Kingdom act
A Kingdom Act (
Field of application
Ordinary Kingdom Acts
Kingdom Acts are used in areas defined as Kingdom Affairs in the Charter for the Kingdom:[1]
- maintenance of the independence and the defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
- 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 of the Netherlands, 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 certaintyand good governance shall be a Kingdom Affair.
An example of a Kingdom Act is the Kingdom Act on the Netherlands 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 of the Constituent Countries Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which was adopted as part of the package of legislation pertaining to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Legislative process
Kingdom Acts are generally proposed by the
References
- ^ a b "Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands". Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. September 2002. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2010.