4. Law and legislation
The Netherlands
Last update: July, 2019
The first Constitution of the Netherlands (Staatsregeling voor het Bataafsche Volk) came into force in 1798. It included the thought that the government should foster the civilisation, enlightenment and health of its citizens. Enlightenment and civilisation should be ensured by means of culture, arts and education.
The Constitution of 1798 mentioned the freedom of press for the first time. In the current version of the constitution, this is regulated by Article 7:
- No one shall require prior permission to publish thoughts or opinions through the press, without prejudice to the responsibility of every person under the law.
- Rules concerning radio and television shall be laid down by Act of Parliament. There shall be no prior supervision of the content of a radio or television broadcast.
- No one shall be required to submit thoughts or opinions for prior approval in order to disseminate them by means other than those mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, without prejudice to the responsibility of every person under the law. The holding of performances open to persons younger than sixteen years of age may be regulated by Act of Parliament in order to protect good morals.
- The preceding paragraphs do not apply to commercial advertising.
In 1983, the cultural aspect was added to Article 22: “The authorities shall promote social and cultural development and leisure activities.”
The Cultural Policy Act (1993) includes the financial contribution of the Dutch government to provide “a wide-ranging and varied cultural offering for all of its citizens and in all parts of the country by funding institutions and establishing policy programmes.” This act is concerned with Article 79 of the constitution, which states:
- Permanent bodies to advise on matters relating to legislation and administration of the State shall be established by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.
- The organisation, composition and powers of such bodies shall be regulated by Act of Parliament.
- Duties in addition to advisory ones may be assigned to such bodies by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.
This act determines crucial aspects of the Dutch cultural policy, such as the government's obligation to submit a cultural policy plan to parliament every four years. This four-year plan provides sustainable financial support and outlines activities for the forthcoming period, as well as reviewing achievements from the previous period. Furthermore, it regulates the government's option of issuing subsidies to provinces and municipalities. Since 2009, a group of smaller cultural institutions and companies is no longer part of the basic infrastructure, but is funded by the public cultural funds.
Last update: July, 2019
The Cultural Policy Act (1993) regulates the subsidies based on cultural policy decisions and enables the Minister to create funds to finance the arts and culture. Part of the funds can be allocated directly by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (for consecutive four-year periods) to uphold the national basic infrastructure (see chapter 1.1). As dictated by the Cultural Policy Act, subsidy decisions are based on advice by the national Council for Culture. The Minister or Secretary of Culture, however, makes the final decisions. Deviations from the advice need to be substantiated as a consequence of the General Administrative Law Act. As a rule, the Minister or Secretary follows the advice by the Council.
Other funds from the state are running through six state culture funds. These funds are operated at arm's length. The Minister decides the quantity of money reserved for them and has to approve all arrangements. The Cultural Policy Act was subject to alterations in 2012, related to the restructuring of the subsidy system. As of 2013, the Law for Autonomous Administrative Bodies applies to cultural funds subsidised by central government. Autonomous administrative bodies are part of central government, but they are not part of the Ministry. Although they are autonomous, their tasks are laid down by law and the Minister has authority over these organisations. In principle, the Minister is accountable to parliament for the Ministry’s decisions. Furthermore, the funds’ policies and criteria are subject to advice from the Council for Culture. Apart from the Cultural Policy Act, there are some sector- specific laws for implementing arts funding (see chapter 4.2).
Last update: July, 2019
The Participation Act regards Dutch citizens that need support on the labour market. The purpose of the act is to increase the labour participation. In this act, the Social Assistance Benefit is included as well, which financially supports citizens who have little or no income. The application process for this specific benefit is arranged by the municipalities.
Employees made redundant can apply for financial support from the Employee Insurance Agency. If they have worked 26 out of 36 weeks before being unemployed, it is possible to receive unemployment insurance. The current agenda for culture (Arbeidsmarktagenda voor de culturele en creatieve sector 2017-2023) highlights this criterion as a problem, since work in the cultural sector can be irregular.
Self-employed can create their own social security frameworks through, for example, Broodfondsen (Bread funds) and the Arbeidsongeschiktheidsregeling (Occupational Disability Regulation). Bread funds are collective initiatives of the self-employed to provide each other with temporary sick leave. The Occupational Disability Regulationcan be arranged through insurance companies. A monthly payment ensures financial aid when self-employed are unable to work. In contrast to employees in the cultural sector, self-employed artists have to arrange their own pension via, for example, insurance companies or banks.
