarding of fundamental human rights and freedoms, legal certainty
  Legal certainty
  Legal certainty is a principle in national and international law which holds that the law must provide those subject to it with the ability to regulate their conduct. Legal certainty is internationally recognised as a central requirement for the rule of law....
  
   and good governance shall be a Kingdom affair.

An example of a Kingdom act is the Kingdom act on Dutch Nationality.

Consensus Kingdom acts

On the basis of article 38 of the Charter, the countries of the Kingdom can decide to adopt a Kingdom Act outside of the scope of the aforementioned areas. Such acts are referred to as Consensus Kingdom Acts, as they require the consent of the parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (before 2010: Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles; before 1986: the Netherlands Antilles; from 1954 to 1975: Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles).

An example of a Consensus Kingdom act is the Kingdom act on financial supervision, which was adopted as part of the package of legislation pertaining to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.

Legislation process

Kingdom laws are generally proposed by the Government of the Netherlands

Cabinet of the Netherlands

The cabinet of the Netherlands is the main executive body of the Dutch government. The current cabinet of the Netherlands is the Rutte cabinet.-Composition and role:...

, after discussion in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom

Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom is the executive council of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is a state consisting of four constituent countries: Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten...

 (which consists of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands together with the ministers-plenipotentiary

Minister Plenipotentiary (Netherlands)

In the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Minister Plenipotentiary represents the government of the caribbean countries of the Kingdom in the Netherlands...

 of the other countries). Obligatory advice is obtained from the Council of State of the Kingdom (which is the Council of State of the Netherlands, with added advisers for the other countries). After this advice a (revised) proposal is sent to the States-General of the Netherlands

States-General of the Netherlands

The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...

and the estates of the three other countries. After approval in both houses of the States-General, the law receives royal assent. In the case of consensus kingdom acts, the act also has to be approved by the Estates of the relevant other countries.