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Summary LLS WEEK 2 - CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
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week 2 LLS notes from lecture and working group, summary.
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Constitutional law® the set of legal rules which ensure the functional running of a state and lists the
fundamental rights of the population.
® Regulates the relationships between:
a) State and citizens (rights)
b) State and its organs (legislative, executive, judiciary)
® Public law
® Consists of written law (constitution) as well as unwritten law (case law, customary
law – e.g. vote of no confidence rule)
Organic laws: state the formal constitution of a nation (art.107 C)
The Kingdom of the Netherlands:
- Made up of four constituent countries (Netherlands, Sint Maarten, Aruba and
Curacao)
- Three municipalities – Bonaire, Sint-Eustatius, Saba
- Charter of The Kingdom (document) is above the Dutch constitution (European part
of NL) (hierarchy rule)
- The Charter regulates the relationship between the four constituent countries
- States that four countries manage their states autonomously but are jointly
responsible for Kingdom affairs (foreign policy, defence of kingdom) (decentralised)
Criteria of a ‘state’:
- Defined territory
- Permanent population (no migration, but a uniform language is not necessary)
- Effective + independent authority (government has to rule over the people
independently (police, military) *satellite state
- Recognition by other states (not formal, but allows the state to enter diplomatic
agreements)
- satellite state: a state which is formally independent, but cannot exercise full control
and is instead governed or controlled by another state (military, political, economic)
Three types of constitutional states (state organisation):
1. Unitary
- Central government which sets laws each territory must follow, any power the
territories have is delegated to them by the central government
- Central government can always take back any competences given to the federal
government (decentralisation).
- Central government has the ‘last word’ on issues
- Each territory is subordinate to the government
, 2. Federation
- a union of partially self-governing (autonomous) states or regions under a central
(federal) government.
- Constitution does not ground all the power to the central government (attribution –
federal government can implement foreign policy, etc. but not private, criminal law).
- Federal government cannot issue regulations on certain issues
3. Confederation
- supremacy of individual states that unite for a common action.
- Marginal loss of sovereignty.
e.g. Benelux
® Politico-economic union of the states of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg,
bound through treaties and based on consensus between the representatives of the
member states.
® They partially share a common foreign policy, especially in regards to their navies
through the BeNeSam. (military and foreign cooperation)
The Kingdom of the Netherlands as a centralised unitary state:
- Four constituent countries of the Kingdom are autonomous from the central
government
- Relationship regulated by the Charter of the Kingdom.
- The Charter of the Kingdom refers to the Dutch constitution
- Autonomy of kingdom ≠ federal state. Look at Charter, see that each country has its
own legal system. The government of the Kingdom has substantial power to supervise
the countries (if the countries become corrupt or if human rights are violated, the
government of the Kingdom can intervene)
Note: the Netherlands (European part) is a decentralised unitary state (Chapter 7 of
Constitution)
Parliamentary vs. Presidential Systems:
the head of the executive is elected on its own account vs. elected by state
® Presidential system:
- two chambers of parliament: congress and president
- president elected by public, the president has its own mandate
- not accountable to the parliament
- can be impeached (serious criminal offense)
- President is more secure in office than PM, but his ability to pass legislation or
implement budgets is limited
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