When self-employed and pregnant, a Dutch citizen can apply for the Maternity Benefit Scheme for the Self-Employed, which consists of financial support for a minimum of 16 weeks. The financial aid is not higher than the gross minimum wage. New regulations have been implemented in 2019 for paternity leave, but these regulations do not apply to self-employed citizens.
Last update: July, 2019
Gift and Inheritance Tax Act
In order to stimulate cultural entrepreneurship and donations for culture, the Gift and Inheritance Tax Act 2012 (Geefwet) was implemented.
The act covers a number of aspects of fiscal law in order to make "giving to culture" fiscally attractive. The act also introduces a new multiplier of 125 percent which applies to donations made to cultural institutions. Cultural institutions that wish to profit from this ruling have to qualify as a Public Benefit Organisation, or PBO (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instellingen, ANB). An institution qualifies as a PBOonly when at least 90 percent of its efforts are focused on the general good. PBOs are subject to a number of tax advantages:
- A PBO does not pay Dutch inheritance tax or gift tax on inheritances or gifts that the institution allocates to the general good.
- A PBO does not pay Dutch gift tax on gifts that the institution makes for the general good.
- Persons and companies making donations to a PBO may deduct their gifts from their Dutch income tax or corporate income tax. The tax exemption counts for the first EUR 5.000 spent on cultural gifts. Below EUR 5.000, individual persons can deduct up to 125 percent, while companies can deduct up to 150 percent.
In accordance with the Ministry of Finance, former Minister of Culture Jet Bussemaker has extended the Gift and Inheritance Tax Act till the January 1st, 2018.
Monuments
80 percent of the costs for the maintenance of monuments and gardens is tax-deductible, for buildings listed in the Register of Monuments (Monumentenregister). In September 2016, Minister Bussemaker announced in the Budget Memorandum 2017 (Miljoenennota 2017) that this tax arrangement will be abolished from 2017, but this plan has been postponed for at least a year. The Dutch tax administration has a specific department for tax issues concerning monuments (Belastingdienst Bureau Monumentenbouw BBM).
Volunteers
Volunteers may earn a tax-free extra income of EUR 170 a month maximum, up to EUR 1 700 maximum a year (National Expenses Arrangement - Landelijke Regeling Onkostenvergoeding Vrijwilligers).They do not need to account for their expenses if it does not exceed the former amount. Additional compensation is possible, provided that the organisation reports the compensation to the tax inspector on a yearly basis.
VAT
The VAT system is divided into three rates: a high rate of 21 percent, a low rate of 9 percent and a 0 percent rate. EU legislation allows the member states to charge the low VAT rate on tickets for shows, theatres, circuses, funfairs, amusement parks, concerts, museums, zoos, cinemas, exhibitions and similar cultural events and venues. Artists who work on commission, such as writers, composers of advertising jingles, architects and designers, all charge the higher VAT rate.
Last update: July, 2019
Collective bargaining agreements
There are many collective labour agreements (collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst, or CAO) in the performing arts, and more generally in the cultural sector. CAOs are labour agreements between employers and employees. This means that a CAO only applies to employees who are working for an employer. When this is not the case, the national legal agreements are enforced. The existing CAOs are mostly found in architecture, arts education, media (broadcasting, journalism, publishing houses), museums and exhibition halls, performing arts (dance, orchestras, theatre companies, and venues), public libraries, retail musical instruments and sheet music. Special trade unions exist to enforce or monitor these agreements.
Almost all art and cultural labour areas are organised in the Culture Federation (Federatie Cultuur), an umbrella employers' organisation which monitors the results of annual collective bargaining between the large Dutch unions, the central government and the employers' organisations, with respect to work and related conditions.
Volunteers
There is no special legislation for volunteer efforts, but there is a National Expenses Arrangement (Landelijke Regeling Onkostenvergoeding Vrijwilligers) which stipulates a maximum tax-free reimbursement of expenses of EUR 1.700 a year (see also chapter 4.1.4).
Last update: July, 2019
In the Netherlands, the Copyright Act 1912 and the Neighbouring Rights Act 1993 protect literary, scientific or artistic works. Because the European Directive 2006/116/EC on the term of protection of copyright and related rights was replaced by the European Directive 2011/77/EU in 2011, both Dutch acts were amended in 2013. In line with this directive, copyright accrues to the creator of a work until 70 years after the creator’s death while neighbouring rights are in place for 70 years from the moment a work is introduced. Previously, the Copyright Act, the Neighbouring Rights Act and the Database Act 1999 (which is based on the European Database Directive 96/9/EG)were amended in 2004 to implement the European Directive 2001/29/EG on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society. Since 2014, The Netherlands also acts in accordance to the EU directive on certain permitted uses of orphan works. In 2015, the Copyright Contract Act was implemented, providing cultural producers with a stronger negotiating position against those operating their work.
