The Dutch orthodox Christian Reformed Party SGP is acting illegally by accepting only men as MPs, the Supreme Court in The Hague said on Friday.

"It is incomprehensible that the Supreme Court wants our party to treat women and men equally," according to the party. The orthodox Christian SGP party had been taken to court over its Bible-inspired stance that women are subordinate to men, and that only men can be elected representatives.

Laws and treaties
The court, weighing the fundamental freedoms of religion, expression and association, judged that the SGP should allow women to be election candidates. It is the duty of the state to take action against men-only candidatures, the Supreme Court stated. A party cannot refer to its philosophical principles by way of defence, the judges said. "Under democratic rule of law, political principles and programmes can only be executed within the limits set by laws and treaties." The SGP was found to distinguish men and women in a manner that is in contravention of a United Nations treaty. This implies that the Dutch state will have to take measures to ensure that the party allows women to put themselves forward as candidates. The orthodox group does allow women to be members, but leading positions are reserved for men.

"The SGP has not been banned," the party wrote on its website. "We are certain, in any circumstance, to be dependent on God and we will continue our task, which is to introduce Biblical values in the government and management of the Netherlands. Living by those values is indispensible for the Netherlands and its citizens."

Enrichment or hindrance?
The orthodox party had pinned its hopes on a statement by the Council of State, the government's highest advisory body, which said in 2007 that the SGP "with its own particular approach" was "an enrichment of, rather than a hindrance to, our democratic state, and is entitled to government subsidy" just like any other party with elected members of parliament.

It is not clear what will happen if the party refuses to accept the ruling and presents an all-male list of candidates for the next general election, which is scheduled for 9 June.

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