Law of the Netherlands
Encyclopedia
The Netherlands
is a civil law
country. Its laws are written and the application of customary law is exceptional. The role of case law
is small in theory, although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law
. The Dutch system of law is based on the French Civil Code
with influences from Roman Law
and traditional Dutch customary law. The new civil law books (which went into force in 1992) were heavily influenced by the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
.
The primary law making body is formed by the Dutch parliament in cooperation with the government. When operating jointly to create laws they are commonly referred to as the legislature (Dutch: wetgever). The power to make new laws can be delegated to lower governments or specific organs of the State, but only for a prescribed purpose. A trend in recent years has been for parliament and the government to create "framework laws" and delegate the creation of detailed rules to ministers or lower governments. (e.g. a province or municipality)
The Ministry of Security and Justice is the main institution when it comes to Dutch law.
is the domain of law that regulates the everyday life of persons and other legal entities (such as corporations). The main code of Dutch civil law is the Burgerlijk Wetboek
.
deals with the prosecution and punishment of criminal offenses
. The main code is the Wetboek van Strafrecht (nl).
involves itself with the constitution and the structure of the Netherlands. It involves the powers of democratic institutions, the organisation of elections and the divisions of powers between central and local governments. See also the article on the Constitution of the Netherlands
. Following the practice of many civil law
jurisdictions and in contrast to practice in nations such as the United States
, the practice of Dutch constitutional law is that judges are not allowed to determine the constitutionality of laws created by the legislature (the government and parliament acting jointly).
is the area of law that regulates the operation of the various levels of government and the way persons and legal entities can appeal decisions of the government. The basics of Dutch administrative law were overhauled completely in 1994 with the advent of the new Basic Administrative Law (Dutch: Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht)....
(a.k.a. the law of nations) involves the application of international laws (mostly laid down in treaties) in the Netherlands. The Dutch constitution contains a clause that allows the direct application of most international laws in Dutch courts. The laws that regulate jurisdiction and applicable law in cases with an international aspect (e.g. because parties come from different countries) are not part of international law but form a specific branch of civil law.
) were ruled by a patchwork of customary law with a (depending on the region) more or less prevalent role for roman law
as a secondary source of law. This period of customary law ended in 1806 when the Dutch Republic ceased to exist and the Kingdom of Holland
was created under French rule (King Louis Bonaparte
, third brother of Napoleon Bonaparte).
With French rule came a French way of running the state: a centrally led and efficiently operating civil service and a new system of positive law
: the Code Civil. After the defeat of Napoleon a new Dutch state was created comprising the Netherlands and Belgium. The Dutch did not want to go back to the days of legal diversity (local customary laws) and a project was started to create a Dutch civil law book. After the breakaway of Belgium in 1830 the new law book (which had not yet entered force) had to be overhauled again to be cleansed of "Belgian influences". The new law book gained force of law in 1838.
After the second world war professor E.M. Meijers
was commissioned to create a new civil law book. After his death in 1954 work on the new law book continued but the process was slowed down considerably. Nevertheless his "new civil law book" entered force in various parts over a period spanning from 1970 to 1992. Book 4 (inheritance law) was overhauled in 2003.
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...
is a civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
country. Its laws are written and the application of customary law is exceptional. The role of case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
is small in theory, although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
. The Dutch system of law is based on the French Civil Code
Civil code
A civil code is a systematic collection of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure...
with influences from Roman Law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
and traditional Dutch customary law. The new civil law books (which went into force in 1992) were heavily influenced by the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch is the civil code of Germany. In development since 1881, it became effective on January 1, 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project....
.
The primary law making body is formed by the Dutch parliament in cooperation with the government. When operating jointly to create laws they are commonly referred to as the legislature (Dutch: wetgever). The power to make new laws can be delegated to lower governments or specific organs of the State, but only for a prescribed purpose. A trend in recent years has been for parliament and the government to create "framework laws" and delegate the creation of detailed rules to ministers or lower governments. (e.g. a province or municipality)
The Ministry of Security and Justice is the main institution when it comes to Dutch law.
Areas of law
The domain of Dutch law is commonly divided in the following areas:- Administrative lawAdministrative lawAdministrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...
- Civil lawCivil law (common law)Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
(including family law, inheritance law, contract law and commercial law) - Criminal lawCriminal lawCriminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
- Constitutional lawConstitutional lawConstitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
(including laws on the structure of the state) - European law
- International lawInternational lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
Civil law
Civil lawCivil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
is the domain of law that regulates the everyday life of persons and other legal entities (such as corporations). The main code of Dutch civil law is the Burgerlijk Wetboek
Burgerlijk Wetboek
The Burgerlijk Wetboek is the civil code of the Netherlands. Early permutations were largely based on the Napoleonic code. The Dutch Civil Code was given substantive reform in 1992. The Code deals with the rights of individuals , legal entities , the rights of assets and succession...
.
Criminal law
Criminal lawCriminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
deals with the prosecution and punishment of criminal offenses
Criminal justice system of the Netherlands
The criminal justice system of the Netherlands is the system of practices and institutions of the Netherlands directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. The Netherlands criminal...
. The main code is the Wetboek van Strafrecht (nl).
Constitutional law
Constitutional lawConstitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
involves itself with the constitution and the structure of the Netherlands. It involves the powers of democratic institutions, the organisation of elections and the divisions of powers between central and local governments. See also the article on the Constitution of the Netherlands
Constitution of the Netherlands
The Constitution of the Netherlands is the fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of...
