Artikel 42: Ministerial responsibility

Artikel 42
  1. The Government shall comprise the King and the Ministers.
  2. The Ministers, and not the King, shall be responsible for acts of government.

In andere talen:

English

  1. The Government shall comprise the King and the Ministers.
  2. The Ministers, and not the King, shall be responsible for acts of government.

Français

  1. Le Gouvernement est formé du Roi et des ministres.
  2. Le Roi est inviolable; les ministres sont responsables.

Deutsch

  1. Die Regierung besteht aus dem König und den Ministern.
  2. Der König ist unverletzlich; die Minister sind verantwortlich.

Español

  1. El Gobierno se compone del Rey y de los Ministros.
  2. El Rey es inviolable; los Ministros son responsables.

Explanation

Please note: Only the Dutch-language version of the Constitution has legal effect. 

The King and the ministers together form the government. An important principle of our constitutional system is that the King is inviolable and that the ministers are responsible. This means that they, and not the King, are responsible for government policy and must account for it in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Since 1848, the political responsibility of ministers has been regulated solely in the Constitution. However, rules regarding ministerial responsibility do exist in unwritten constitutional law. For instance, a minister must have the confidence of the House of Representatives. As soon as he loses this confidence, for example because the House of Representatives adopts a motion of no confidence, a minister submits his resignation.

However, since 1855, the law has regulated the criminal responsibility of ministers. This rule was already included in the Constitution in 1840. The Act was replaced in 2018 by the Act on Ministerial Responsibility and Offenses of Members of the States General, Ministers and State Secretaries.