Between the devil and the deep blue sea - University of Canterbury

- Chapter 7 -
Somewhere Between War
and Peace: The States of
War and Siege
[The state of war and siege are] symptomatic of the simple truth,
that in times when the country must be defended against internal
or external enemies, such defence can best be entrusted to those
who are assigned to that profession in the first place
Henri JTlll1 Wllgel1ingel1; 1916 1
The Oorlogswet (War Law) of 1899 provided that in time of war, or when war
threatened, the govemment could proclaim parts of the country in a staat van oorlog (state
of war) or staat van beleg (state of siege ).2 In both the "state of war" and "state of siege",
military authority overruled local civil authority, with the powers given in the "state of
siege" decidedly more comprehensive than those granted in the "state of war". Assigning
extraordinary emergency powers to the anned forces in time of great danger, the law
allowed them to take almost any action required to safeguard the security of the nation and
its people. The jurisdiction provided by the law was such that it could negate a number of
constitutionally-recognised civil rights, whenever it was deemed essential. The legislation
attributed immense powers to the anned forces and left their scope of action undefined, so
that every possible contingency was accounted for.
On 5 August 1914, at Snijders' request, the govemment imposed a "state of war"
along the entire New Holland Waterline (including the city of Utrecht) as well as other
fortified positions, to give the garrisons there added authority to improve the defences and
I '[S]ymptomen van de eenvoudige waarheid, dat in tijden, waarin het land verdedigd moet worden tegen inwendige
ofbuitenlandsche vijanden, die verdediging het best toevertrouwd is aan hen, die door hun beroep daarvoor in de
eerste plaats zijn aangewezen." (Henri van Wageningen, De Regelgevende Bevoegdheid van het Militair Gezag
Tijdens Staat van Oorlog en Staat van Beleg in Rijk en K%nien. Proefschrift ter Verkrijging van den-Graad van
Doctor in de Rechtswetenschap aan de Rijks-Universiteit te Groningen. [The ruling power of military authority in the
"state of war" and "siege" in state and colonies. Thesis for attainment of grade of doctor of law at the State University
ofGroningen] Groningen: J; B. Wolters, 1916, p. 32).
2 Staatsblad. 23 May 1899, no. 128.