The Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Dutch: Hoge Raad der Nederlanden[ˈɦoːɣə raːdər ˈneːdərlɑndə(n)][2] or simply Hoge Raad), officially the High Council of the Netherlands, is the final court of appeal in civil, criminal and tax cases in the Netherlands, including Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Aruba.[3] The Court was established on 1 October 1838 and is located in The Hague.[4]
The Supreme Court rules civil and criminal matters. In certain administrative cases it has final jurisdiction as well, while in other cases this jurisdiction rests with the adjudicative division of the Council of State (Raad van State), the Central Appeals Tribunal (Centrale Raad van Beroep), the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (College van Beroep van het bedrijfsleven) as well as judicial institutions in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Court is a court of cassation, which means that it has the competence to quash or affirm rulings of lower courts, but no competence to re-examine or question the facts. It only considers whether the lower courts applied the law correctly and the rulings have sufficient reasoning.[5] In so doing it establishes case law.
As the government of the Netherlands is characterised by parliamentary sovereignty, the Supreme Court cannot overturn primary legislation made by the States-General. This is laid out in Article 120 of the Constitution, which states that courts may not rule on the constitutionality of laws passed by the States General and treaties. With the exception of the Constitutional Court of Sint Maarten (which rules on constitutionality with regards to the Sint Maarten constitution only) courts thus have little competence for judicial review with respect to the Constitution.[6][7] However, it is possible for courts (including the Supreme Court) to overturn secondary legislation made by the executive government.
The Supreme Court currently consists of 36 judges: a president, six vice presidents, twenty-five justices (raadsheren, literally "Lords of the Council") and four justices extraordinary (buitengewone dienst).[8] All judges are appointed for life, until they retire at their own request or mandatorily on their 70th birthday.[9]
The Huis Huguetan on Lange Voorhout, Supreme Court seat from 1988 to 2016
The development of cassation in the Netherlands was heavily influenced by the French during the Batavian Revolution at the end of 18th century. The establishment of the Supreme Court on 1838 brought an end to the Great Council of Mechelen and its successor the Hoge Raad van Holland en Zeeland, which both served as high appellate courts.[4]
Second World War
Lodewijk Ernst Visser, President of the Dutch Supreme Court from 1939-1941
During the German occupation, the Supreme Court kept functioning. In November 1940 the German occupiers forced its President, Lodewijk Ernst Visser, to resign because he was Jewish. Visser's colleagues did not protest. The members who remained also signed a compulsory declaration about Aryans.
After the liberation, people reproached the Court for a weak and legalistic attitude. The Court wished above all to guarantee the continuity of its jurisdiction and not to become involved in politics. However such chances as there were to take a stand on principle against the Germans were largely missed. The Justices either omitted to give a moral example or felt they were not in a position to do so.[10] This was demonstrated in a so-called "Test sentence", (Supreme Court, 12 January 1942, NJ 1942/271), in which the Supreme Court ruled that a Dutch judge could not contest the decrees of the occupying force on the basis of international law, in particular the 1907 regulation prescribed for a country at war. In this the Supreme Court followed the advice of the barrister-general A. Rombach. The judgment concerned a case in which a man was sentenced by the economic judge for an "economic offence" (the purchase of pork without valid coupons). The counsel for the accused, P. Groeneboom, argued in his defense before the Supreme Court on 27 October 1941 that the judge had the authority to challenge the regulations of the occupying force on the basis of the regulation prescribed for a country at war, the decree of the Führer and the first regulation of the government commissioner. When the Supreme Court (in a judgment of 12 January 1942) denied the possibility of contesting rules issued by the German government, the Netherlands followed what was the rule in Germany and Italy too. On the basis of two emergency measures Hitler had the authority to issue incontestable rules, and the legal establishment acknowledged not it was not allowed to challenge "political" measures. "Political" in this case was what the political authorities considered to be political. In Italy the Court of Appeal recognized the free authority of Mussolini and the judge's lack of authority to control it.[11] Meihuizen says about the Dutch test sentence: "A sentence with far-reaching consequences because with this, barristers were not given the chance to bring before the judge the question of the validity of legislation which had been issued by or on behalf of the occupier."[12]: 85 The Supreme Court defended this sentence in retrospect with the conjecture that the Germans would never accept their decrees being contested and might have intervened in a negative way with the legal establishment, resulting in a further diminishing of citizens' legal protection.[10]
In 1943, during the Second World War, the seat of the Supreme Court was temporarily moved from The Hague to Nijmegen. With the liberation of Nijmegen in September 1944, this led to a situation in which, although the seat was on liberated ground, most of the Justices found themselves still in occupied territory. After the war, there was not much done to clear matters; lawyers who had collaborated with the Germans generally kept their jobs or got important other positions. A crucial role in this affair was played by J. Donner, who became President of the Supreme Court in 1946.[10]
Buildings
The court was located at a corner of the Binnenhof complex from 1838 until 1864, before moving to a building in the Plein, dubbed het hondenhok ("the doghouse"). The building was fully renovated in 1938 and finally demolished in 1988. At this point the Supreme Court moved to the Huguetan house at 34–36 Lange Voorhout, the previous home of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Library of the Netherlands). In March 2016 the court moved into a new building[13] at Korte Voorhout 8.[14]
Authority
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009)
In the Netherlands a case is first heard by one of the ten district courts (rechtbanken). Afterwards, either side may appeal to one of the four courts of appeal (gerechtshoven). Finally, either party may file a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court.
