Judicial Politics in the Netherlands

Abstract

In the Dutch constitutional tradition, political and judicial institutions are separated. Mutual respect for each other’s constitutional roles have characterized the relationship between parliament and government on the one hand and the judiciary on the other. Recently, this relationship has become distressed. Politicians nowadays openly criticize both court decisions and the performance of individual judges. Courts have shaken off their natural reservations about interfering with political processes. At least three forms of judicial politics seem on the rise. With their decisions, judges sometimes intervene directly in political processes such as the formation of groups in parliament. Judges also do not hesitate to rule on highly controversial political issues with high-impact judgments. As an institution, the judiciary has also been granted a right to advise on draft legislation. This new power further draws the judiciary into the political arena. This chapter sketches some research directions on the rise of judicial politics in the Netherlands. It appears that the rise of judicial politics is reshuffling the constitutional ensemble in the Netherlands, which, in turn, may affect the legitimacy of both politics and the judiciary.