Discussed is policy formation by such authorities as the police, local & national government, bar associations, legal aid agencies, the judiciary, & prison authorities. Emphasized is the quasi-absence of reliable statistical information, good annual reports, & the necessary cooperation of the authorities in opening this area for social science research. Major decisions of the Belgian Dept of Justice over the past ten years are analyzed. HA.
In: Militaire spectator: MS ; maanblad ; waarin opgen. de officie͏̈le mededelingen van de Koninkl. Landmacht en de Koninkl. Luchtmacht, Band 179, Heft 12, S. 626-637
The politicization of Belgian political parties since WWII has resulted in what is termed a "particracy," ie, a parliamentary democracy wherein party structures dominate the political decision-making process. The gradual institutionalization of party patronage within the parliament, ministerial cabinets, public administration, the judiciary, & mass media is discussed, examining mechanisms of recruitment & policy articulation. The process of within-party candidate selection is also considered, focusing on the shift away from rank-&-file participation toward central decisions by local & national party leaders, with a concomitant restructuring of "party discipline." Historical bases of the current patronage system are briefly considered, noting the prewar politicization of magisterial posts & the shift from reliance on party newspapers to party control of broadcast media administrators. Modified HA.
Issues that touch on the separation of powers, that is, on the relationship between parliament, government and the judiciary, and on the relationship between the Public Prosecution Service, the legal profession and the judge, have been rife in the news of the past twenty years ( for example IRT affair, acquittal of terror suspects, trial Wilders). The separation of powers is part of most Dutch definitions of the rule of law. The research resulting from this WODC publication is aimed at identifying trends and patterns in messages (from newspapers, television news bulletins, news websites, Twitter) over the past twenty years that could affect confidence in the rule of law. It was examined whether text mining, that is, automated text analysis or "content analysis", is an appropriate research tool. - Kwesties die raken aan de scheiding der machten, dat wil zeggen, aan de verhouding tussen volksvertegenwoordiging, regering en rechterlijke macht, en aan de verhouding tussen OM, de advocatuur, en de rechter waren schering en inslag in het nieuws van de afgelopen twintig jaar (bijvoorbeeld IRT-affaire, vrijspraak terreurverdachten, proces-Wilders). De scheiding der machten vormt een onderdeel van de meeste Nederlandse definities van de rechtsstaat. Het onderzoek waaruit deze WODC-publicatie voortvloeit, is gericht op het onderkennen van trends en patronen in berichten (uit dagbladen, televisienieuwsbulletins, nieuwswebsites, Twitter) van de afgelopen twintig jaar die het vertrouwen in de rechtsstaat zouden kunnen beïnvloeden. Nagegaan werd of tekstmining, dat wil zeggen, geautomatiseerde tekstanalyse of 'inhoudsanalyse', daarbij een geschikt onderzoeksmiddel is.