Organisation
Profile of the Netherlands Bar Association
The Netherlands Bar Association, of which every advocate becomes, pursuant to the Act on Advocates, a member at the time of admission to the Bar, dates from 1952. Before that time, only the local Bar Associations and their Councils of Supervision were statutorily regulated. There was a Dutch Advocates’ Association, but not all of the advocates had joined it. Unlike the Netherlands Bar Association, the Advocates’ Association had no regulatory powers.
Powers
The national as well as the local Bar Associations in the nineteen districts are public-law bodies. There is no hierarchical relationship between the national Bar Association and the local Bar Associations. The local Bar Associations are autonomous, their powers being described in the Act on Advocates. Pursuant to article 26, they promote “a decent exercising of the practice and are authorised to take all measures that can contribute thereto”. This task has been further and succinctly elaborated on in the ten Aims of the Netherlands Bar Association that have been developed by the General Council in 2000.
Structure of the Bar Association(s)
The national Bar Association is run by the General Council, which consists of seven advocate-members with the general dean as chairperson. The members of the Council are elected by the parliament of the Netherlands Bar Association, the Assembly of Delegates. The 75 members of the Board are in their turn elected by the members of the local Bar Associations.
The local Bar Association is run by the Council of Supervision, chaired by the dean. The General Council maintains intensive contact with the local Councils and especially with the nineteen deans about policy harmonisation. This harmonisation process is facilitated by the fact that most of the deans also hold a seat in the Assembly of Delegates.
The tasks of the General Council are divided over portfolios. You will find the portfolios with the names and pictures of the holders and the heads of office further on in this report. The policy of the General Council is prepared and executed by the Office of the Netherlands Bar Association in The Hague. The overview of the staff list is printed behind this.
Budget
The costs of the Netherlands Bar Association are for an important part covered by the financial contributions from the members and the income from education programmes. The Assembly of Delegates determines the contributions of the members, as well as the budget and multi-annual cost estimates, the annual accounts and the by-laws.
The aims of the Netherlands Bar Association
- The advocate is independent
- The advocate knows his profession
- The advocate is client-oriented
- The advocate has organised his practice well
- There is an efficient supervision on the compliance with the Bar rules
- Legal aid by advocates is within everyone’s reach
- The Netherlands Bar Association contributes to good legislation
- The Netherlands Bar Association contributes to good and fair administration of justice
- The Netherlands Bar Association clarifies to the community what advocates do and why