Government Committee for the Parliamentary System publishes final report

Is the Dutch parliamentary system in need of adjustment? This is the question that the government committee chaired by Johan Remkes has been addressing throughout the past year. On Thursday 13 December, the committee presented its recommendations in a final report. Earlier this year, on Thursday 21 June 2018, it published an interim report on the status of its investigation.

13 December 2018: Final report of the Remkes Committee

Statue of Thorbecke, the founder of parliamentary democracy, on Lange Voorhout in The Hague.

“The major societal and technological changes are making it necessary to secure our parliamentary system for the future,” according to the committee chair, Johan Remkes. “After a century, it is high time for adjustments to our democracy and rule of law.”

The committee has compiled a list of its seven most important recommendations:

  • Adjust the electoral system for the House of Representatives
  • Implement binding corrective referendum
  • Implement the elected formateur
  • Establish the Constitutional Court
  • Formulate a Political Parties Act (Wet op de politieke partijen, Wpp)
  • Ensure more democratic knowledge and skills in the educational system
  • Implement the right of return for the Senate.

Read the final report

The final report and a summary are available on the website of the Government Committee for the Parliamentary System (in Dutch).

21 June 2018: Interim report on the status of investigation

On Thursday 21 June 2018, committee chair Johan Remkes released an interim report on the status of the investigation. The committee has charted a number of possible improvements for strengthening democracy, the rule of law and the parliament. Read more on the interim report on the status of the investigation (in Dutch)..

18 October 2017: Problem exploration

On Wednesday 18 October 2017, the Government Committee for the Parliamentary System published an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands. In a problem exploration, the committee distinguished six topics for further investigation: the principle of representation, the role of political parties, cabinet formation, the resilience of democracy, the power of the national government and the bicameral system.

See the website of the Government Committee for the Parliamentary System for the problem exploration and additional information (in Dutch).

Supervisory committee

The Senate and the House of Representatives have put together a supervisory committee for the Government Committee for the Parliamentary System, consisting of four MPs and three senators. The government committee is independent. It can issue recommendations for changes.