Passing the buck to the courts: the law deserves more respect from the Dutch cabinet
The Schoof cabinet has several plans that are just not legally feasible. Yet they are often still forced through, knowing, or even hoping, that the courts will intervene. This is dangerous policy that in the long run even undermines trust in politics, the judiciary, and the law itself, argues Armin Cuyvers, Professor of European Law, in Dutch current affairs programme ‘EenVandaag’.
The courts are also often blamed in such cases for frustrating the will of the people when politicians claim they've come up with the solution. The clearest example can be seen in relation to migration. There has been increasing criticism of Minister Faber's recently presented asylum policy budget. Similarly, the Dutch government's intention to declare parts of Syria safe is at odds with a recent ruling of the European Court of Justice. The ECJ stated that under current legislation, an entire country must be safe in order to return asylum seekers and not just parts of a country as the government wishes. The argument that this is allowed if it’s what ‘the people’ want doesn’t hold: ‘people forget that the law also belongs to the people, made by elected representatives of the people. The process is democratic when it's enforced.'
Professor Cuyvers says ‘politicians need to tell the truth and explain that this simply isn't allowed’. But instead, they want to do something, try something, that they know in advance the courts will prohibit. It's an abuse of the legal system to pass the buck in this way, letting the courts deliver the unpleasant message, Professor Cuyvers continues. By doing so, the impression is wrongly created that the law is there to thwart everything the current cabinet wants. The courts, however, are simply safeguarding the rules we have democratically agreed upon. Those laws can be amended in accordance with the rules that govern them. But if the cabinet continually ignores these rules, it’s the courts job to continually haul it back into line.
Learn more?
Watch the EenVandaag broadcast (in Dutch, vanaf 8.02 min)
Photo: Tingey Injury through Unsplash