Last update: July, 2019
The Data Registration Act (Wet Persoonsregistraties) was
approved in 1989 and became the first act that was concerned with data
protection. Dutch institutions or businesses needed the permission of their clients
to make use of the clients’ personal data for other purposes. A renewed act,
the Personal Data Protection Act (Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens Wbp),
based on the European Data Protection
Directive (95/46/EC), was developed in 2000 and came into force in 2001.
This act emphasised the protection of personal data during information
processes as a consequence of technological developments. The Data
Protection Authority
arranges supervision and compliance with both acts.
The General Data Protection Regulation was
implemented by the European Union in May 2016 to protect personal data of
European citizens in the digital age. European organisations were obliged to
implement the new act by 2018. The Data Protection Authorityhas been appointed to supervise
compliance with the act in the Netherlands.
The first
data protection act in Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire (Caribbean Netherlands)
came into force in 2010, which is the Personal Data
Protection Act (Wet Bescherming
Persoonsgegevens Wbp BES). The act is based on the European Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC)
and the Dutch Personal Data Protection
Act.
Last update: July, 2019
Dutch and Frisian (spoken mostly in the province Friesland) are the official languages in the Netherlands. For the three special municipalities Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, English and Papiamento are official languages as well. The spelling of the Dutch language is laid down in the Spelling Act (Spellingwet).
In 2010, the central government handed in a legislative proposal to include the Dutch language in the constitution. As a result of internationalisation and the diversity of the population, other languages are gaining ground, especially English. The purpose of the proposed amendment to the constitution is to guarantee that the Dutch language will always be the lingua franca in the Netherlands. The provision in the constitution concerning Frisian is to guarantee that the current status of the Frisian language will be maintained. The Dutch language is enshrined in the constitution as Article 23a, and came into force in 2015.
In 1980, the intergovernmental organisation Dutch Language Union (Taalunie) was established by the Flemish and Dutch governments. The Union aims to “support the Dutch language at home and around the world in order to keep the language as dynamic and vigorous as today. Therefore, the Taalunie proactively develops language policies, products and services.” In 2004, the Republic of Suriname became an associate member and the Union cooperates with Curaçao, Saint Martin and Aruba from 2007 onwards. Cooperation also takes place between the Union and the Republic of South Africa (see also chapter 2.5.4).
In 2011, the then Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Ronald Plasterk, announced a new law concerning the Frisian language. This law offers everyone in the province Friesland the right to use the Frisian language in their contact with the government. In addition, a council for the Frisian language was to be formed in order to protect and stimulate the use of Frisian.
In 2013, the Administrative Agreement on Frisian Language and Culture 2013-2018 was signed. This document contains a number of agreements that aim to stimulate the Frisian language and culture, especially in the fields of education, media and culture. Those involved are the Ministries of the Interior and Kingdom Relations; Education, Culture and Science; Foreign Affairs; Security and Justice; and Social Affairs and Employment.
This agreement has been renewed in December 2018 with the Administrative Agreement on Frisian Language and Culture 2019-2023. One of the main aims of the agreement is to increase the use of Frisian language in the education system. All Frisian schools need to meet the objectives of the agreement by 2030. An example of an objective is to offer the Frisian language as a course at every Frisian secondary school. Education in the Frisian language at university level is mentioned in the agreement as well. The University of Groningen includes a Frisian language department and the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations provides the university with an annual grant of EUR 110 000.
Last update: July, 2019
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Last update: July, 2019
The Cultural Policy Act (Wet op het specifiek cultuurbeleid, 1993) was considered a milestone in the legal basis of Dutch cultural policy. It defined and redefined a number of aspects of cultural policy. This act was needed to ratify specific payments by the government to local authorities and national public cultural funds. It also regulates specific policy and financial relations with the provinces and municipalities (see chapter 1.2). The Cultural Policy Act specifies the responsibilities for the Minister for Culture: providing the conditions for the preservation, development and social and geographic distribution of cultural expressions of national significance. “In this, the Minister should follow the principles of excellence and diversity (the latter referring to diversity in disciplines rather than audience [...].”[1]
Cultural education is partly rooted in legislation on education: the Primary Education Act (1981), Secondary Education Act (1963) and Higher Education and Research Act (1992). They define the framework for cultural education in primary and secondary education, and arts education (training of artists and art teachers). The adult and vocational education Act describes the framework for some of the so-called creative vocational training in secondary vocational education (MBO).
