scholarly journals The Prohibition on Constitutional Review by the Judiciary in the Netherlands in Critical Perspective: The Case and Roadmap for Reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 884-903
Author(s):  
Gerhard van der Schyff

AbstractParadoxically, at roughly the same time in the Netherlands the amendment bill to introduce constitutional review by the judiciary of acts of parliament lapsed in 2018, the State Commission on the Parliamentary System recommended that such review be introduced. This Article analyzes Dutch exceptionalism on the topic of prohibiting constitutional review and comes to the conclusion that it cannot be justified. Focusing on the nature of constitutional change in the country, the recommendation is made that the quest for reform should start with the courts, and not with the constitutional legislature, as has been the case to date.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 210
Author(s):  
Gerhard Van der Schyff

This contribution analyses the Urgenda judgments in the Netherlands which ordered the state to reduce the national emissions of greenhouse gasses by 25% by the end of 2020. In arriving at this conclusion, the courts relied heavily on international law, which was applied indirectly and directly to the case. The analysis shows various incongruencies and gaps in the judgments’ legal grounds and reasoning, and suggests that a focus on the Constitution is needed as well in addressing such important issues. This will require long overdue reform of the bar on constitutional review in order to stimulate a strong national legal culture based on the Constitution.


Author(s):  
Cornell Collin

Is God perfect? The recent volume entitled The Question of God’s Perfection stages a conversation on that topic between mostly Jewish philosophers, theologians, and scholars of rabbinic literature. Although it is neither a work of biblical theology nor a contribution to the theological interpretation of scripture, The Question of God’s Perfection yields stimulating results for these other, intersecting projects. After briefly describing the volume’s central question and contents, the present essay situates the volume’s offerings within the state of the biblical-theological and theological-interpretive fields. In its next section, it considers—and compares— The Question of God’s Perfection with one twentieth-century theological antecedent, the Dutch theologian K.H. Miskotte. In closing, it poses questions for ongoing discussion. The Question of God’s Perfection: Jewish and Christian Essays on the God of the Bible and Talmud, edited by Yoram Hazony & Dru Johnson. Philosophy of Religion – World Religions 8. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2019. ISBN 9789004387959


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Manga Fombad

Constitution-building is a delicate and intricate process which requires ample reflection and careful choices. African constitution-builders and politicians have since the beginning of the 1990s embarked on a process of constitutional reforms. A careful examination of the developments of the last two decades shows that the process has almost provoked never-ending contagion of making, unmaking and remaking of constitutions. This paper attempts to provide an over-view of the changes that have been taking place. Some of the issues relating to the durability of national constitutions and theoretical foundations for constitutional change are discussed. The paper also considers some of the possible implications of the endless processes of making, unmaking and remaking constitutions. The critical question it tries to grapple with is how this unending process of constitution-building in Africa can be controlled in a manner that will ensure peace, political stability and provide a legitimate foundation for entrenching a firm culture of constitutionalism. In advocating for an entrenched permanent constitutional review commission to check against frequent and arbitrary constitutional changes, the paper argues that this is the best way for constitutional legitimacy to be sustained throughout the life of a constitution.


Author(s):  
Elena Vladimirovna Frolova ◽  

The Netherlands is a state located in Western Europe bordering Germany and Belgium. The population of the country is just over 17million people. In terms of GDP, theNetherlands is among the twenty richest countries in the world, and in terms of exports, it is in the top ten. The average life expectancy in theNetherlands is 81.4 years; in the structure ofmortality, malignant neoplasms come out on top, which distinguishes the state from other European countries, where the main cause of deaths is cardiovascular diseases. The compulsory health insurance system was introduced in the country in 2006 after the medical reform. A distinctive feature of the Dutch healthcare system is its relative autonomy from the state, which performs only the function of an external controller, and all other powers belong to the municipal authorities. As a result, several private insurance companies have been admitted to health insurance in the Netherlands, which create healthy competition among themselves, thereby contributing to better quality and more affordable healthcare.


2021 ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
Iulian Rusanovschi ◽  

On 17.03.2020, the Parliament declared a state of emergency on the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova for the period March 17 - May 15, 2020. By the same Decision, the Parliament delegated the Commission for Exceptional Situations with the right to implement a series of measures to overcome the epidemiological situation in the country. However, in the conditions of a functioning Parliament and despite the clear and exhaustive texts of the Constitution, the Commission for Exceptional Situations amended during the state of emergency the Contravention Code, which is an organic law. The amendments specifically concerned the procedure and terms for examining infringement cases brought in connection with non-compliance with the measures adopted by the Commission for Exceptional Situations and the Extraordinary Commission for Public Health. In the conditions in which an organic law can be modified only by the Parliament, it is obvious the unconstitutionality, at least partial, of the Disposition no. 4 of 24.03.2020 of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, but unfortunately, the Constitutional Court is not mandated with the right to submit to constitutional review the normative acts adopted by the Commission for Exceptional Situations. Under these conditions, the state is obliged to identify solutions in order not to allow an authority to adopt unconstitutional normative acts that cannot be subject to constitutional review.


2020 ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
Jonathan Scott

This chapter deals with the circumstances leading to the first of three Anglo-Dutch wars. Beginning with a proposal for political union, the chapter addresses the growing animosity between the English and the Dutch through two major themes. In the first place, from the moment of its foundation the English republic was, and behaved like, an empire. Second, it was the product, as in the Netherlands, of a rebellion and fiscal/military revolution which built the state. More than its Dutch model, the English republic entailed a sharp, indeed spectacular, break with the past, accompanied by a revolutionary as well as an imperial ideology.


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