Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

partisan: an ideologue, or a strong member
of a cause, party, or movement 
■ ■ ■  
tort: a civil crime for which the law provides
a remedy 

long run, and as a consequence, measures have been taken to limit benefits and
to downsize government institutions. A third factor has been the worldwide war
against terrorism declared after September 11, 2001. In most countries antiterror-
ist laws have been introduced, and the Netherlands is no exception. Nevertheless,
these factors play a relatively small role in the Netherlands, and the nation is still
best described as a quiet, stable, consensus-oriented welfare state.
See also:
European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms; Parliamentary Systems; Political Parties.
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
Central Bureau for Statistics in the Netherlands. 
Ͻhttp://www.cbs.nl/enϾ.
Chavannes, Marc. “Conformist Nonchalance.” In The Netherlands: A Practical Guide for
the Foreigner and a Mirror for the Dutch. Amsterdam, the Netherlands:
Prometheus/NRC Handelsblad, 2001, pp. 85–92.
Jacob, Herbert, Erhard Blankenburg, Herbert M. Kritzer, Doris Marie Provine, and Joseph
Sanders. Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective. New Haven, CT:
Yale University Press, 1996.
Kortmann, Constantijn A. J. M., and Paul P. T. Bovend’Eert. Dutch Constitutional Law.
Boston, MA: Kluwer Law International, 2000.
Kranenburg, Marc. “The Political Wing of the ‘Polder Model.’” In The Netherlands:
A Practical Guide for the Foreigner and a Mirror for the Dutch. Amsterdam, the
Netherlands: Prometheus/NRC Handelsblad, 2001, pp. 35–39.
Lijphart, Arend. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in
Thirty-Six Countries. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999.
Van der Horst, Han. The Low Sky, Understanding the Dutch. Schiedam, the Netherlands:
Scriptum Books, 1996.
Van Duyne, Petrus. “Simple Decision Making.” In The Psychology of Sentencing:
Approaches to Consistency and Disparity, ed. D. C. Pennington and S. Lloyd-
Bostock. Oxford, UK: Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, 1987, pp. 143–158.
Witteveen, Willem. Evenwicht van machten. Zwolle, the Netherlands: Tjeenk Willink, 1991.
Zahn, Ernst. Das unbekannte Holland; Regenten, Rebellen und Reformatoren. Berlin,
Germany: Siedler, 1984.
Leny E. de Groot-van Leeuwen
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba consists of six islands in two widely
separated groups located in the Caribbean Sea. All six islands are well-known
to North Americans and Europeans as tourist destinations. Although internally
self-governing, all are officially subdivisions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Antilles consists of Curacao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba, and
Sint Eustatius. Aruba obtained full internal governmental autonomy when it
separated from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986.
Curaçao, Bonaire, and neighboring Aruba are located in the southern
Caribbean, near the northwestern coast of Venezuela, outside the Caribbean hur-
ricane zone. Sint Maarten occupies the southern part of the island called St. Martin
in English—the other part of the island is St. Martin, a French territory. Saint
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
183
N e t h e r l a n d s   A n t i l l e s   a n d   A r u b a

Maarten and its tiny neighbors, Saba and Sint Eustatius, are locat-
ed in the eastern Caribbean, due east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands.
The five islands of the Netherlands Antilles have a total area
of 940 square kilometers (363 square miles; five times the area
of Washington, D.C.) and a total population of 218,126 in July
2004. A majority of the population of the five islands lives on
Curaçao. Aruba, a flat sandy island known for its brilliant white
beaches, has a total area of 193 square kilometers (75 square
miles; about the size of Washington, D.C.) and a July 2004 pop-
ulation of 71,218. The islands of the Netherlands Antilles and
Aruba are heavily dependent on tourism, but because of their
proximity to Venezuela, the economies of Curaçao and Bonaire
also have components dedicated to the oil service industries.
The per capita income of the Netherlands Antilles in 2003 was
estimated at $11,400. The per capita income of Aruba, estimated
at $28,000 in 2002, was considerably higher.
