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 A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

that constitute the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of P ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

, and

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northe ...

in the Caribbean and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(for the most part) in Europe. It is the leading legal document of the Kingdom. The

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 Basic Laws of the three other countries are legally subordinate to the Charter.

History

The first version of the Charter, which described the relationship between the Netherlands,

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...

, and the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

, was signed by Queen Juliana on 15 December 1954. This version lasted for a couple of decades until 25 November 1975, when

became an independent republic. In the Netherlands Antilles, the idea of one state never enjoyed the full support of all the islands, and Aruba seceded on 1 January 1986 as political relations between islands were strained. Aruba gained the same autonomous status as the Netherlands Antilles. The desire for secession had also been strong in Sint Maarten. The Netherlands Antilles was later completely dissolved, on 10 October 2010, when (following referendums) Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries similar to Aruba and the other islands became special municipalities of the Netherlands. Aruba's right to secede from the Kingdom was not extended to the successors of the Netherlands Antilles, resulting in Aruba remaining the only country that can unilaterally secede.

Countries

The four countries mentioned in the Charter today are the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. The Charter stipulates that the Netherlands is governed according to the provisions of the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and that Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are governed according to their respective Basic Laws.

Constitution

Until 1954 the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was the leading document of the Kingdom. It remains, however, the document in which, according to Article 5 of the Charter, the institutions of the Kingdom are regulated. These institutions, as regulated in the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, govern the Netherlands proper. The Charter itself gives additional regulations for these institutions for the purposes of the Kingdom as a whole. The Netherlands is the only one of the four countries which conducts its business internally and externally as the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Affairs of the Kingdom

The Charter states explicitly which elements of lawmaking and policy that involve Aruba, Curaçao and/or Sint Maarten are to be dealt with on the level of the Kingdom as a whole and are thus valid for all four countries. Any matter not explicitly mentioned to be an affair of the Kingdom that involves Aruba, Curaçao, and/or Sint Maarten is considered to be an affair of the different countries. Affairs of the Kingdom that do not involve Aruba, Curaçao and/or Sint Maarten are dealt with according to the provisions of the Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and in practice by the Netherlands alone in its capacity as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Responsibility for affairs of the Kingdom that involve Aruba, Curaçao and/or Sint Maarten rests with the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom. The affairs of the Kingdom are: * maintenance of the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

and the defence of the Kingdom; *

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...

; * Netherlands

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of t ...

; * regulation of the

orders of chivalry An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order (distinction), order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic Military order (religious society), military orders of the ...

, the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

and the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the Kingdom; * regulation of the nationality of vessels and the standards required for the safety and navigation of seagoing vessels flying the flag of the Kingdom, with the exception of sailing ships; * supervision of the general rules governing the admission and expulsion of Netherlands nationals and

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

; *

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

Other provisions

In addition, the Charter contains provisions on mutual assistance and co-operation between the four countries. All four countries are, per the Charter, obliged to promote the realisation of

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

and

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

. The Charter can only be amended with the approval of all four countries.

References