Osminin B.I. Distinctive Features of Conclusion and Implementation of International Treaties by the Netherlands

Abstract: The Netherlands is a state with a legal system that is very open to international law. All treaties that are binding on the Netherlands as matter of international law are automatically incorporated in the domestic legal order. The Constitution of the Netherlands establishes that acts of national legislation shall not be applicable if such application is in conflict with provisions of treaties that are binding on all persons. The Constitution permits the possibility of tacit approval of treaties by parliament. As an exception the treaty can be submitted to parliament for approval once consent to be bound has been expressed. Any provisions of a treaty that conflict with the Constitution may be approved by parliament only if at least two-thirds of the votes cast are in favour. The most remarkable aspects of the implementation of international treaties by the Netherlands are the relatively large possibility of direct application by the courts and executive and the supremacy of directly effective treaty provisions over statutes and even the Constitution.

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