Because the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are officially parts
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, that nation is responsible for
their external security and diplomatic relations and its Queen
Beatrix (b. 1938), represented by appointed governors-general, is
their official chief of state. Internally, the government of the
Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy with a twenty-two seat
legislature with at least one seat allocated to each constituent
island. Prime Minister Etienne Ys (b. 1962), who was serving in
early 2005, headed a coalition government formed in June 2004.
Sint Maarten voted to become a separate country within the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2000, but, as of the early twenty-
first century, this had not happened.
Aruba is a parliamentary democracy with a twenty-one seat
legislature. Its chief of government, Prime Minister Nelson
O. Oduber ( b. 1947), was elected on October 30, 2001 for a four-
year term. Its judiciary consists of a Joint High Court of Justice,
appointed by the queen.
The judicial systems of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
consist of courts of first instance located in the capitals of
Curaçao and Aruba. The Curaçao court has jurisdiction over the
other four islands of the Netherlands Antilles. A joint court of
appeal hears appeals from the courts of first instance of both the
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Appeals from this court may be
taken to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.
See also: 
Caribbean Region.
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
“Aruba.” CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005.
Ͻhttp://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook /geos/aa.htmlϾ.
“Aruba.” In  Nations of the World: A Political, Economic & Business Handbook, 5th ed.
Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2004.
Munneke, H. J., and A. J. Dekker. “Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.” In Legal Systems of
the World: A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia ( Vol. 3, pp. 1122–1127),
ed. Herbert M. Kritzer. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002.
184
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
N e t h e r l a n d s   A n t i l l e s   a n d   A r u b a
L e
s s
e r
A
n t
i l l
e s
Caribbean
Sea
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
St. Kitts 
Antigua
Barbuda
Nevis
Saba
St. Martin
Anguilla (U.K.)
Montserrat (U.K.)
St. Barthélemy (Fr.)
Sint Eustatius
Philipsburg
The Bottom
Oranjestad
Netherlands
American Dependencies
Guadirikiri
Cave
Punt
Basora
Kudarebe
Palm
Beach
Eagle Beach
Commanders Bay
Caribbean
Sea
Noord
Santa Cruz
Sint
Nicolaas
Oranjestad
ARUBA
Lacre
Punt
Lac
Goto
Meer
Caribbean Sea
Klein Bonaíre
Spelonk
Washington
Boven
Bolivia
Labra
Wanapa
BONAIRE
Nordpunt
Westpunt
Ooostpunt
Bocht van
Hato
Playa Grandi
St.
Jorisbaai
San Juanbani
Bullenbaai
Caribbean
Sea
Soto
Nieuwpoort
Willemstad
Sta.
Catharina
Lagun
Julianadorp
St. Willibrordus
CURAÇAO
ARUBA
BONAIRE
CURAÇAO
V E N E Z U E L A
0
0
30 Miles
30 Kilometers
50 Miles
0
0
50 Kilometers
25
25
NETHERLANDS
ANTILLES
0
0
25 Kilometers
5 10 15 20
10
5
15
20
W
S
N
E
25 Miles
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

“Netherlands Antilles.” CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence
Agency, 2004. 
Ͻhttp://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nt.htmlϾ.
“Netherlands Antilles.” In Nations of the World 2005 (pp. 1077–1080). 5th ed. Millerton,
NY: Grey House Publishing, 2004.
C. Neal Tate
New Zealand
New Zealand is a South Pacific island nation, located some 2,000 kilometers
(1,250 miles) to the southeast of Australia. The country consists of two main
inhabited islands (the North and South Islands) and a number of smaller islands.
New Zealand covers a total area of 268,680 square kilometers (103,737 square
miles; about the same size as Colorado) and has a population of 4 million people.
The main ethnic groups as of the last general census in 2001 were European
(70.1%), Maori (14%), Asian (6.4%), and Pacific Islander (6.2%).
The first inhabitants of New Zealand were the Maori people, believed to have
reached New Zealand from Polynesia in about 
C
.
