ABSTRACT
In the Netherlands system of constitutional adjudication courts cannot review the constitutionality of acts parliament against the provisions of the Constitution but they can indeed do so against directly effective treaty norms. The question that is addressed is whether Dutch courts could on that basis stop a dismantling of democracy and the rule of law. With this question as a starting point, the paper will present a brief outline of the constitutional adjudication in the Netherlands. Although there are no doubt national variations, the powers to stop such dismantling may not be fundamentally different from those in other European countries. In this regard this essay explores the premise that courts are at all able to stop revolutionary changes away from constitutional democracy as we know it. It asserts that we should not overestimate the role courts can play, but that this does not mean there is no role for them.
