This SET contains open questions and true / false statements about the rule of law.
Start with the open questions! In brackets you find the marks you can get for each
subquestion. In total, there are 40 points to gain. GOOD LUCK!
PART A: OPEN QUESTIONS (start with this part!)
Question 1
Read the article ‘Wilders to face court for inciting racial hatred’ and answer the first question
Wilders to face court for inciting racial hatred
MP Geert Wilders, who leads the anti-immigration PVV party, should be prosecuted
for discrimination and inciting racial hatred, Amsterdam’s appeal court ruled on
Wednesday.
‘This is a black day for me and for the …(A) …,’ Wilders told the Telegraaf. ‘I had not
expected this ruling.’ The public prosecution department has received dozens of
complaints about Wilders’ anti-Islam film Fitna and his statements in the media over the
past few years. But at the end of June last year, the department said it did not have
enough grounds to prosecute him and that a
healthy legal system should allow plenty of
leeway to people involved in political debate.
The appeal court said that while the … (A) …
is important, it has its limits.
Several of the complaints relate to articles
or letters by Wilders, which were published
in the Volkskrant newspaper.
For example, in August 2007 he called for the
Koran to be banned. ‘I have had enough of
Islam in the Netherlands: no more Muslim
immigrants,’ the MP wrote. He has also
compared the Koran to Adolf Hitler’s book
Mein Kampf.
Lawyer Haroon Raza, one of the people who asked the court of appeal for its position,
points to the ‘massive social unrest’ which Wilders has generated and says this is why he
should be prosecuted. The public prosecution department said in a reaction that it would
abide by the court’s decision but could not say when legal action would be taken.
Source: www.Dutchnews.nl, 21 January 2009
a.) Which Constitutional right should be placed on the dots (indicated by … (A) …) in the
article? (1)
b.) We distinguish two different categories of Constitutional rights. Name those two
categories and explain to which of them the right from question a.) belongs. (2)
c.) Last year the public prosecution department decided not to prosecute Geert Wilders
(lines 8-9). What do we call this option for the public prosecutor? (1)
d.) Which other option, besides prosecution and the one mentioned in question c.) does a
public prosecutor have in every case? (1)
e.) Explain if the article refers to private law or public law. Use the term horizontal / vertical
relationships to specify your answer. (2)
f.) Wilders does not agree with the court’s ruling, but he can still appeal against this
decision. What is this appeal called and which court does he have to turn to? (1)
P.T.O.
1