Editing Constitution of the Netherlands (section)

====Chapter 4: Council of State, Court of Audit, National Ombudsman and Permanent Advisory Colleges====
{{Main|Dutch Council of State|Netherlands Court of Audit|National Ombudsman}}
Chapter 4 covers certain other [[High Council of State (Netherlands)|High Councils of State]] apart from parliament. The most important of these is the [[Council of State (Netherlands)|Council of State]] (''Raad van State''). Any proposal of law in the broadest sense and any proposed treaty is in principle first submitted to the Council of State for legal comment; this can be limited by formal law, which however only does so for trivial cases (Article 73). Though officially such comment is merely an advice, it is very rare for law proposals to remain unchanged if the judgment of the council is negative. The council is seen as the guardian of legislative quality; no minister can ignore its opinion without dire effects on his own reputation. Thus the Council in fact codetermines the legislative process. The council also acts as the highest court for [[Administrative law|administrative appeal]] (Subarticle 2 and 3); it thus has the final say on the way the country is actually ruled, though this is limited by the fact such appeals can only be made on formal or procedural grounds. The large influence of the council is not always appreciated by external and internal observers. If the [[Dutch monarchy|King]] is unable to exert the royal authority and there is as yet no regent, the Council exerts the royal authority (Article 38). The council is officially presided by the King (Article 74); in view of the [[ministerial responsibility]] he in fact only does so on special occasions: normally the current chairman is the vice-president of the council, some times by journalists called the "Viceroy of the Netherlands". The probable heir becomes a member of the Council when he reaches the age of eighteen and often does attend the meetings. Law can give other members of the Royal House the right to attend; it in fact determines that they nor the heir have voting powers. The members of the council, the ''Staatsraden'', are appointed by Royal Decree for life (Subarticle 2); they can be dismissed on demand by Decree, or in cases determined by law by the Council itself, and law can determine an age limit (Subarticles 3 and 4). The competence, organisation and composition of the council are regulated by law; delegation is possible (Article 75). This competence may exceed the functions indicated in Article 73; in this case no delegation is allowed (Subarticle 2). The number of ''Staatsraden'' is determined by law at a maximum of 29 ordinary members and 50 extraordinary members.

The second is the [[Netherlands Court of Audit|Court of Audit]] (''Algemene Rekenkamer''). Its task is to perform financial audits (Article 76). The members are appointed for life by Royal Decree from a shortlist of three, proposed by the House of Representatives (Article 77). They can be dismissed on demand by Decree or when reaching an age determined by law (Subarticle 2); or dismissed by the Supreme Court in certain other cases determined by law (Subarticle 3). Law determines the organisation, composition and competence of the Court of Audit (Article 78); delegation is possible; this may exceed the functions indicated by Article 76; in this case no delegation is allowed (Subarticle 2). In fact the Court of Audit not only performs financial audits but also "value for money" [[Economic efficiency|efficiency]] analyses; it also reports on the effectiveness of all governmental policy via [[performance audit]]s. Dutch legal doctrine believes in a clear distinction between efficiency and effectiveness reports and this is reflected in two separate types of investigation carried out. The budget as such is always officially approved, be it with "comments" when irregularities have been discovered; these then have to be remedied by special law. The effectiveness reports, carried out in great detail, in full independence and without the slightest regard for political sensitivities, have given the Court of Audit a large political influence, even more so than the British [[National Audit Office (United Kingdom)|National Audit Office]].

The third is the [[National Ombudsman]], a relatively new function; he may investigate by his own initiative or on request of anyone, the actions of State bodies or other governmental bodies indicated by law; this indication can be delegated (Article 78a). The [[ombudsman]] and his substitute are appointed by the House of Representatives for a certain period of time, to be determined by law. They are in any case dismissed by the House of Representatives on demand and when reaching a certain age (Subarticle 2). Law determines the competence of the ombudsman and the way he proceeds; delegation is allowed (Subarticle 3). His competence may by law be determined to exceed that given in Subarticle 1; delegation is allowed (Subarticle 4) — in contrast with the arrangement given for the Council of State and the Court of Audit.

The constitution has a general Article 79 founding the establishment of other advisory bodies, the "permanent advisory colleges". The law regulates the organisation, composition and competence of these bodies (Subarticle 2); other competences than mere advisory ones may be attributed by law (Subarticle 3); in both cases delegation is allowed. There used to be a great many of these advisory bodies; after 1996 their number was brought back to a few to economise. The advice of all bodies indicated in Chapter 4 is in principle public; the law regulates the way it is published; delegation is allowed (Article 80); it is submitted to the States General (subarticle 2).