Public body (Netherlands)

In the Netherlands, the term public body (a literal translation from the Dutch term "openbaar lichaam") is the general denomination for administrative divisions within the Dutch state, such as the central government, a province, a municipality or a water board. These types of political entities are defined by the Dutch constitution.
In addition, Article 134 of the constitution provides for the definition of other public bodies by law. Such bodies can be professionally oriented, like the "Dutch Order of Advocates" (), or be constituted to perform functions in a specific region. This means that the term public body is sometimes used to indicate a special or irregular type of public body (without a specifically defined name), which can also be an administrative division or a certain other type of governmental organisation.
Caribbean Netherlands.
The three islands Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became public bodies of the Netherlands proper on 10 October 2010, but are not part of any province. Since 2017 they are public bodies of a special constitutional category, "Caribbean public bodies". Collectively they are officially known as Caribbean Netherlands (). Although part of the Netherlands, these special municipalities (as they are also called) remained overseas territories of the European Union until 2015.
In the absence of a King's Commissioner the Islands have a joint "Kingdom Representative" and so the official Dutch translation for the "Rijksvertegenwoordiger voor de openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba", who has an office on each of the Islands. In 2011, Wilbert Stolte, a member of the conservative CDA party and former municipal politician in The Hague, was appointed to hold this office for six years.
It is proposed to give Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba another status, the status of "Caribbean public bodies". This proposal is not finalized, at it is not in parliament yet.
Other examples.
Another notable example of an administrative division merely denoted as "public body" is Rijnmond (), which existed from 1964 to 1986.
On a regional level, municipalities, provinces, water boards and the Caribbean public bodies can constitute internal or umbrella public bodies, as defined by the "law on common arrangements" (). Examples of such bodies include: