Kingdom of the Netherlands
Before the Statute for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1954,
Surinam, and the Colony of
Curaçao and Dependencies were mere colonies of the Netherlands.
In 1954, the colonial relation between the Netherlands, Surinam and the Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies (since then the Netherlands Antilles) came to an end. Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles both obtained the status of a "country" (
land) which meant autonomy in internal affairs. The Netherlands surrendered a portion of its sovereignty to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (on matters such as foreign affairs and citizenship). A new (federal) Kingdom of the Netherlands was set up by the statute.
In
1975, Surinam left the Kingdom of the Netherlands and became an independent republic. In 1986, Aruba (until then part of the Netherlands Antilles) obtained the status aparte or status of country and became independent (from the Netherlands Antilles) within the kingdom. Since then The Kingdom of the Netherlands has consisted of three constituent parts; The Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is constituted by the Statute for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This document is applicable in every part of the Kingdom.
Each of the three constituent parts has its own constitution: the
Constitution of the Netherlands (
Grondwet van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden), the
Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles (
Staatsregeling van de Nederlandse Antillen), and the
Constitution of Aruba (
Staatsregeling van Aruba). Each of the three constituent parts also has its own administration and parliament. Together, they form a federation under a
monarch as a single
head of state. The institutions on the federal level are mostly institutions of the Netherlands, with or without overseas representation.
States
* The
Netherlands is a decentralized
unitary state administered by the Monarch and the council of ministers together. The people are represented by the
Staten-generaal, which consists of a chamber of representatives and a chamber of senators. The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces:
Drenthe,
Flevoland,
Friesland,
Gelderland,
Groningen,
Limburg,
Noord-Brabant,
Noord-Holland,
Overijssel,
Utrecht,
Zeeland and
Zuid-Holland. The provinces are divided into communities.
* The
Netherlands Antilles is a decentralized
unitary state, with federal characteristics, with as administration the Monarch (represented by the governor) and the (Antillean) council of ministers together. The people are represented by the Staten of the Netherlands Antilles. The
Netherlands Antilles is composed of five insular territories:
Bonaire,
Curaçao,
Saba,
Sint Eustatius and
Sint Maarten*
Aruba is a centralised
unitary state with as administration the Monarch (represented by the governor) and the (Aruban) council of ministers together. The people are represented by the Staten of Aruba.
Future status
A joint commission has proposed major reforms for the Netherlands Antilles. On November 28, 2005, an agreement was signed between the Dutch government and the governments of each island that would put into effect the commission's findings by July 2007. Under these reforms,
Curaçao and
Sint Maarten will form a
status aparte (therefore becoming two new countries inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands).
Bonaire,
Saba and
Sint Eustatius will become directly part of the Netherlands as Kingdom Islands (
Koninkrijkseilanden). The Kingdom itself would get its own staff.
Additionally, the Kingdom government would consist of the government of the Netherlands and one mandated minister per Caribbean country. The Kingdom Islands would be represented in the Kingdom Government by the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has proposed that the new EU constitution allows the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba to status of
Outermost Region (OMR), also called
Ultra Peripheral Region (UPR), if and when they wish.
The Statute for the Kingdom of the Netherlands decides what is considered to be a kingdom-affair and constitutes organs that execute these affairs.
Affairs
The affairs of the kingdom include:
*
Defence*
Foreign affairs*
Citizenship - There is a common Dutch nationality; sometimes there are discussions about changing the law such that Caribbean citizens staying in the European part can be restricted, or that they can be sent back, e.g. if they are criminal. The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba have always had such restrictions for European-Netherlands citizens.
*
ExtraditionAdministration
The King or Queen and the
Council of Ministers of the Kingdom (
Dutch:
Rijksministerraad) together form the administration of the kingdom. The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom constitutes of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands (
Dutch:
Ministerraad) completed by two Authorized Ministers (
Dutch:
Gevolmachtigd minister) from both Islands.
Laws applicable to the whole Kingdom are known as
Kingdom Laws (
Dutch:
Rijkswetten). An example of such a law is the
Kingdom Law regarding Dutch citizenship (
Dutch:
Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap).
The Dutch King or Queen is the head of state of the kingdom. Because the Dutch King or Queen resides in the Netherlands, two governors are appointed to represent him or her in both Island governments.
Legislature
The legislature of the kingdom consists of the parliament of the Netherlands and the administration of the kingdom together. Articles 14, 16 and 17 of the Statute give some participation to the parliaments of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a member of the
European Union. However Antilles and Aruba are not considered part of the EU, but rather have the status of
OCTs (overseas countries and territories; in
Dutch LGO's,
landen en gebiedsdelen overzee). Since citizenship is handled by the kingdom, and not distinguished for the three countries, citizens from all three countries are also EU citizens.
The highest point is
Mount Scenery (862 m) on the small island of
Saba, Netherlands Antilles.
*
Dutch monarchy*
The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (pdf)
*
Closing statement of the first Round Table Conference concerning the administrative reform of the kingdom