Composition
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009)
Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by royal decree, chosen from a list of three, advised by the House of Representatives on the advice of the Court itself. The justices are, like every other judge in the Netherlands, appointed for life, until they retire at their own will or after reaching the age of 70. Upon reaching the age of 60, a justice may change status to extraordinary, with the effect that the justice no longer plays a full role at the Court.
The Supreme Court is divided into four chambers: the first or civil chamber, the second or criminal chamber, the third or tax chamber and the fourth or ombudsman chamber. The members of the fourth division are chosen ad hoc, but will include the President of the Court.[9]
Current justices
As of April 2016[update], the first three chambers are composed as follows:[9]
^Central Government 13-3-20 Appointment new president Supreme Court
^In isolation, Raad and der are pronounced [raːt] and [dɛr], respectively.
^"Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba". Rechtspraak.nl (in Dutch). De Rechtspraak. 27 July 2007. from the original on 19 October 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
^ ab"Geschiedenis van de Hoge Raad". Rechtspraak.nl (in Dutch). De Rechtspraak. 18 September 2004. from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
^. Rechtspraak.nl. De Rechtspraak. 10 August 2009. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
^For a discussion of judicial review in the Netherlands see Uzman, J.; Barkhuysen, T.; van Emmerik, M.L. "The Dutch Supreme Court: A Reluctant Positive Legislator?" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
^"The World Factbook". cia.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
^ abc"Raad". Rechtspraak.nl (in Dutch). De Rechtspraak. from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
^ abcCorjo Jansen en Derk Venema, "The Supreme Court and the Second World War" (in Dutch), Boom, Amsterdam, 2011.
^Derk Venema, "Judges in war time: The Dutch judiciary's confrontation with national socialism and the occupation" (in Dutch), Boom, Amsterdam, 2007.
^Joggli Meihuizen, "Narrow Margins. The Dutch Bar during World War II." (in Dutch), Boom, Amsterdam, 2010 (an English summary was also published by Boom, Amsterdam, 2010).
^"Het gebouw van de Hoge Raad". Hoge raad (in Dutch). 12 September 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
^"Contact en bezoekersinformatie". Hoge raad (in Dutch). 5 November 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Supreme Court of the Netherlands.
supreme, court, netherlands, dutch, hoge, raad, nederlanden, ˈɦoːɣə, raːdər, ˈneːdərlɑndə, simply, hoge, raad, officially, high, council, netherlands, final, court, appeal, civil, criminal, cases, netherlands, including, curaçao, sint, maarten, aruba, court, e. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands Dutch Hoge Raad der Nederlanden ˈɦoːɣe raːder ˈneːderlɑnde n 2 or simply Hoge Raad officially the High Council of the Netherlands is the final court of appeal in civil criminal and tax cases in the Netherlands including Curacao Sint Maarten and Aruba 3 The Court was established on 1 October 1838 and is located in The Hague 4 Supreme Court of the NetherlandsHoge Raad der Nederlanden Dutch Logo of the Supreme Court of the NetherlandsSupreme Court of the Netherlands The HagueEstablished1 October 1838JurisdictionNetherlands including Curacao Sint Maarten and Aruba LocationThe Hague NetherlandsCoordinates52 5 0 52 N 4 18 41 85 E 52 0834778 N 4 3116250 E 52 0834778 4 3116250 Coordinates 52 5 0 52 N 4 18 41 85 E 52 0834778 N 4 3116250 E 52 0834778 4 3116250MottoUbi iudicia deficiunt incipit bellumComposition methodSelected by the House of Representatives on advice of the Supreme Court and appointed by royal decreeAuthorized byConstitution of the NetherlandsStatute of the Kingdom of the NetherlandsJudge term lengthLife tenure with mandatory retirement at the age of 70Number of positionsVaries currently 36 Websitewww wbr hogeraad wbr nlPresident of the Supreme CourtCurrentlyDineke de GrootSince1 November 2020 1 The Supreme Court rules civil and criminal matters In certain administrative cases it has final jurisdiction as well while in other cases this jurisdiction rests with the adjudicative division of the Council of State Raad van State the Central Appeals Tribunal Centrale Raad van Beroep the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal College van Beroep van het bedrijfsleven as well as judicial institutions in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands The Court is a court of cassation which means that it has the competence to quash or affirm rulings of lower courts but no competence to re examine or question the facts It only considers whether the lower courts applied the law correctly and the rulings have sufficient reasoning 5 In so doing it establishes case law As the government of the Netherlands is characterised by parliamentary sovereignty the Supreme Court cannot overturn primary legislation made by the States General This is laid out in Article 120 of