E
. 800. Europeans began settling
in the country in a somewhat haphazard manner following the first European
landing in 1769 by British explorer Captain James Cook (1728–1779). The author-
ity of the various Maori tribes over New Zealand (or Aotearoa, as Maori termed
the land) continued to be recognized until 1840, when tribal leaders signed the
Treaty of Waitangi with Britain. This document ceded sovereignty to the British,
while guaranteeing Maori continued territorial and cultural rights.
Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the British began the first organ-
ized colonial settlement. Tensions over the colonists’ demand for land led to a series
of wars involving some Maori tribes and the British, which flared up sporadically
between 1843 and 1872. Although these conflicts had an inconclusive military out-
come, the sheer growth in the numbers of European inhabitants meant that Maori
tribal authority largely had faded away by the end of the nineteenth century.
The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in
1907, although it remained closely tied to the United Kingdom, supporting that
country in both World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Full
political independence was only gained in 1947.
New Zealand is reasonably prosperous by global standards. It has a per capita
gross domestic product of $22,300, equivalent to 73 percent of that of the United
States. The country has a relatively low infant death rate (5.96 deaths/1,000 live
births), a relatively high average life expectancy (78.5 years), and a serious crime
rate that is lower than most other Western societies. However, social indicators
for European New Zealanders generally are better than for Maori and Pacific
Island inhabitants, who tend to be poorer, die younger, and be incarcerated at a
higher rate.
In the 1930s, New Zealand adopted an extensive system of social welfare,
much of which remains in place in the twenty-first century. Free health care and
education (up to the age of 18), as well as a wide range of social benefit pay-
ments, are provided by the government.
T H E   G O V E R N M E N T
New Zealand has a stable democratic system of government based on the
Westminster
system. The settled nature of New Zealand’s democratic system is
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185
N e w   Z e a l a n d
Westminster: a democratic model of
government comprising operational
procedures for a legislative body, based on
the system used in the United Kingdom
■ ■ ■  

underlined by the fact that no elected government has been subject to a violent or
extra-constitutional overthrow. Locally elected representatives were first chosen in
1853, although the original right to vote was restricted to male property owners.
All Maori men were given the vote in 1864, fifteen years before this right was
extended to all European men. Women were granted suffrage in 1893, making 
New Zealand the first nation in the world to enfranchise its entire adult population.
New Zealand has an “unwritten” constitution in the sense that no single
document sets out how the country’s government is to operate. The basis for
the exercise of governmental power instead lies in a mix of statutory law and
“convention”—established practices not written into the law, but nevertheless
regarded as binding by all political actors. Therefore, the expectations and under-
standings of New Zealand’s political actors about how the country’s constitutional
system is meant to operate are as important as the formal legal rules.
The principal actors in New Zealand’s system of government are the 
governor-
general
(representing the Sovereign of New Zealand), the prime minister and
cabinet (the effective executive), and a 120-seat 
unicameral
parliament (the House
of Representatives) whose members are directly elected. The various relationships
among these political actors are outlined in the following sections.
T H E   T R E AT Y   O F   WA I TA N G I   I N   N E W   Z E A L A N D ’ S
C O N S T I T U T I O N A L   O R D E R
New Zealand’s historical genesis in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi has
invested that document with a quasi-constitutional significance. Technically the
treaty is not a part of New Zealand’s law, but in the early twenty-first century it has
been interpreted as requiring the government (or “the Crown”) to act in a part-
nership role with Maori. The exact meaning of this relationship is the subject of
a great deal of controversy. It has been claimed that it ought to entitle Maori to
exercise full tino rangitiratanga (tribal authority) over all matters which con-
cern Maori. To this end, there are suggestions the treaty should be enshrined as
a form of higher law, guaranteeing some form of 
devolved
governmental power
to the Maori tribes. This position is rejected by others who see it as resulting in
a divided nation and who believe the treaty ought to be regarded as no more
than an historical document with little relevance for today.
Whatever the future outcome of this ongoing debate over the meaning or
status of the treaty, New Zealand’s system of government already recognizes the
special position of the Maori in a number of other ways. Along with English, te
reo (the Maori language) is an official language of the country. Seven seats in
Parliament are reserved for those voters of Maori descent who choose to register
on a separate Maori roll. The obligation for governmental actors to consult with
the Maori before carrying out their statutory duties is routinely written into Acts
of Parliament. In this sense, New Zealand has made steps toward creating a bicul-
tural system of government, even though final lawmaking power over all areas of
society still lies in the hands of the generally elected parliament representing all
New Zealanders.
