Hoge Raad der Nederlanden
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The Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (High Council of the Netherlands) is the supreme court of the Netherlands, situated in The Hague.
[edit] Composition
Members of the Hoge Raad are appointed by Royal Decree, from a list of three, advised by the House of Representatives on the advice of the Hoge Raad itself. The judges are, like every judge in the Netherlands, appointed for life, until they either die or retire after reaching the age of 70.
The Hoge Raad comprises a president, at most 7 vice-presidents, at most 30 raadsheren (English: Council Lords), and at most 15 raadsheren of extraordinary service.
[edit] Authority
Appeals against the decisions of the rechtbank (district court) are first heard by the gerechtshof (higher court). It is possible to appeal a decision of the gerechtshof to the Hoge Raad, but only on the grounds that the gerechtshof applied the law incorrectly or that the ruling of the gerechtshof lacks sufficient reasoning. Furthermore, the jurisdiction of the Hoge Raad is limited primarily to civil, criminal and tax-related cases. Special courts have jurisdiction to hear other appeal cases. For example, administrative cases can be appealed to the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State, while social security cases are heard by the Central Appeals Tribunal.
The Hoge Raad also acts as supreme court in appeals against decisions of the Common Court of Appeals of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
