The Netherlands is a constitutional state.
But this constitutional state doesn’t seem to be functioning as it should.
What’s going wrong and how can we improve it?
The promise of a constitutional state...
is that citizens are protected by and from the government...
can exert influence on the government’s power...
and receive support if they need it.
But this promise is being broken.
The benefits affair showed that citizens do not always receive the protection...
they should be able to expect from the government.
The government turned its back on its citizens and abused its power.
The same happened in Groningen.
For years the government ignored complaints about the consequences of gas extraction.
One thing is clear: something has to change.
The State Commission on the constitutional state was given the task...
to investigate citizens’ perspectives on the functioning of the constitutional state...
and to develop proposals for improvements.
We started the investigation in early 2023.
Since then, we have spoken to many citizens and experts.
Various questions were central to the investigation.
Which problems do citizens have with how the constitutional state functions?
What is going wrong and what can the government do to improve this?
We mainly wanted to know what improvements would help citizens most.
We explored in all kinds of ways what citizens are up against.
At 12 locations, people told us about their experiences with the constitutional state.
During an open forum citizens shared their opinions with us.
And a citizens’ panel made various recommendations...
on how the constitutional state can better protect citizens.
We also collected insights from science and practice.
During a hackathon young civil servants worked in teams...
on improvements to the constitutional state.
The State Commission concluded that there were three main problems.
The constitutional state plays too small a role in how politicians...
government administrators and employees act.
I think a constitutional state is reflected as follows.
I see that poverty levels are very high...
but I also see that parents think it’s really important...
that young people go to school to build a future...
so that they can get out of that poverty.
In a constitutional state, every student has the right to attend school.
We see that in such things as students receiving financial support...
and when bodies act to help pay study fees, as well as fines.
This gives such students the opportunity to build a future.
If the constitutional state withdraws support instead of preserving it...
such students will remain in that cycle of poverty...
and will never have the opportunity to leave that world behind.
The policy, the legislation...
and the regulations surrounding income support are too complex.
It was totally unclear what I was or wasn’t entitled to.
I also wasn’t informed that they were obliged...
to offer me work up to senior secondary vocational level 2.
I also wasn’t informed that, if I felt...
I wasn’t yet ready to work, I could request a medical examination.
And that’s exactly what could have saved me so much distress.
It happens too often that the government makes it difficult for people...
to get what they’re actually entitled to.
Surely they can’t remove my rights in this way...
which means I don’t have a normal existence here.
That I’m a nobody, stateless.
While I wasn’t put up for adoption.
There’s absolutely no protection for a child who is traumatised and needs care...
from Jeugdzorg, which my mother trusted at the time.
The fact that they put me in this situation and let me stay there...
is something I find overwhelming.
The promise of a constitutional state has been broken.
It’s the consequence of political choices or rather of not making those choices.
And citizens are the victims of this.
That’s why we’re calling on parliament, the government and the judiciary...
to work together to fulfil the promise of a constitutional state.
We’re making ten improvement proposals...
that focus on improving the constitutional state leadership.
It’s important that politicians, directors and civil servants...
use the constitutional state as a compass in their work and are trained in this.
If young people are given a good example...
they can make a better contribution to the constitutional state.
We’re also proposing to improve the contact with citizens...
and to involve citizens in making policy and regulations.
Simplify policy to ensure people’s socio-economic security.
So Saskia and others like her can really participate in our society.
And enable people to get what they’re entitled to.
Make sure that it doesn’t take thirty years...
as in Batya’s case, before a solution is found.
The improvements must ensure...
that citizens are protected by and from the government...
can exert influence and receive support if they need it.
If you would like to know more about the State Commission...
our investigation and the improvements we’re proposing...
visit staatscommissierechtsstaat.nl.