Is there a law that defines national security?
The AIVD's work is governed by the Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 (Wiv 2017), which entered into force on 1 May 2018. Although the term national security is used in the Act, no definition of the term is provided.
The reason for this lack is: it is not set in stone what falls under the umbrella of national security. It is a difficult concept. It encompasses values, rules, laws that we believe are important in our country.
Generally, 'national security' is best approached by describing things that are a threat to it. The explanatory memorandum to the Wiv 2017 does enable us to infer that national security refers to a safe country in which people may live in freedom and in which democratic legal order is safeguarded.