Minister Van Weel under fire over Palantir software
In the media image: Hansjörg Keller on Unsplash
Dutch Minister of Justice and Security David van Weel has been heavily criticised for not fully informing the House of Representatives about a contract between the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee and US tech company Palantir. Reijer Passchier comments in Follow The Money.
An investigation by Follow the Money has revealed that over a six-year period, from 2009 to 2015, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee used software provided by the controversial tech company Palantir. This could analyse passenger data in the so-called Advance Passenger Information system and potentially involved the data of millions of travellers. This raises questions about the completeness of information provided by the government to the Dutch Parliament, where ministers are obliged to share all relevant information.
Reijer Passchier, Assistant Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law in Leiden and Professor of Digitisation and the Democratic Constitutional State at the Open University, says that providing incomplete information to Parliament is a ‘political mortal sin’ in the Netherlands. He claims the minister acted contrary to article 68 of the Constitution which is the legal obligation of the cabinet to provide information to Parliament. A minister is expected to be fully informed. When the House asks questions, the minister must therefore have the correct information and civil servants are required to provide that information in good time. Particularly in relation to a contract that was already circulating internally, it would be remarkable if that was not done.
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Read the full article in Follow The Money (€, in Dutch)