G O V E R N M E N TA L   P O W E R   I N   N E W   Z E A L A N D
New Zealand’s system of government broadly reflects its colonial heritage.
When local representation was first established in the nineteenth century, the
Westminster style of government used in the United Kingdom was imported as
a matter of course. This system was retained when New Zealand became a fully
independent state in 1947, and the basic structure remained in place in the early
186
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
N e w   Z e a l a n d
devolve: to move power or property from
one individual or institution to another,
especially from a central authority
governor-general: a governor who rules
over a large territory and employs deputy
governors to oversee subdivided regions
unicameral: comprised of one chamber,
usually a legislative body
■ ■ ■  

2000s. However, some changes to New Zealand’s system of government have
occurred (including the increased prominence given to the treaty just
described). Most important, perhaps, was the adoption of a 
mixed-member
proportional voting
system in 1996, which has had a major impact on how
governments are formed and operate. The exact nature of this change is
outlined below, in the discussion of legislative power.
In theory, governmental power emanates downward from the sovereign, in
2005 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of New Zealand (who is actually the Queen
of England, wearing a different crown). The sovereign is represented in New
Zealand by a governor-general, who may exercise the powers allocated to the
sovereign in New Zealand’s constitutional framework. Holding quite extensive
formal authority, the governor-general serves as the head of the armed forces,
signs into law all bills passed by the country’s parliament, has the power to
appoint and dismiss all government ministers, and can dissolve parliament and
call new elections.
However, actual governmental power in New Zealand lies in the hands of
the prime minister, along with the cabinet. The prime minister is supported in
that role by a majority of elected members of the country’s parliament. The cab-
inet is the body that coordinates overall government policy. It consists of those
individuals chosen by the prime minister to serve as ministers of the crown and
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187
N e w   Z e a l a n d
mixed-member proportional voting: an
electoral system in which some representa-
tives are elected from first-past-the-post
districts and some are appointed through
proportional representation
■ ■ ■  
S
O
U
T
H
E
R
N
A
L
P
S
AORANGI
MTS.
RA
UK
UM
AR
A
RA
NG
E
TA
RA
RU
A
RA
NG
E
North Cape
Cape Farewell
Cape
Egmont
Mt. Ruapehu
9,175 ft.
2797 m.
Mt. Cook
12,349 ft.
3764 m.
Mt. Aspiring
9,931 ft.
3027 m.
Cape Palliser
Mahia
Peninsula
Banks Peninsula
Puysegur Point
East Cape
Cape Brett
South West
Cape
Three Kings Is.
Great I.
Great Barrier I.
Stewart I.
Resolution I.
Ruapuke I.
S O U T H
I S L A N D
N O RT H
I S L A N D
Ra
n
gi
ti
k
ei
W
a
ir
au
C
lu
th
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W
ait
aki
W
aik
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to
Ta s m a n
S e a
S O U T H
PA C I F I C
O C E A N
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o
o
k
S
tr
a
it
Bay of
Plenty
Canterbury
Bight
Ahipara Bay
Kaipara
Harbour
Foveaux
Str
a
it
Lake
Taupo
  Lake
 Te Anau
Hawke
Bay
Tasman
Bay
South Taranaki Bight
Auckland
Wellington
Christchurch
Whangarei
Tauranga
Rotorua
Hamilton
East Coast Bays
Napier
New Plymouth
Wanganui
Palmerston
North
Nelson
Dunedin
Invercargill
Manukau
Hastings
Taumarunui
Kawhia
Waimamaku
Westport
Blenheim
Greymouth
Kaikoura
Domett
Ashburton
Timaru
Oamaru
Alexandra
Queenstown
Gisborne
Waipiro
Kaeo
Hicks
Bay
W
S
N
E
Ice Shelf
Antarctic
Peninsula
T
R
A
N
S
A
N
T
A
R
C
TIC
M
O
U
N
T
A
IN
S
ANTARCTICA