Equality, Legal Certainty and Tax Legislation in the Netherlands<br>Fundamental Legal Principles as Checks on Legislative Power: A Case Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18352/ulr.227Keywords:
legal principles, the principle of equality, the principle of legal certainty, the principle of non-retroactivity, constitutional review, soft law, constitutional dialogue, separation of powersAbstract
Fundamental legal principles may function as a check on legislative power protecting citizens against arbitrary interferences with their liberty. This contribution deals with the principle of equality and the principle of certainty. First, the testing of legislation against the principle of equality is presented as a case study of constitutional review. In the Netherlands, the constitutional dialogue between the legislator and the Dutch Supreme Court revolving around the principle of equality demonstrates a fair amount of subtle details. As a result, constitutional review can hardly be called an all or nothing affair.
Secondly, retroactive tax legislation is dealt with. The legislator does seem to take the principle of legal certainty, another fundamental legal principle, quite seriously, although no testing of statutory legislation is possible by the courts. With regard to retroactive tax legislation the Government has committed itself in a memorandum, requested by Parliament, to adhere to rules of conduct with regard to different situations where it deems retroactive tax legislation to be justified. Thus, a soft law instrument facilitates a dialogue between different partners in the business of law-making.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2013 The Author(s)
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant Utrecht Law Review right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in the Utrecht Law Review.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Utrecht Law Review.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Once accepted for publication, the final version of the paper must be provided. A completed and signed copyright form, which will be sent by the Managing Editor, must accompany each paper. By signing the form the author states to accept the copyright notice of Utrecht Law Review. The copyright notice for authors is also included in the copyright acceptance form.