The Netherlands is an electoral democracy. The 150-member lower house of parliament, or Second Chamber, is elected every four years by proportional representation. The 75-member upper house, or First Chamber, is elected for four-year terms by the country’s provincial councils. Foreigners residing in the country for five years or more are eligible to vote in local elections. The Netherlands extended voting rights to Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles for the first time in the June 2009 European Parliament elections.
The leader of the majority party or coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch, currently Queen Beatrix. Mayors are appointed from a list of candidates submitted by the municipal councils. The monarch appoints the Council of Ministers (cabinet) and the governor of each province on the recommendation of the majority in parliament.
The country has few problems with political corruption. The Netherlands was ranked 7 out of 178 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The news media are free and independent. The 1881 lèse majesté laws restricting defamation of the monarch are rarely enforced. The trial of PVV leader Geert Wilders, which began in January 2010, was subsequently postponed until January 2011 after a judge reportedly attempted to influence one of the defense witnesses. Wilders faces charges of discrimination and inciting hatred through his anti-Muslim editorials and his film Fitna. In April 2010, a Dutch court acquitted the Arab European League of hate crime charges related to the 2009 publication of an allegedly anti-Semitic cartoon, ruling that the cartoon’s production was protected under the European Convention on Human Rights.In September 2010, the European Court of Human Rights overturned a September 2002 ruling by a Dutch court that had compelled journalists to reveal their sources during an investigation into illegal car races.
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Religious organizations that provide educational facilities can receive subsidies from the government. Members of the country’s Muslim community have encountered increased hostility in recent years, including harassment and verbal abuse, as well as vandalism and arson attacks on mosques. The government requires all imams and other spiritual leaders recruited from Muslim countries to take a one-year integration course before practicing in the Netherlands. The government does not restrict academic freedom.
People have the right to assemble, demonstrate, and generally express their opinions. National and international human rights organizations operate freely without government intervention. Workers have the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike. In April 2010, sanitation workers ended a nine-week strike, the longest in the Netherlands since 1933.
The judiciary is independent, and the rule of law prevails in civil and criminal matters. The police are under civilian control, and prison conditions meet international standards.
The population is generally treated equally under the law, although human rights groups have criticized the country’s recent asylum policies for being unduly harsh and violating international standards. Since December 2009, asylum applications have been assessed on an individual basis, not according to country of origin. In the fall of 2010, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch criticized the Netherlands for its plans to deport several asylum seekers to their home countries of Iraq and Somalia, ignoring appeals from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to halt deportations to these countries. The PVV’s gains in the 2010 elections have raised concerns about escalating levels of societal discrimination against minorities, as the party openly opposes immigration and supports a headscarf ban. In September, the Justice Ministry reported a nearly 50 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in 2009 over 2008 and a 13 percent increase in homophobic incidents.
In April 2010, the Dutch high court ruled that the Calvinist political party, which holds two seats in parliament, must allow women to run on the party’s ballot; the party has previously fielded only male candidates. However, doubt remains over how the ruling will be effectively enforced. The Netherlands is a destination and transit point for human trafficking, particularly in women and girls for sexual exploitation. A 2005 law expanded the legal definition of trafficking to include forced labor and increased the maximum penalty for convicted offenders. Prostitution is legal and regulated in the Netherlands, although links between prostitution and organized crime have been reported.