The

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

uses civil law. The role of

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is a law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...

is small in theory, although, in practice, it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without considering the relevant

. The Dutch law system is based on the French

Civil Code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property law, property, family law, family, and law of obligations, obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdiction ...

with some influence from

Roman-Dutch law Roman-Dutch law ( Dutch: ''Rooms-Hollands recht'', Afrikaans: ''Romeins-Hollandse reg'') is an uncodified, scholarship-driven, and judge-made legal system based on Roman law as applied in the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, ...

(which it replaced) and pre-codal

customary law A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law". Customary law (also, consuetudinary or unofficial law) exists wher ...

. The German ''

Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch The ''Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (, ), abbreviated BGB, is the civil code of Germany, codifying most generally-applicably private law. In development since 1881, it became effective on 1 January 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbr ...

'' heavily influenced the new Civil Code (which went into force in 1992). The primary law-making body is formed by the Dutch parliament in cooperation with the government, operating jointly to create laws that are commonly referred to as the legislature (). The power to make new laws can be delegated to lower governments or specific organs of the State, but only for a prescribed purpose. A trend in recent years has been for parliament and the government to create "framework laws" and delegate the creation of detailed rules to ministers or lower governments (e.g., a province or municipality). The

Ministry of Justice and Security The Ministry of Justice and Security (; JenV) is the Dutch ministry responsible for justice, imprisonment and public security. The ministry was created in 1798 as the ''Department of Justice'', before it became in 1876 the ''Ministry of Justice' ...

is the primary institution of Dutch law.

Areas of law

The domain of Dutch law is commonly divided into the following areas: *

Administrative law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

* Civil law (including family law, inheritance law, contract law, and commercial law) *

Criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

Constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

(including laws on the structure of the state) *

European law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

International law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

Civil law

Civil law is the domain of law that regulates the everyday life of persons and other legal entities (such as corporations). The main code of Dutch civil law is the

Burgerlijk Wetboek The ''Burgerlijk Wetboek'' (or BW) is the Civil Code of the Netherlands. Early versions were largely based on the Napoleonic Code. The Dutch Civil Code was substantively reformed in 1992. The Code deals with the rights of natural persons (Book 1) ...

Nationality law

Criminal law

deals with the prosecution and punishment of criminal offenses. The main code is the Wetboek van Strafrecht ( nl).

Constitutional law

involves itself with the constitution and the structure of the Netherlands. It involves the powers of democratic institutions, the organization of elections, and the divisions of powers between central and local governments. See also the article on the

Constitution of the Netherlands The Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands of 24 August 1815 () is one of two fundamental documents governing the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as the Constitution, fundamental law of the Netherlands, Netherlands proper (the territo ...

. Following the practice of many civil law jurisdictions, and in contrast, to practice in nations such as the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the practice of Dutch constitutional law is that judges are not allowed to determine the constitutionality of laws created by the legislature (the government and parliament acting jointly).

Administrative law

is the area of law that regulates the operation of the various levels of government and how persons and legal entities can appeal government decisions. The basics of Dutch administrative law were entirely overhauled in 1994 with the advent of the new Basic Administrative Law (Dutch: ''Algemene Wet Bestuursrecht'').

European law

deals with the influence of laws and regulations of the European Union on the laws of the Netherlands.

External links

Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security

Dutch Judiciary and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands
{{Law of Europe Law of the Netherlands