Artikel 74: Membership of the Council of State
- The King shall be President of the Council of State. The heir presumptive shall be legally entitled to have a seat on the Council on attaining the age of eighteen. Other members of the Royal House may be granted a seat on the Council by or in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
- The members of the Council shall be appointed for life by Royal Decree.
- They shall cease to be members of the Council on resignation or on attaining an age to be determined by Act of Parliament.
- They may be suspended or dismissed from membership by the Council in instances specified by Act of Parliament.
- Their legal status shall in other respects be regulated by Act of Parliament.
Explanation
Please note: Only the Dutch-language version of the Constitution has legal effect.
The King is the Chairman of the Council of State. The Crown Prince(ss) may attend the Council's meetings upon reaching the age of eighteen. The law may also stipulate this for other members of the Royal House. For instance, the Prince Consorts held seats on the Council of State, and Máxima also took a seat on the Council of State after her marriage to Willem-Alexander.
The members of the Council are appointed for life by Royal Decree, i.e., by the government. They may only be dismissed:
- at their own request;
- when they have reached an age specified by law (which is 70 years in accordance with Article 3 of the Council of State Act);
- by the Council of State itself in certain cases specified in the law (Article 3a of the Council of State Act).
The Council of State may also suspend a member in cases specified in the law.
This ensures that their legal position closely resembles that of members of the judiciary and that the independence of the members of the Council is guaranteed. After all, the Council of State also fulfills an important function in the field of administrative jurisdiction.