Is it possible to ban a political party?
Dutch right-wing political party Forum for Democracy has repeatedly demonstrated that it has no lower limit when it comes to morals. Should the courts in the Netherlands protect democracy by banning parties like Forum? Several legal experts from Leiden University commented on this question in newspaper Trouw.
Once again there are calls for a ban. Among others from Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Leiden University. According to him, ministers can move closer to banning political parties at ‘the push of a button’. ‘Since 2022, the law to ban associations has been extended’, Voermans explains. ‘Previously, the article of law stated that an association could be banned “if the purpose or activity is contrary to public order”. This is difficult to prove, because when is it contrary to public order?’