Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) is a federacy established in 1954, currently consisting of three constituent parts: the Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland), Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen) and Aruba. It is a monarchy with the Queen of the Netherlands as head of state. The Kingdom of the Netherlands as a federal monarchy is constituted in the Statute for the Kingdom of the Netherlands of October 28 1954. From 1830 to 1954, the "Kingdom of the Netherlands" referred to the Netherlands and its colonial possessions.

History

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.

Constitution

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.

Government

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.
Extradition

Administration

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.

European Union

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.

Geography

The highest point is Mount Scenery (862 m) on the small island of Saba, Netherlands Antilles.

|| Aruban Florin ||euro || Netherlands Antilles Gulden ||

component	population (July 2006 est.)	area (km²)	pop. dens. (per km²)
Aruba	71,891	193	372
Netherlands	16,491,461	41,526	397
Netherlands Antilles	221,736	960	231
total	16,785,088	42,679	393

External links

Politics of the Netherlands | Government of the Netherlands | Geography of the Netherlands | Aruba | Netherlands Antilles

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