The Wet van 15 mei 1829, houdende algemeene bepalingen der wetgeving van het Koningrijk (English ''Law from 15 may 1829, holding general decrees from the legislation of the Kingdom'', short name Wet algemene bepalingen) is a principal
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
of the
Netherlands
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
containing a number of basic precepts pertaining to the applicability of the law in general. It is considered part of the body of constitutional law of the Netherlands, which is composed primarily of
Constitution of the Netherlands
The Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) is one of two fundamental documents governing the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as the fundamental law of the European territory of the ...
and the
Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (in Dutch: ''Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden''; in Papiamentu: ''Statuut di Reino Hulandes'') is a legal instrument that sets out the political relationship between the four countries tha ...
.
History
The Wet algemene bepalingen was developed by a legal advisory committee instituted by the Dutch
King William I in 1814. It was originally intended to be part of the ''"General Definitions and Decrees"'' section of the new
Dutch Civil Law, which William I intended to replace the
Napoleonic code left over from the French occupation of the Netherlands which had ended in 1813. However, 1815 saw the start of a long period of political discord among the committee members and later the
States-General of the Netherlands
The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
The States ...
. This discord had two primary causes:
* First, the different committees working on parts of the new bodies of law could not agree upon reforming the Napoleonic code or returning to pre-
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...
common law (the primary body of civil law).
* Second, the addition of the
Southern Netherlands
The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...
to the Northern Netherlands by the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
brought in a lot of new legal scholars and politicians who preferred Napoleonic law over Dutch common law, quite against the wishes of William I.
Despite attempts of several parties (including the King), the Southern Dutch dominated parliament rejected the new law in 1822 and pushed for a reformed Napoleonic law. As part of this transformation of the civil law book the "general precepts of law" were split off into a new law, the 1829 ''Wet Algemene Bepalingen''. This law was passed on 15 May 1829 but did not enter into force until October 1, 1838 together with the
Civil Law. Ironically, the delay was caused by the
Belgian Revolution
The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.
T ...
in which the Southern Netherlands forcibly split off from the kingdom.
The ''Wet algemene bepalingen'' has since proven to be quite a stable law. It is currently one of the oldest laws still in force in the Netherlands, and remains mostly unchanged from its first version. It has been changed three times in its existence (first time in 1988), always to move precepts into the Constitution or another law.
Contents
The ''Wet algemene bepalingen'', or ''Law on general precepts and regulations'' introduces some basic rules for the applicability of laws throughout the Kingdom. It lays out the foundations for which laws relate to people and land, plus how the judicial power is supposed to behave.
Current precepts
;Ex post facto and changing of the law:Article 4 determines that the law is only applicable ''after'' it is passed, not before (
ex post facto law
An ''ex post facto'' law (from ) is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law. In criminal law, it may Criminalization, crim ...
). Article 5 states that all laws remain in force until repealed or amended by a new law.
;Personal over territorial applicability of laws:Article 6 determines that legal rights and responsibilities pertaining to Dutch citizens and the state hold, even if the citizen is abroad.
;Territorial applicability of laws:Article 8 determines that the
criminal law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
of the Netherlands applies to all those who are within its borders.
;Universal and territorial applicability of civil law:Article 9 determines that Dutch
civil law applies equally to citizens and foreigners in the Netherlands, unless explicitly stated by law.
;Primacy of territories' law:Article 10 determines that any countries' law is applicable to that country (Dutch law has no primacy in foreign countries).
;No court-made law:Article 11 determines that a judge must follow the law in his rulings and may not consider "inner value" or "reason within" the law (i.e. a judge must apply the law ''as it is written'' — he may not decide to do something else because he disagrees with the law or feels it is badly written). Article 12 states that judges may not render verdicts in the form of a general decree, disposition or regulation (i.e. judges cannot make general rules, but only rule on specific cases).
;Right to ruling of the court:Article 13 determines that the court must rule in all cases; no judge may refuse to render verdict by claiming a lack of law, insufficiency or unclarity of law and can be prosecuted if he does.
;Rule of international law:Article 13a limits the power of judges and official acts to within the bounds set by international law.
Previous precepts
;No law is valid unless it is publicly accessible:Article 1 determined that no law would take effect before it had been properly proclaimed. Article 2 stated that all law is equally applicable throughout the kingdom, valid once it has been proclaimed throughout the entire Kingdom (i.e. all denizens of the Kingdom can know about it) and enters into force 20 days after official publication in the
Staatscourant unless otherwise determined in that law. Articles 1 and 2 were rescinded on February 17, 1988 and their regulations were moved to the Constitution.
;No common law:Article 3 determined that there is no uncodified law in the Netherlands: there is law and not common law, unless the law explicitly leaves room for it. This article was rescinded on January 1, 1992 and incorporated into the Civil Law books.
;Public decency cannot be subverted:Article 14 determined that laws pertaining to public decency or order cannot be subverted or undone by any manner of act or common agreement. This article was rescinded on January 1, 1992 and incorporated into Book II of the Civil Law.
;Real estate is ruled by territorial law:Article 7 determined that the law applicable to real estate was the law of the territory in which that real estate was located. This article was rescinded on May 1, 2008 and incorporated into other laws.
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1829 in law
1829 in the Netherlands
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Government of the Netherlands