the Constitution which states that courts may not rule on the constitutionality of laws passed by the States General and treaties With the exception of the Constitutional Court of Sint Maarten which rules on constitutionality with regards to the Sint Maarten constitution only courts thus have little competence for judicial review with respect to the Constitution 6 7 However it is possible for courts including the Supreme Court to overturn secondary legislation made by the executive government The Supreme Court currently consists of 36 judges a president six vice presidents twenty five justices raadsheren literally Lords of the Council and four justices extraordinary buitengewone dienst 8 All judges are appointed for life until they retire at their own request or mandatorily on their 70th birthday 9 Contents 1 History 1 1 Second World War 1 2 Buildings 2 Authority 3 Composition 3 1 Current justices 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory Edit The Huis Huguetan on Lange Voorhout Supreme Court seat from 1988 to 2016 The development of cassation in the Netherlands was heavily influenced by the French during the Batavian Revolution at the end of 18th century The establishment of the Supreme Court on 1838 brought an end to the Great Council of Mechelen and its successor the Hoge Raad van Holland en Zeeland which both served as high appellate courts 4 Second World War Edit Lodewijk Ernst Visser President of the Dutch Supreme Court from 1939 1941 During the German occupation the Supreme Court kept functioning In November 1940 the German occupiers forced its President Lodewijk Ernst Visser to resign because he was Jewish Visser s colleagues did not protest The members who remained also signed a compulsory declaration about Aryans After the liberation people reproached the Court for a weak and legalistic attitude The Court wished above all to guarantee the continuity of its jurisdiction and not to become involved in politics However such chances as there were to take a stand on principle against the Germans were largely missed The Justices either omitted to give a moral example or felt they were not in a position to do so 10 This was demonstrated in a so called Test sentence Supreme Court 12 January 1942 NJ 1942 271 in which the Supreme Court ruled that a Dutch judge could not contest the decrees of the occupying force on the basis of international law in particular the 1907 regulation prescribed for a country at war In this the Supreme Court followed the advice of the barrister general A Rombach The judgment concerned a case in which a man was sentenced by the economic judge for an economic offence the purchase of pork without valid coupons The counsel for the accused P Groeneboom argued in his defense before the Supreme Court on 27 October 1941 that the judge had the authority to challenge the regulations of the occupying force on the basis of the regulation prescribed for a country at war the decree of the Fuhrer and the first regulation of the government commissioner When the Supreme Court in a judgment of 12 January 1942 denied the possibility of contesting rules issued by the German government the Netherlands followed what was the rule in Germany and Italy too On the basis of two emergency measures Hitler had the authority to issue incontestable rules and the legal establishment acknowledged not it was not allowed to challenge political measures Political in this case was what the political authorities considered to be political In Italy the Court of Appeal recognized the free authority of Mussolini and the judge s lack of authority to control it 11 Meihuizen says about the Dutch test sentence A sentence with far reaching consequences because with this barristers were not given the chance to bring before the judge the question of the validity of legislation which had been issued by or on behalf of the occupier 12 85 The Supreme Court defended this sentence in retrospect with the conjecture that the Germans would never accept their decrees being contested and might have intervened in a negative way with the legal establishment resulting in a further diminishing of citizens legal protection 10 In 1943 during the Second World War the seat of the Supreme Court was temporarily moved from The Hague to Nijmegen With the liberation of Nijmegen in September 1944 this led to a situation in which although the seat was on liberated ground most of the Justices found themselves still in occupied territory After the war there was not much done to clear matters lawyers who had collaborated with the Germans generally kept their jobs or got important other positions A crucial role in this affair was played by J Donner who became President of the Supreme Court in 1946 10 Buildings Edit The court was located at a corner of the Binnenhof complex from 1838 until 1864 before moving to a building in the Plein dubbed het hondenhok the doghouse The building was fully renovated in 1938 and finally demolished in 1988 At this point the Supreme Court moved to the Huguetan house at 34 36 Lange Voorhout the previous home of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek Royal Library of the