. Following the practice of many civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
jurisdictions and in contrast to practice in nations such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the practice of Dutch constitutional law is that judges are not allowed to determine the constitutionality of laws created by the legislature (the government and parliament acting jointly).
Administrative law
Administrative lawAdministrative law
Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...
is the area of law that regulates the operation of the various levels of government and the way persons and legal entities can appeal decisions of the government. The basics of Dutch administrative law were overhauled completely in 1994 with the advent of the new Basic Administrative Law (Dutch: Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht)....
European law
European law deals with the influence of laws and regulations of the European Union in the laws of the Netherlands.International law
International lawInternational law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
(a.k.a. the law of nations) involves the application of international laws (mostly laid down in treaties) in the Netherlands. The Dutch constitution contains a clause that allows the direct application of most international laws in Dutch courts. The laws that regulate jurisdiction and applicable law in cases with an international aspect (e.g. because parties come from different countries) are not part of international law but form a specific branch of civil law.
History
From ancient times the low lands that became the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (see also Dutch RepublicDutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
) were ruled by a patchwork of customary law with a (depending on the region) more or less prevalent role for roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
as a secondary source of law. This period of customary law ended in 1806 when the Dutch Republic ceased to exist and the Kingdom of Holland
Kingdom of Holland
The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country...
was created under French rule (King Louis Bonaparte
Louis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu , King of Holland , was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino...
, third brother of Napoleon Bonaparte).
With French rule came a French way of running the state: a centrally led and efficiently operating civil service and a new system of positive law
Positive law
Positive law is the term generally used to describe man-made laws which bestow specific privileges upon, or remove them from, an individual or group...
: the Code Civil. After the defeat of Napoleon a new Dutch state was created comprising the Netherlands and Belgium. The Dutch did not want to go back to the days of legal diversity (local customary laws) and a project was started to create a Dutch civil law book. After the breakaway of Belgium in 1830 the new law book (which had not yet entered force) had to be overhauled again to be cleansed of "Belgian influences". The new law book gained force of law in 1838.
After the second world war professor E.M. Meijers
Eduard Meijers
Eduard Maurits Meijers was a Dutch jurist of Jewish background, who was the founding father of the current Dutch civil code, the Nieuw Burgerlijk Wetboek.- Family :...
was commissioned to create a new civil law book. After his death in 1954 work on the new law book continued but the process was slowed down considerably. Nevertheless his "new civil law book" entered force in various parts over a period spanning from 1970 to 1992. Book 4 (inheritance law) was overhauled in 2003.
See also
- Arms and Ammunition Act (Wet Wapens en Munitie)
- Constitution of the NetherlandsConstitution of the NetherlandsThe Constitution of the Netherlands is the fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of...
- Drug policy of the NetherlandsDrug policy of the NetherlandsThe drug policy of the Netherlands officially has four major objectives:# To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate recreational drug users.# To reduce harm to users....
- Dutch nationality lawDutch nationality lawDutch nationality law is based primarily on the principle of Jus sanguinis and is governed by the Kingdom act regarding Dutch citizenship . Thus citizenship is conferred primarily by birth to a Dutch parent, irrespective of place of birth...
- GedogenGedogenIn the context of the law of the Netherlands, the term gedogen refers to not enforcing certain laws. The Dutch government tolerates some offences. Some things like possessing small amounts of marijuana are formally forbidden by law, but the Dutch government abstains from bringing criminal charges...
- Hoge Raad der NederlandenHoge Raad der NederlandenThe Supreme Court of the Netherlands is the highest court of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Aruba. The Court was established on 1 October 1838 and sits in The Hague, Netherlands....
- Human rights in the NetherlandsHuman rights in the NetherlandsThe human rights of the Netherlands are codified in the Dutch constitution. Together with other European states, the Netherlands is often at or near the head in international civil liberties and political rights rankings.-Constitutional rights:...
- Income tax in the NetherlandsIncome tax in the NetherlandsIncome tax in the Netherlands is regulated by the Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 .The fiscal year is the same as the calendar year. Before April 1 citizens have to report their income from the previous year...
- Law enforcement in the NetherlandsLaw enforcement in the NetherlandsLaw enforcement in the Netherlands is provided by 25 regional police forces , the Netherlands Police Agency and the Royal Marechaussee , a gendarmerie.-Organisation:...
- Legal systems of the worldLegal systems of the worldThe legal systems of the world today are generally based on one of three basic systems: civil law, common law, and religious law – or combinations of these...
- Ministry of Justice (Netherlands)Ministry of Justice (Netherlands)The Ministry of Security and Justice is the Dutch ministry of justice. Until 14 October 2010, the ministry was just called Ministry of Justice , but at the start of the Rutte cabinet, the name changed because it had taken over some public safety duties from the Ministry of the Interior...
- Netherlands copyright law
- Prostitution in the NetherlandsProstitution in the NetherlandsProstitution in the Netherlands is legal and regulated. Operating a brothel is also legal. In the last few years, a significant number of brothels and "windows" have been closed because of suspected criminal activity...
- Roman Dutch lawRoman Dutch lawRoman Dutch law is a legal system based on Roman law as applied in the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, it is a variety of the European continental civil law or ius commune...
- Spider in the web doctrineSpider in the web doctrineThe spider in the web doctrine is a legal doctrine in Dutch law governing cross-border injunctions in patent infringement cases. Under this doctrine, the Dutch courts would assume jurisdiction only in cases where the main defendant was located in the Netherlands and where the other defendants...