The main question of the project is what role the British constitution played in the history of Dutch political constitutional law and its approach in the literature between 1812 and 1983.
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom have much in common in terms of constitutional law. Both countries are constitutional monarchies and decentralised unitary states with a bicameral parliamentary system that produces inviolable formal laws. Due to their geographical location on opposite sides of the North Sea, the two countries also share a long common history.
It is well known that the British constitution has played a significant role in the history of Dutch political constitutional law at points. For instance, the creation of the Upper House was partly advocated with reference to the British House of Lords, and parliament was given the right of inquiry following the English example. The former moved Groen van Prinsterer to call the Senate ‘a failed copy after the English model’. Furthermore, in our parliamentary history, the British prime minister has always been a model for the figure of the prime minister. Although the modern Council of State bears a name from the Republic, it had been revitalised by Van Hogendorp along the lines of the privy council.
What is lacking, however, is a systematic overview. The aim of this study is therefore to uncover a historical developmental course that has so far remained largely underexposed. Since the formative years of Dutch political constitutional law were in the long nineteenth century, and since the United Kingdom was also much looked at at that time, this allows us to better understand the constitutional development.