Public body (Netherlands)

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In the Netherlands, the term public body (a literal translation from the Dutch term openbaar lichaam) is the general denomination for administrative divisions within the Dutch state, such as the central government, a province, a municipality or a water board. These types of political entities are defined by the Constitution of the Netherlands. [1]

Contents

In addition, Article 134 of the constitution provides for the definition of other public bodies by law. [1] Such bodies can be professionally oriented, like the Dutch Order of Advocates (Dutch : Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten), or be constituted to perform functions in a specific region. This means that the term public body is sometimes used to indicate a special or irregular type of public body (without a specifically defined name), which can also be an administrative division or a certain other type of governmental organisation.

Caribbean Netherlands

After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on October 10, 2010, the three islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba became public bodies of the Netherlands. They are not part of any province. Since 2017, they are public bodies of a special constitutional category, Caribbean public bodies. Collectively, they are officially known as Caribbean Netherlands (Dutch : Caribisch Nederland). [2] Although part of the Netherlands, these special municipalities (as they are also called) remained overseas territories [3] of the European Union until 2015. [4]

In the absence of a King's Commissioner the Islands have a joint "Kingdom Representative" (Dutch: Rijksvertegenwoordiger voor de openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba), who has an office on each of the Islands. As of 2018, the incumbent Kingdom Representative is Jan Helmond.

FlagArmsSpecial municipalityCapitalLieutenant GovernorArea(km2) [5] Population [6] Density (per km2)
Flag of Bonaire.svg
Bonaire wapen.svg
Bonaire ( Papiamento:Boneiru) Kralendijk Edison Rijna 29415,41452
Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg
Sint Eustatius wapen.svg
Sint Eustatius (Locally: Statia) Oranjestad Alida Francis 213,300157
Flag of Saba.svg
Saba wapen.svg
Saba The Bottom Jonathan Johnson 132,000154

Other examples

Another notable example of an administrative division merely denoted as "public body" is Rijnmond (Dutch : openbaar lichaam Rijnmond), which existed from 1964 to 1986. [7] Also, before the establishment of the Province of Flevoland, the newly reclaimed polders were under the jurisdiction of the "Public Body Southern IJsselmeerpolders" (Openbaar Lichaam Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders, also abbreviated as OL ZIJP). [8]

On a regional level, municipalities, provinces, water boards and the Caribbean public bodies can constitute internal or umbrella public bodies, as defined by the law on common arrangements (Dutch : wet gemeenschappelijke regelingen). Examples of such bodies include:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands Antilles</span> 1954–2010 Caribbean constituent country of the Netherlands

The Netherlands Antilles, also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, and Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire in the Leeward Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies, and it was dissolved in 2010, when like Aruba in 1986, Sint Maarten and Curaçao gained status of constituent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Bonaire gained status of special municipality of Netherlands as the Caribbean Netherlands. The neighboring Dutch colony of Surinam in continental South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipalities of the Netherlands</span> Second-level administrative divisions of the Netherlands

Since 1 January 2023, there have been 342 regular municipalities and three special municipalities in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies, in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saba (island)</span> Dutch Caribbean island

Saba is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the dormant volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 metres (2,910 ft) is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands. Together with Bonaire and Sint Eustatius it forms the BES islands, also known as the Caribbean Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sint Eustatius</span> Dutch Caribbean island

Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of the Netherlands</span>

The predominant language of the Netherlands is Dutch, spoken and written by almost all people in the Netherlands. Dutch is also spoken and official in Aruba, Bonaire, Belgium, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Suriname. It is a West Germanic, Low Franconian language that originated in the Early Middle Ages and was standardised in the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles</span> 2010 dissolution of the autonomous Caribbean country of the Netherlands

The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of the Netherlands</span> Sovereign state including the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation; it is a unitary monarchy with its largest subdivision, the eponymous Netherlands, predominantly located in Northwestern Europe and with several smaller island territories located in the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard</span> Law enforcement agency

The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) is the coast guard of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Dutch Caribbean. The unit is a joint effort of all constituent countries within the Kingdom. Prior to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, it was known as the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Coast Guard and was a division of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribbean Netherlands</span> Netherlands Caribbean municipalities

The Caribbean Netherlands is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, as they are also known in legislation, or the BES islands for short. The islands are officially classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas territories of the European Union; as such, European Union law does not automatically apply to them.

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba since 10 October 2012, the effective date of legislation passed by the States General of the Netherlands enabling same-sex couples to marry. The Caribbean Netherlands was the first jurisdiction in the Caribbean to legalise same-sex marriage, and was followed a few months later by French territories, including Guadeloupe and Martinique, in May 2013.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Saba</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Sint Eustatius island council election</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 "Grondwet (Constitution)". Dutch Government . Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  2. "31.954, Wet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba" (in Dutch). Eerste kamer der Staten-Generaal. Retrieved 2010-10-15. De openbare lichamen vallen rechtstreeks onder het Rijk omdat zij geen deel uitmaken van een provincie. (The public bodies (...), because they are not part of a Province).
  3. "Official Journal of the European Union – C 83". EUR-Lex. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  4. "Regels met betrekking tot de openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba (Wet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba); Verslag" (in Dutch). Ikregeer.nl. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  5. "Regionale Kerncijfers Nederland" (in Dutch). Statistics Netherlands. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  6. "Bevolking per regio naar leeftijd, geslacht en burgerlijke staat" (in Dutch). Statistics Netherlands. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  7. "Openbaar Lichaam Rijnmond". National Archives of the Netherlands (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  8. Heijboer, Pierre (1995-12-08). "Inpoldering IJsselmeer was ook bestuurlijk avontuur Laatste landdrost legt functie neer". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-08-12.