Legal System

The legal system in the Netherlands operates on the basis of civil law. Its judiciary is independent and judges can only be removed from the bench in the cases malfeasance or incapacity. Roman law is still fundamental to the system; however, France has also heavily influenced the judicial system. There is no jury system, and the state instead of the individual acts is responsible for initiating legal proceedings. Administrative justice is separate from civil and criminal justice and is not necessarily dispensed uniformly.

Civil law, also called Continental law or Romano-Germanic law, is the most prevalent legal system in the world. The main difference between civil and common law is that that common law draws abstract rules from specific cases, whereas civil law starts with abstract rules, which judges must then apply to the various cases before them. In other words, historically speaking, common law is based upon traditions and laws are codified following court rulings. On the other hand, in the case of civil law, laws are first codified and then applied.

Privacy

At this time the Netherlands has not signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement; it has, however, signed a Mutual Assistance Treaty with the United States. Also, the Netherlands is a full a participant in the European Union Savings Directive and has agreed to share personal information with other nations. As such, the Netherlands does not offer a particularly high level of privacy for EU citizens. Furthermore, by agreeing to exchange information as part of the European Union Savings Directive, the Netherlands has opened itself up to questions about its commitment to protecting the privacy of its foreign investors.