The rule of trust is an important rule of unwritten constitutional law. The confidence rule means that cabinet ministers must have the confidence of parliament in order to stay in office. This confidence does not have to be expressed upon taking office, but is assumed to be present by both the appointed cabinet and parliament. The meaning of the confidence rule is that the cabinet, a minister and/or a state secretary must resign if a majority in one of the Houses no longer has confidence in this cabinet or one of its ministers. In this case, parliament submits a so-called ‘motion of no confidence’, which can lead to a resignation offer to the King or the dissolution of the House.
Meaning of the rule of confidence & the motion of no confidence
- What is the meaning of the rule of trust?
- Negative trust rule
- Difference between trust rule & ministerial responsibility
- Why is the trust rule important?
- When can parliament withdraw its confidence in a government song or the cabinet?
- The minister himself decides to resign
- What is a motion?
- What is a vote of no confidence?
- Procedure for a motion of no confidence
- How can a motion of no confidence be recognized?
- Consequences of an adopted motion of no confidence
- Offer of resignation to the King
- Chamber dissolution
What is the meaning of the rule of trust?
The meaning of the confidence rule is that the cabinet and its individual members must have the confidence of parliament, or the States General, in order to remain in office. The cabinet, consisting of all ministers and state secretaries, or a minister and/or a state secretary, must resign if a majority in one of the Houses no longer has confidence in this cabinet or the minister or state secretary in question. The rule of confidence therefore applies between the cabinet and its members on the one hand, and the two Houses of the States General (parliament) on the other. The rule of confidence belongs to unwritten law , and more specifically to unwritten Dutch constitutional law. This rule is therefore not laid down in law, but is used as such. Just like the ministerial responsibility, the obligation to provide information and the right of dissolution, the rule of confidence reflects the relationship between the various Dutch state organs.
Negative trust rule
The confidence that parliament has in the cabinet is not expressed when the cabinet takes office. On the other hand, trust is assumed to be present. The cabinet may therefore rely on the confidence of parliament as long as no distrust has been expressed by a majority in one of the Houses. This is why the trust rule is also called the negative trust rule :
,It is assumed that both Houses of the States General have confidence in the cabinet and its ministers, until a majority in one of the Houses decides to expressly withdraw this confidence.,
Difference between trust rule & ministerial responsibility
The rule of confidence is not conceivable without ministerial responsibility. The rule of confidence is closely related to holding ministers accountable for the policy pursued by the ministry over which they are in charge. Confidence in a minister can be withdrawn for all matters that fall within ministerial responsibility: this shows the importance of the relationship between the rule of confidence and (political) ministerial responsibility . In fact, the confidence rule can be seen as an implementation of ministerial responsibility.
Why is the trust rule important?
The underlying idea that parliament can send home a minister, state secretary or the entire cabinet through the rule of confidence is that the Netherlands is an indirect democracy, which means that the Dutch people choose the representatives who come to parliament. Parliament has indirect democratic legitimacy; As long as the Houses do not send a minister, state secretary or the entire cabinet home, it is assumed that the cabinet and the ministers and state secretaries act in accordance with the positions and views of parliament . If parliament is of the opinion that a minister , a state secretary or the entire cabinet is not acting in accordance with its views or positions, it can submit a motion of no confidence. The possible consequence of this is an offer of resignation by the minister or the cabinet to the King, or that the cabinet attempts to achieve a dissolution of the House.
When can parliament withdraw its confidence in a government song or the cabinet?
Confidence in the cabinet, a minister or state secretary can be withdrawn for a wide variety of reasons. The reason may, for example, relate to a minister’s private life, a mistake the minister has made, or an incorrect act by someone under the minister’s responsibility. A minister does not have to be accountable to parliament for a matter if he or she resigns before parliament has expressed its distrust on this matter in a motion. Moreover, parliament can withdraw confidence in a State Secretary without withdrawing confidence in the minister concerned, which means that the State Secretary in question must resign without the minister concerned also resigning. Conversely, when a minister has to resign due to violating the confidence of parliament, the State Secretary involved must always also resign.
The minister himself decides to resign
Moreover, a minister can decide to resign if he or she believes that there is no longer any confidence from parliament in his/her professional activities. A minister can therefore resign without Parliament having submitted a motion (of no confidence) against the minister.
What is a motion?
With a motion, the House indicates what position it takes with regard to, for example, a policy subject, government song, development, or an action. Different types of motions can be distinguished:
- motion of sadness
- motion of censure
- motion of distrust
What is a vote of no confidence?
The motion of no confidence shows parliament’s lost confidence in the entire cabinet, a state secretary and/or a minister.
Procedure for a motion of no confidence
The motion of no confidence is submitted by an MP who requires the support of at least 5 other MPs. The House then votes with a ‘simple majority’ of votes: if more than half of the MPs vote in favor of the motion, the motion of no confidence is ‘adopted’.
How can a motion of no confidence be recognized?
Usually it is clear from the text of the submitted motion (of no confidence) that it is a motion of no confidence. In rare cases, it may be unclear whether a motion submitted actually concerns a motion of no confidence . When a minister or the entire cabinet interprets a motion as a motion of no confidence, the minister or cabinet concerned must resign. The way in which a minister or cabinet interprets a motion determines whether there is a motion of no confidence. A motion of sadness or a motion of censure can also be interpreted by a minister, a state secretary or the cabinet as a motion of no confidence , as a result of which the cabinet or a minister can decide to offer his or her resignation to the King.
Consequences of an adopted motion of no confidence
There are 2 possible consequences of an adopted motion of no confidence:
- It leads to a resignation offer from the relevant minister, state secretary or cabinet to the King.
- The government is using its constitutional right to achieve a House dissolution.
Offer of resignation to the King
The cabinet and its ministers must have the confidence of a majority in both Houses of the States General to remain in office; this is the meaning of the trust rule. An adopted motion of no confidence means that a majority in one of the Houses no longer has confidence that the cabinet, a minister and/or a state secretary can perform his/her duties as desired. If the motion of no confidence has been adopted by a majority in one of the Houses, the cabinet or the minister concerned must then offer his/her resignation to the King. An adopted motion of no confidence can therefore lead to a resignation offer to the King by a minister, a state secretary, or the entire cabinet.
Chamber dissolution
If the conflict does not take place between parliament and a government song , but between parliament and the entire cabinet , then the cabinet, in addition to offering a resignation, also has the option to bring about a dissolution of Parliament. If the cabinet opts for a dissolution of the House, elections will be held within 40 days to consult the opinion of the people; The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy. In practice, the House of Representatives is usually the House that is dissolved, even though it is possible to dissolve the Senate.
read more
- Ministerial responsibility: meaning & scope
- Democracy: its different forms and views
- What are the characteristics of a constitutional state?
- Why does Dutch law exist?
- Forms of government: (semi)presidential and parliamentary system