Table 2: International legal instruments implemented by the Netherlands in the cultural field
Title of the act | Year of adoption |
---|---|
UNESCO | |
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) | 1954 |
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) | 1992 |
Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1999) | 1999 |
UNESCO Convention to Combat the Illegal Traffic (1970) | 2009 |
COUNCIL OF EUROPE | |
European Cultural Convention (1954) | 1956 |
Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (Granada 1985) | 1994 |
European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (revised) (Valletta 1992) | 2007 |
European Landscape Convention (Florence 2000) | 2005 |
OTHER | |
Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works | 2014 |
[1] Meerkerk, E. van and Q.L. van den Hoogen (eds.). 2018. Cultural Policy in the Polder: 25 Years Dutch Cultural Policy Act. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press: 19.
Last update: July, 2019
Several laws on cultural heritage exist. The most important ones are the following:
- Former Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Jet Bussemaker, introduced an integral Heritage Act, protecting the national museum objects, museums, monuments and archaeology on land and underwater. The act was installed on July 1st, 2016 and replaced six laws and regulations in the field of cultural heritage, including the Monuments and Historic Buildings Act (1988) and the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (1984). The Heritage Act regulates matters for both movable and immovable heritage and is an integral part of the Environment Act. Eight issues are addressed: management of the national collection; control of the relationship with national museums; rules for disposing of objects and collections; protection of national monuments; rules for archaeological heritage; the return of cultural goods; finance; supervision and enforcement.
- In 2021, the Environment and Planning Act will come into effect. In similar vein as the Heritage Act, the Environment and Planning Act will replace and modernise multiple existing laws regarding water, air, soil, nature, infrastructure, buildings and cultural heritage in the living environment: “The new act will result in fewer regulations and will reduce the burden of conducting studies. At the same time, decisions on projects and activities can be made better and more quickly. Moreover, the act is more in line with European regulations and allows more room for private initiatives.” The Monuments and Historic Buildings Act is one of the laws that is partly absorbed in the Environment and Planning Act. Components of the Monuments and Historic Buildings Act that are not related to the living environment are included in the above mentioned Heritage Act. Thus, the Environment and Planning Act will regulate cultural heritage in the physical living environment while the Heritage Act contains the interpretation of heritage and the care of cultural property in government ownership. The following elements will be included in the Environment and Planning Act: permits for (archaeological) national monuments; the protection and preservation of the specific historic character of a village, town or city; the appointment of a monument committee; the need to take cultural heritage into account in environmental plans; and the designation of provincial and municipal monuments.
- The Public Records Act (1995) regulates the management and access of government archives, including digital information. Government organisations have legal obligations regarding their archive, for example that archives have to be publically accessible. The Public Records Act is mainly implemented by the Decree on Public Records (1995), which details a number of the provisions of the act. Various aspects of this decree are developed in even further detail in ministerial regulations.
Last update: July, 2019
To safeguard the rights of performing artists, the Neighbouring Rights Act came into force in 1993. Neighbouring rights are created automatically and are valid for 70 years (see chapter 4.1.6). General legislation on the (governmental funding of) performing arts and festivals is included in the Cultural Policy Act (see chapter 4.2.1).
Last update: July, 2019
There is a percentage scheme for visual arts (Percentageregeling voor beeldende kunst) in or near government buildings that are newly constructed, renovated or purchased by the Central Government Real Estate Agency, which is a division within the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations. The scheme is applied if the total construction costs of a building exceed EUR 1 million. Between EUR 1 and 7 million, the budget for art is 2 percent of the total building costs; between EUR 7 and 10 million, the budget for art is 1 percent of the total building costs plus EUR 70 000; and when the costs exceed EUR 10 million, the budget for art is 0.5 percent of the total building costs plus EUR 120 000. This regulation was initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in 1951.
Last update: July, 2019
In January 2015, a new Libraries Act was implemented (Wet stelsel openbare bibliotheken). This new act defines the five core functions of public libraries as: to promote reading and a taste for literature; facilitate learning; make knowledge and information available; promote art and culture; and organise social encounters and debate. The act also addresses the digitisation of the sector, which started in the late 1990s. To streamline and co-ordinate this process, the Dutch public libraries set up the foundation Bibliotheek.nl (2009). They build a digital infrastructure in order to create one Dutch national digital library by connecting all (digital systems of the) Dutch public libraries. This digitisation project is coordinated by the Royal Library of the Netherlands.
