Covenant House of Representatives of the States General
- 7 December 2023
- Edited 12 December 2023
- 1 min
- Open government act
Members of the House of Representatives of the States General may encounter intimidation, violence, or other threatening situations because of their position. In the event of such a foreseeable threat, the Member of Parliament may shield the visiting address of their company or legal entity (with the exception of a bv or nv) in the Business Register. A condition for this is that the House of Representatives of the States General has agreed on shielding criteria with KVK. These agreements have been set out by the House of Representatives in a covenant.
When are you eligible?
You are eligible if:
- You are a registered member of the House of Representatives of the States General.
- You or a co-occupant of yours submits a declaration drawn up by the security authority of the House of Representatives of the States General showing that you or your co-occupant:
- has in the past been registered as a member of the House of Representatives of the States General and in that capacity may now still face a probable threat or
- is a candidate member of the House of Representatives of the States General and in that capacity faces or may face a probable threat.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch).
Research
A review of several news reports and studies (in Dutch) show that members of the House of Representatives face threats because of their positions.
- “Onderzoek NOS: Kamerleden voelen zich geïntimideerd, houden mening soms voor zich” , Jorn Jonker en Hugo Van Der Parre, (NOS, 20 November 2022).
- “Niet eerder zoveel meldingen van bedreiging politici”, Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid, nieuwsbericht Openbaar Ministerie (19 May 2023).
- Van Hoof, Van Rootjen, Spee en te Brake. ‘Rapport Psychosociale Effecten van Bedreiging en Beveiliging’. ARQ Nationaal Psychotrauma Centrum. 2020.