Artikel 73: Tasks of the Council of State

Artikel 73
  1. The Council of State or a division of the Council shall be consulted on Bills and draft orders in council as well as proposals for the approval of treaties by the States General. Such consultation may be dispensed with in cases to be laid down by Act of Parliament.
  2. The Council or a division of the Council shall be responsible for investigating administrative disputes where the decision has to be given by Royal Decree, and for advising on the ruling to be given in the said dispute.
  3. The Council or a division of the Council may be required by Act of Parliament to give decisions in administrative disputes.

In andere talen:

English

  1. The Council of State or a division of the Council shall be consulted on Bills and draft orders in council as well as proposals for the approval of treaties by the States General. Such consultation may be dispensed with in cases to be laid down by Act of Parliament.
  2. The Council or a division of the Council shall be responsible for investigating administrative disputes where the decision has to be given by Royal Decree, and for advising on the ruling to be given in the said dispute.
  3. The Council or a division of the Council may be required by Act of Parliament to give decisions in administrative disputes.

Français

  1. Le Conseil d'État, ou une section du Conseil, est consulté sur les projets de loi et de règlement d'administration publique, ainsi que sur les projets d'approbation de traités par les États généraux. Il peut ne pas être procédé à cette consultation dans des cas à déterminer par la loi.
  2. Le Conseil, ou une section du Conseil, est chargé d'étudier les litiges administratifs qui seront tranchés par décret royal, et présente la décision à rendre.
  3. La loi peut conférer au Conseil, ou à une section du Conseil, la tâche de rendre une décision dans les litiges administratifs.

Deutsch

  1. Der Staatsrat oder eine Abteilung des Staatsrats wird zu Gesetzesvorlagen und Entwürfen von Rechtsverordnungen sowie zu Vorschlägen zur Zustimmung zu Verträgen seitens der Generalstaaten gehört. In durch Gesetz zu bezeichnenden Fällen kann die Anhörung unterbleiben.
  2. Dem Staatsrat oder einer Abteilung des Staatsrats obliegt die Untersuchung der Verwaltungsstreitigkeiten, über die durch königlichen Erlass entschieden wird; der Staatsrat beziehungsweise seine Abteilung empfiehlt eine Entscheidung.
  3. Durch Gesetz kann die Entscheidung in Verwaltungsstreitigkeiten dem Staatsrat oder einer Abteilung des Staatsrats übertragen werden.

Español

  1. El Consejo de Estado o una de sus secciones será oído acerca de proyectos de ley y proyectos de disposiciones generales del Estado, así como acerca de proposiciones de aprobación de tratados por los Estados Generales. En los casos que por la ley se establezcan podrá prescindirse de ese trámite.
  2. El Consejo o una sección del Consejo estará encargado de la investigación de los conflictos contencioso-administrativos que se resuelvan por real decreto, y propondrá el fallo.
  3. La ley podrá encomendar al Consejo o una sección del Consejo la resolución de conflictos contencioso-administrativos.

Explanation

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

The Council of State's tasks include, among others, providing advice on

  • legislative proposals,
  • drafts of general administrative regulations
  • proposals for the approval of treaties.

A law may stipulate that the Council of State is not required to provide advice in a particular case. For instance, the Council of State Act stipulates that the Council does not need to be consulted regarding amendments to budget laws.

Another task of the Council of State lies in the sphere of administrative disputes. These can be divided into two types:

  • a difference of opinion between two administrative bodies, for example between two municipalities or between a province and a municipality.
  • a difference of opinion between a citizen and an administrative body, for example a municipality refusing to issue a specific permit.

In the first case, the Council investigates the difference of opinion and advises the government on the decision to be taken. However, the government is not obliged to follow this advice: see Article 15c of the Council of State Act.

In the second case, a law may assign a judicial task to the Council of State. Thus, the Council of State has been assigned a judicial role in administrative law.

All the above-mentioned tasks can also be performed by a division of the Council of State.

A task not mentioned in this article is the exercise of royal authority as long as there is no king or regent who can exercise royal authority: see Article 38.