Netherlands In March 2016 the court moved into a new building 13 at Korte Voorhout 8 14 Authority EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it December 2009 In the Netherlands a case is first heard by one of the ten district courts rechtbanken Afterwards either side may appeal to one of the four courts of appeal gerechtshoven Finally either party may file a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court Composition EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it December 2009 Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by royal decree chosen from a list of three advised by the House of Representatives on the advice of the Court itself The justices are like every other judge in the Netherlands appointed for life until they retire at their own will or after reaching the age of 70 Upon reaching the age of 60 a justice may change status to extraordinary with the effect that the justice no longer plays a full role at the Court The Supreme Court is divided into four chambers the first or civil chamber the second or criminal chamber the third or tax chamber and the fourth or ombudsman chamber The members of the fourth division are chosen ad hoc but will include the President of the Court 9 Current justices Edit As of April 2016 update the first three chambers are composed as follows 9 Name Chamber Invested BornErnst Numann Vice President Civil 2000 1950Floris Bakels Vice President Civil 2003 1949Annemarie van Buchem Spapens Civil 1 September 1998 1951Kees Streefkerk Civil 1 October 2004 1955Toon Heisterkamp Civil 1 February 2007 1953Gerbrant Snijders Civil 1 June 2011 1961Dineke de Groot President Civil 1 February 2012 1965Martijn Polak Civil 1 September 2012 1961Vincent van den Brink Civil 1 October 2012 1966Tanja van den Broek Civil 1 January 2014 1964Edgar du Perron Civil 1 April 2016 1965Willem van Schendel Vice President Criminal 2001 1950Leo van Dorst Vice President Criminal 1999 1949Bon de Savornin Lohman Criminal 1 April 2000 1947Jaap de Hullu Criminal 1 September 2003 1958Tineke Splinter Van Kan Criminal 24 January 2005 1947Ybo Buruma Criminal 1 September 2011 1955Elishewa van de Griend Criminal 1 February 2014 1963Nastja van Strien Criminal 1 June 2015 1961Eveline Faase Criminal 1 September 2015 1958Matthias Borgers Criminal 1 January 2016 1973Jeppe Balkema Note 1 Criminal 1998 1946Jan Ilsink Note 1 Criminal 2003 1946Maarten Feteris Tax 2008 1960Jacques Overgaauw Vice President Tax 2008 1951Robert Koopman Vice President Tax 1 February 2010 1962Dick van Vliet Tax 1997 1946Bernard Bavinck Tax 1 January 2000 1946Liesbeth Punt Tax 24 January 2005 1962Cees Schaap Tax 1 September 2006 1947Piet van Loon Tax 1 February 2009 1954Marc Fierstra Tax 1 June 2009 1959Theo Groeneveld Tax 1 February 2012 1948Jules Wortel Tax 1 February 2012 1954Loek van Kalmthout Tax 1 June 2013 1955Mariken van Hilten Tax 1 September 2015 1964Peter Lourens Note 1 Tax 1999 1946Jaap van den Berge Note 1 Tax 2001 1948 a b c d Supernumerary justice See also EditJudiciary of the Netherlands Law firms of the Netherlands List of presidents of the Supreme Court of the NetherlandsReferences Edit Central Government 13 3 20 Appointment new president Supreme Court In isolation Raad and der are pronounced raːt and dɛr respectively Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba Rechtspraak nl in Dutch De Rechtspraak 27 July 2007 Archived from the original on 19 October 2009 Retrieved 2 December 2009 a b Geschiedenis van de Hoge Raad Rechtspraak nl in Dutch De Rechtspraak 18 September 2004 Archived from the original on 6 October 2019 Retrieved 6 October 2019 Supreme Court Rechtspraak nl De Rechtspraak 10 August 2009 Archived from the original on 16 October 2009 Retrieved 2 December 2009 According to article 120 of the Constitution of the Netherlands judges will not rule on the constitutionality of laws passed by the States General and treaties For a discussion of judicial review in the Netherlands see Uzman J Barkhuysen T van Emmerik M L The Dutch Supreme Court A Reluctant Positive Legislator PDF Archived PDF from the original on 25 July 2014 Retrieved 16 July 2014 The World Factbook cia gov Retrieved 2 December 2013 a b c Raad Rechtspraak nl in Dutch De Rechtspraak Archived from the original on 29 January 2016 Retrieved 22 January 2016 a b c Corjo Jansen en Derk Venema The Supreme Court and the Second World War in Dutch Boom Amsterdam 2011 Derk Venema Judges in war time The Dutch judiciary s confrontation with national socialism and the occupation in Dutch Boom Amsterdam 2007 Joggli Meihuizen Narrow Margins The Dutch Bar during World War II in Dutch Boom Amsterdam 2010 an English summary was also published by Boom Amsterdam 2010 Het gebouw van de Hoge Raad Hoge raad in Dutch 12 September 2020 Retrieved 10 April 2021 Contact en bezoekersinformatie Hoge raad in Dutch 5 November 2020 Retrieved 10 April 2021 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Supreme Court of the Netherlands Official website Portals Law Netherlands Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Supreme Court of the Netherlands amp oldid 1112902727, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