The government implemented the Act on Fixed Booked Prices (Wet op de Vaste Boekenprijs) in 2005. The act aims to prevent price competition by regulating the pricing of Dutch and Frisian book- and music publications, with the exception of electronic publications and audio-books. The Royal Netherlands Book Trade Association represents the interests of Dutch booksellers and publishers and evaluates the act periodically. The Dutch Media Authoritysupervises compliance with the act. The act has been renewed on January 1st, 2019 and includes a tax increase (from 6 percent to 9 percent) and the possibility for publishers and booksellers to change the fixed prices within six months.
In the Netherlands, there is a voluntary deposit: the Depot of Dutch Publications. In consultation with the Dutch Media Federation, it has been agreed that all publishers submit one copy of each publication issued in the Netherlands to one of the depot libraries: the Royal Library of the Netherlands or the libraries of the Technical University Delft and Wageningen University for respectively works related to exact sciences and agriculture. In the Dutch Bibliography Online, there is a record of every submitted publication, including first issues of magazines.
Last update: July, 2019
The Media Act (2008)concerns the organisational structure, funding principles and operational scope of the Dutch public broadcasting system, which is composed of the NPO (Nederlandse Publieke Omroep) as an umbrella organisation with a coordinating task, and several public broadcasters who produce the content. The act regulates how the budget for the public broadcasting task is provided and allocated, but is also concerns the basic requirements for commercial broadcasters and obligations for providers of television and radio packages (like cable operators). The commercial broadcasters, for example, are not allowed to broadcast sponsored news and at least 40 percent of the programmes must be produced in the Dutch or Frisian language. Providers of digital television and radio packages are obliged to offer at least 30 television channels and a number of radio channels, including the Dutch and Belgian public channels. Furthermore, the Media Act contains regulations for the protection of minors and establishes the independent Dutch Media Authority.
In 2016, the Media Act (2008) was amended in order to make the public broadcasting system future-proof in times of on-demand watching and a declining income (due to budget cuts and less revenue from advertisements). An important measure was that programmes should have an educational, informative or cultural goal instead of being solely entertainment. The amendment also gave the NPO more responsibility regarding the course of the whole public broadcasting system. Furthermore, the collaboration between national broadcasters and regional broadcasters should be intensified in order to compensate for the declining reach of the regional broadcasters and to strengthen journalism in the region.
The Council for Culture, the legal advisory body of the government, published a report in 2018 stating that the Dutch broadcasters (public and commercial) must cooperate better to prevent themselves from perishing in international competition. That same year, the Minister of Media, Arie Slob, announced there will be new legislation on media with new measures in order to ensure that the public broadcasting system is able to play its important and relevant role in the future Dutch information market (see chapter 2.5.3 for more on the Dutch public broadcasting system).
In 1997, in order to protect minors from harmful content, a system of self-regulation was developed by the Dutch Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media. The Kijkwijzer(Viewing Indicator) warns parents and educators if a television program or film can be harmful to children. There is an age indication (all ages, 6+, 9+, 12+ and 16+) and pictograms that signify the reason for this indication (violence, fear, sex, discrimination, drug and/or alcohol abuse and foul language). These indicators are used for music videos, computer games and websites as well. The age indications are connected with television broadcast times: programmes for all ages, 6+ and 9+ may be broadcasted anytime, while 12+ and 16+ programmes are broadcast after 8 PM or 10 PM respectively.
On the basis of Article 4 of the Media Act (2008), public and commercial broadcasters are obliged to apply the Kijkwijzer if they want to broadcast programmes that are potentially harmful to children. The age indicators are meant as an advice annex tool for parents and educators in the private sphere. However, in public spaces such as the cinema, the government has granted a legal consequence to the age limits of Kijkwijzer. The cinema admission policy is based on Article 240a of the Criminal Code.
Last update: July, 2019
The Dutch Advertising Code is a self-regulatory organisation that formulates the rules with which advertising must comply.
Legislation regarding landscape design will be integrated in the Environment and Planning Act, which will come into effect in 2021 (see chapter 4.2.2).
The professional titles of architect, town planner, landscape architect and interior architect are protected by the Architects Title Act (1987). Only those who are registered in the Architects' Register may use one of these titles. The aesthetic aspect of the architectural environment is protected by the Dutch Housing Act (1992), which regulates and controls the aesthetic standard of building activities. Design and creative services are also part of the Dutch creative industry. For more information on the creative industry and specific regulations and measures, see chapter 3.5.1 and 3.5.5.