Are Dutch judges still impartial?
In the media image: Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
Can judges be impartial if they are a member of a political party? In PowNed podcast ‘Op z'n Kop!’, Andreas Kinneging, Professor of Philosophy of Law, questions what he sees as an outdated system.
Can judges be a member of a political party in their spare time, hold political office on a municipal council, or attend demonstrations? 'We demand not only independence from our judges, but also that they avoid creating any appearance of partiality,' Andreas Kinneging says. 'When it emerges that a judge is biased, it erodes their own authority – and that poses a real problem for our state based on the rule of law. Lady Justice must stand above the parties involved.'
The professor sees a trend emerging. In the 1960s and 1970s, the judiciary in the Netherlands was given more room to correct political decisions, due in part to the impending rise of populism, according to Kinneging. Now, he says, an imbalance exists within the judiciary as too many judges are members of the same political parties or adhere to a similar ideological belief.