Council of State (Netherlands)

The Council of State is a constitutionally established body in the Netherlands that advises the government and the States General, and whose Administrative Jurisdiction Division also serves as one of the four highest courts of appeal in administrative matters. Charles V founded it on 1 October 1531 as one of three Collateral Councils in the Habsburg Netherlands, which makes it one of the oldest state organisations still functioning. Its present line of descent runs through the constitutions of 1814 and 1815, and an 1861 law added a role in resolving disputes between public bodies. After the European Court of Human Rights found in Benthem v Netherlands that the council's lack of independence denied a complainant a fair trial, its judicial part was made formally independent in 1994 from the part that advises on legislation, a split confirmed by the 2010 Council of State Act. The King is president of the council, the Vice-President chairs its meetings and would act as head of state if there were no monarch, and the council sits in The Hague.