Fatma Çapkurt appointed member of State Committee on Rule of Law
On Friday 3 February, Minister Bruins Slot of the Interior and Kingdom Relations appointed Fatma Çapkurt, of the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, to the Dutch State Committee on the Rule of Law. Chaired by Henk Kummeling, Rector Magnificus of Utrecht University, this State Committee will analyse the functioning of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government.
The Committee was asked to provide recommendations for proposals or measures to reinforce the rule of law and the constitutional culture, particularly in relation to the functioning of the three state powers and how they are connected. The main concerns will be the protection of citizens from measures or decisions taken by the legislature and administrative bodies, as well as effective legal protection in legal proceedings. The recommendations will be presented by 1 June 2024.
The State Committee on the Rule of Law was established in reponse to the report 'Ongekend Onrecht’ (Unprecedented Injustice) on the Dutch child benefits affair. The report established that during this time, fundamental principles of the rule of law were violated and citizens were plunged into serious debt. In response to the report, the House of Representatives adopted a motion by MPs Omtzigt and Van Dam which asked the government to establish a State Committee to investigate the functioning of the rule of law in the Netherlands. Subsequently, the three branches of government - the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary - jointly determined the remit for the State Committee on the Rule of Law.